Ritzie WilliamsUX & Product Design Leader | Data‑Driven, User‑Centered, and Focused on Business Growth | Strategy, Research & Scalable Systems

The hardest part of designing across device sizes? It’s not what you think…

Name: The hardest part of designing across device sizes? It’s not what you think…
Uploaded: 2025-06-11T16:20:34+00:00
Duration: 1 min 6 s
Channel: Ritzie Williams
Description: In this video, the speaker argues that the biggest challenge in designing for multiple device sizes is not the technical differences between platforms…

11 Jun 2025 · 1 min

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1:06

In this video, the speaker argues that the biggest challenge in designing for multiple device sizes is not the technical differences between platforms, but the sheer amount of time and effort required to produce high‑quality, multi‑screen layouts. He explains that even when a feature is well‑defined, designers must still create separate designs for mobile, tablet, desktop, and extended desktop, each with its own screens and patterns. This multiplies the workload and can compress development timelines, especially when a two‑week sprint leaves only a short window for actual design work after the initial discovery phase. The core message is that time constraints, rather than platform nuances, are the hardest part of cross‑device design.

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What's the hardest part for designing across platforms? I'd really say it's about time. I wouldn't say that it's harder to adjust based on platform. I just say it's about having the time to properly deliver high-quality results across multiple platforms. Sometimes, you know, the feature has to change depending on— you might have to add new screens, patterns change, things are different on on the devices, and you have to design that, and you have to show that layout, and it just takes time. You can draw it all out and, you know, do it that way. Even if you have the feature figured out, it still just takes time. And if you have, like, if you're supposed to deliver something in 2 weeks and you spend the first week figuring it out, right, like just kind of figuring out what the feature is, that only gives you like a week to do it. And if it's multiple screens, you got— and you do it, say you do mobile first, then you have to do it on tablet, desktop, extended desktop. It ends up being just a level of work. So I think the hardest part of delivering across devices is just time for the amount of effort.