Device-agnostic design

The term device-agnostic design refers to a philosophy of design that seeks to create services that can be accessed and used by anyone, regardless of the device or platform they are using. The vision is to ensure that all developed services work on any device, at any time, and anywhere.

When we consider device-agnostic design, we also note that it is very well-aligned with the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) design principles, which include the following:

Web for All: "The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C's primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability."

Web on Everything: "The number of different kinds of devices that can access the Web has grown immensely. Mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, interactive television systems, voice response systems, kiosks and even certain domestic appliances can all access the Web."

The ecosystem of possible devices and platforms does not, in practice, have bounds. The most common devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. However, there are also devices like smart watches, virtual reality headsets and smart home appliances, not to mention for example cars and their dashboards. There are also a wide array of platforms that one could target, which include operating systems like Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, as well as the wide variety of web browsers that can be seen as contemporary application platforms.

When designing device-agnosticly, one designs and creates interfaces that adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions, as well as to different input methods, such as touchscreens and keyboards. In line with cross-device interaction, the objective is to provide a meaningful user experience across different devices and platforms.

In practical terms, device-agnostic design involves using flexible layouts, scalable images, and responsive design techniques to ensure that content is presented in a way that provides good user experience, regardless of the device being used to view it.