Cellos

The game in website design and technology is rapidly changing. Mobile devices are taking up more of the market, and more of everyday audiences. Screens are getting smaller, and more portable.

People have criticized the iPad as being just bigger iPhone. However, I think it makes sense to compare the two with a Cello and a Violin. Some people might say the Cello is just a super-sized version of a Violin, but musicians understand these two instruments as different tools of expressing music. Or, on a more direct comparison, an 8.5 x 11 sketchbook is used much differently than a pocket sketchbook.

Likewise, the iPad is not a blown-up version of an iPhone. It is, rather, a new media, and therefore is a new way of expressing oneself. The bigger screen on the iPad makes it easier to share information with other people, while still being small enough to carry with you on the street.

I think the iPad is the biggest recent jump in leading the future of technology, as it reaches a broader audience. Even people in poorer parts of Africa carry cell phones, because the technology has been mastered, mass-produceable, and affordable. I think the iPad is the next push towards making small -computer technology more practical for a broader audience, and will become less expensive to own over the next couple years.

Lastly, designers are challenged with designing graphics for multiple screen-sizes. Websites are experienced much differently on larger desktops than iPhones. And designers will need to figure out the best way to design for each of these different devices, creating a whole new market for the graphic design and marketing industry, and a larger consumer demand for better experiences.