app that you love maybe it’s the first
thing you check when you wake up in the
morning it could be the last thing you
look at right before you go to bed and I
want you to think about the impact that
this app has on your life what service
does it render for you how this is it
affect your decisions we’re really lucky
here because most of the apps we use if
not all of them are designed for us a
very narrow audience in the true
perspective of everything but I want to
ask one of the apps could be made more
accessible for more kinds of people for
a global audience especially people
whose phones to pin on those really slow
networks I recently took an internship
in New York City at a design firm called
share may of guys marine haviv they’ve
done some iconic work in the graphic
design industry and I’m sure you
recognize some if not all of these marks
that they’ve all created as the intern
designing for them I was given one of
the most awesome projects I’ve ever
worked on and that was to create an app
which was awesome but the challenge came
when they told me that the app I was
designing for would be used primarily in
India now this was challenging to me
because well I’ve never been to India
but then more importantly I didn’t know
anything about indian mobile phone usage
I didn’t know what kinds of phones they
used how they consumed apps what apps
they use if the apps we use were even
accessible to an audience like them so
like any design project or creative
project i started with research and
through my research I discovered
something phones used in India span a
wide range of connectivity than the
phones we use here so yes they may use
phones like the iPhone or Android or
even the latest Google
hexcel but here are some of the phones
that are most commonly used in India and
as you can see across the board we have
phones that connect to 2g networks 3g
networks 4G networks and that G stands
for generation and the higher the number
next to the number the higher the
connectivity and the cellular service so
as the app designer I had to realize
that the app I was creating needed to
work for all of these devices not just
one of them and you may be thinking well
how bad it is it to leave out just let’s
say the 2g network users but here’s a
stat for you eighty percent of all
people who rely on data in India rely on
a 2g network eighty percent so the app I
was creating eighty percent of its
audience would be using a to g
smartphone so inclusivity was key here I
had to design for all users not just
some and this may make sense to you I
mean I’m explaining it pretty well but
the way app designers work today the way
app teams work on apps today if it is
really different app designers usually
take the fastest the latest the newest
technology and design one version of an
app simply for that market but you’re
leaving out everyone else right you see
when we design technology for a narrow
group of users people who don’t have
that newest technology they’re the ones
to lose out ah people who live people
who consume these ABS often live in
poorer or rural areas if they’re
fortunate enough to own the phone a slow
connectivity phone is the best they can
do based off how much money they have
and what’s available to them in their
area so I want to go back to that eighty
percent statistic eighty percent of
people who rely on smartphone data rely
on that 2g network right well look rely
on me one of two things first it could
mean that their phones max
connection strength is a 2g connection
or it could mean that their phone
connects to a higher network but that
network just isn’t available to them in
their area so this is where I see a
problem and I think some of you may see
it to someone’s ability to use an app
shouldn’t be based off something that’s
completely out of their control and I
think I have a solution for this can we
just take a second and get these floods
right okay sorry about that back so my
solution is this what if we could create
flexible apps apps that could grow or
shrink to satisfy whatever device it was
on bridge this global network and first
things first we would identify the core
so I want you to think about that app
that you thought up what’s the core
function of this app what’s its primary
service what service doesn’t render for
its users so let’s take goober for
example how many of us know of the
service uber so uber or lyft this is a
ride-sharing app that connects drivers
with people who use the app that’s this
primary service that’s that core
functionality the next thing we have to
do is think about the technological
barriers we have to overcome in order to
make this app more accessible so uber
hinges on three things first is current
location where are you located second is
the ability to receive and send messages
that’s paramount for an app like Oh BRR
and then third you guessed it it’s a
payment method there has to be some way
to compensate the drivers unfortunately
so if a core service works on a2g device
that becomes the foundation for which an
app designer can work upon and build
additional secondary features for those
higher-end 3g 4g phones again as you can
see here that core functionality remains
the same whether it be a least capable
device
more capable device you’re always going
to have that core functionality so let’s
continue with the ride sharing that uber
app example and see how this could work
in a case study so what would this look
like well I’ve designed it here this is
what a ride-sharing service appt could
look like on the 2g phone that least
capable device so you can see we have a
field that says where we’re going to we
have where we’re coming from which is
currently populating it with your
current location and then we have other
things like a payment method right in
history settings at the bottom so
actually be responsive right they should
grow and expand to whatever device Iran
so this is that least capable device
let’s see how this could transform into
a somewhat capable device so we’re
looking now at 3g networks so here this
is what the app could look like on a 3g
network a slightly better phone 3g
phones can load graphics and images
without dramatically reducing the
experience of using the actual app so
here we’re introducing icons profile
pictures and these are all enhancements
that help the experience of using the
app but by no means do they make it
right so let’s take a look at the 4g
phone now this is a phone that you or I
may have the most access to it may work
for our devices so you can see here that
we’re bringing in all the bells and
whistles we’re adding maps with live gps
tracking we have traffic and weather
integration now these are all features
that enhance your experience but by no
means do they make it and here you can
see on the scale the apps that you
witnessed we started with that core
functionality at the lowest capable
device and then we grew it we expanded
it for the more capable devices so I
want to conclude with this let’s go back
to that beginning question what’s that
app that you love what’s that app that
you use everyday could you extrapolate
the core of
that the idea of that the primary
function that app provides for its users
what is that service and then secondly
we have to think about those core
functionalities and how they could work
on the lowest end device not the highest
in as being done now that the lowest and
device what technological barriers do
you have to overcome is a current
location as it being able to receive or
send a message technology will always be
moving forward there’s no stopping that
but we must face the reality that not
everyone in the world is an ideal 4g
user now it’d be great if everyone had
the newest and latest fastest capable
device but that’s simply not the reality
and as designers we must design for that
reality so I want you to imagine for a
second imagine how people’s lives could
change if we could bring them apps that
worked on their own technology imagine
how society could reform how it could
reshape into something new thriving on
apps that provide them amazing services
see we both have the upper hand and the
privilege right now to provide these
tools to help others create real change
in their lives so therefore this is not
just an opportunity but it’s a
responsibility to extend what we have
for the needs of others thank you so
much [Applause]