370: Designing for One Hand

370: Designing for One Hand

Author: Brian Lovin, Marshall Bock October 28, 2020 Duration: 33:06

This week, we discuss the tradeoffs and challenges of designing interfaces for one-handed use. In The Sidebar, we talk about strategies for collaborating effectively with brand and product design.


Golden Ratio Patrons:

Float
Float has been a lifeline for teams working remotely in 2020. With float you can send your team their work schedule (daily or weekly) via Slack or email, and keep them in the loop of any changes to their tasks and projects with live notifications. You can also let your team know where you're working from with Float's scheduled status. Working from the lake house next week? Add it in Float to let your team know, ahead of time! Learn more at float.com/designdetails.

CuriosityStream
Learn about any topic with CuriosityStream; the first on-demand documentary streaming service. There is always something new to learn about with thousands of award-winning documentaries on Technology, History, Nature, Food, Science, Travel, and more! Can’t decide what to watch? Try CuriosityStream’s new feature, ON NOW, to watch a continuous stream of the best documentaries. Get an entire year of streaming for just $14.99 when you sign up at curiositystream.com/design.


Latest VIP Patrons:

  • Andrea Molnar
  • Aaron Burkhart
  • Dominic Holmes
  • Altay Aydemir
  • Austin Schafer
  • Pfutz
  • Mable Wong

The Sidebar:

The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to full episodes going forward! Sign up at https://patreon.com/designdetails.

In this week's Sidebar, we talk about how to effectively collaborate between brand and product design.


Follow up:


Main topic:

vinnie329 asks on our GitHub:

I would love to get both your takes on the one-hand myth that a lot of designers seem to buy-in to when designing for mobile. The myth suggests that all people use one hand to interact with their phones and so interfaces should be designed accordingly. This may have been true on the early smartphones which were smaller and where apps tended to be simpler. However, with devices getting bigger and heavier it seems like people use both hands for more complex, high-stakes tasks (buying something) and one hand for simple, low-stakes tasks (scrolling through a feed). Is this what you guys have found to be true? And is there any recent research around how people use their hands to interact with their phones?


Cool Things:


Design Details on the Web:


Arrivederci!

P.S. Gorlami


Every week, Brian Lovin and Marshall Bock settle in for a thoughtful, often meandering chat that pulls back the curtain on how things are made. Their Design Details podcast lives in the rich space where technology and the arts intersect, focusing less on polished case studies and more on the real, sometimes messy, work of design. You’ll hear them dissect the nuances of product decisions, debate the evolving culture of creative teams, and share personal stories from their own experiences in the industry. It feels less like a lecture and more like eavesdropping on a conversation between two deeply knowledgeable friends. The discussions regularly venture into the philosophical side of craft, examining why certain choices resonate and how design shapes our daily interactions with the world. For anyone curious about the thinking behind the pixels and interfaces, this show offers a consistent, grounded perspective. Tuning in provides a sense of community and a candid look at the process, making it a staple for designers and creators who appreciate substance over flash.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Design Details
Podcast Episodes
444: Writing Effective Self-Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:03
This week, we share our tips for writing better self-reviews during performance review season.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month…
443: Design Systems Interviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
This week, we talk about interviewing for roles in design systems, what to prepare, and how many different kinds of skills are relevant in the field.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon…
442: It Doesn't Have to Be Right [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week, we share stories and lessons from some of our most memorable mentors.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for access to…
441: WWDC 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:12
This week, we recap all of our favorite...design details...announced at this week's WWDC.The Sidebar:The Sidebar is an exclusive weekly segment for our Patreon supporters. You can subscribe starting at $1 per month for a…
440: Don’t Call It a Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
This week, we talk about how to make design critiques more fun, and how to encourage teams to share their work-in-progress more often.Supported by:Play — Play is the first native iOS design tool built for creating mobile…
439: Config 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:59
This week, we cover all of the exciting new releases from Config 2022, and do a deep dive into the new version of Auto Layout.Supported by:Clay — Clay is the beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populat…
438: Dissecting Substack’s Podcast Player [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:18
This week, we dissect Substack’s new podcast player design, talking about both the pixels and the strategic advantage of sharing craft-specific content on Twitter. In the Sidebar, we talk about the nature and risks of cr…
437: Scaling Design Critique [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:34
This week, we talk about methods to scale design critiques with a growing team. In the Sidebar, we dig into the...details...of Figma's latest UI changes which added file type icons to file tabs.Golden Ratio Supporters:Ze…
436: Reclaiming Your Focus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:25
This week, we share our tips and strategies for reclaiming our focus to do deep design work. In the Sidebar, we revisit last week's conversation about the value of ideas and finding the right time to share an idea with t…
435: New Feature Launch Checklist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:40
This week, we share the checklist that we use when launching new features to make sure we’re not missing certain states, flows, or edge cases. In the Sidebar, we talk about working in public and the risk of people steali…