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Demystifying Multimodal Design: The Design Practice You Didn't Know You're Doing
Summary
Did you know that you're probably designing multimodal experiences? Most designers today are working in a multimodal environment, but haven't been trained to make the most of the many capabilities the latest generations of devices provide. Your customers have a small universe of devices, and they now come with the ability to handle far more than traditional haptic input like keyboards and mice. Gestural input, from swipes to hand gestures in video calls to stylus input, is becoming more common. Audio input and output are becoming more important in a world where digital assistants are poised to make a second surge powered by large language model AI. Visual output has become much more nuanced, and sometimes spans multiple devices. How do you wrangle all of this, optimize for great experiences, and still keep the human at the center? By becoming more consciously aware of the different inputs and outputs we're working with - and the many ways these inputs and outputs include and exclude our customers - we can build more resilient, more inclusive, and more powerful next-generation experiences.
Key Insights
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Most designers already practice multimodal design unintentionally by supporting multiple input and output modalities like voice, touch, and haptics.
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Multimodal design requires orchestrating how different modalities and devices communicate and transition smoothly, rather than designing in isolation.
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Users switch devices when modality limits push them to—for example, moving from phone to desktop due to input convenience.
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Cheryl’s CROW framework (Character, Relationship, Objective, Where) provides a comprehensive lens to capture user context relevant for multimodal design.
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Transitions between input and output modes, devices, and network connectivity represent critical failure points and require intentional design.
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Proactive, context-aware communication and interruption management improve user experience during multimodal and cross-device interactions.
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Multimodal design and service design are deeply intertwined, especially across multiple devices and touchpoints.
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Adaptive experiences that allow users to choose modalities based on context, such as hands-free vs. touch, lead to more inclusive designs.
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Physical remotes remain relevant because phones are not always accessible, have battery constraints, and because remotes offer lower distraction.
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Empathy for stakeholders’ goals and framing multimodal design benefits in terms of business priorities helps gain buy-in.
Notable Quotes
"Multimodal design is the design practice you probably don’t realize you’re doing already."
"The future is multimodal because humans are multimodal."
"Customers move from one device to another often because the information density or proximity to the device changes."
"Character, Relationship, Objective, and Where gives us a storytelling shorthand for fully understanding user context."
"Transitions will make or break your cross-device multimodal experiences."
"We don’t want to list every single customer activity; we need to abstract behavior patterns to manage interruptions."
"If you are altering any form of self-expression, you need to be really careful."
"Multimodal design adds a layer of orchestration on top of modality-specific designs like voice or graphical UI."
"Physical remotes have a lower power draw and are often more purpose-driven than phones, which are sources of stress."
"We treat our stakeholders as customers to understand their scenarios and align on a shared north star principle."
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