COMD4764 Design for Mobile, SP2017 Toggle navigation

When the internet was first created the only place content could be displayed was on a smallish, computer screen with a limited color palette. Many people still design and create their interactive documents to match this paradigm. The problem is this is a completely outdated way of looking at the display mediums for interactive content. There are three major phone and tablet operating systems each with a wide range in the screen sizes of their respective devices. There are two major computer operating systems again with a wide range of screen sizes between them. Add in wearable devices, internet equipped appliances, digital signage, and email as a communication and design medium and your content has the possibility of being seen on an ever increasing and disparate set of screens.
To deal with this new reality Responsive Design was created. Responsive design is more than just a series of design or layout techniques. It is a holistic process that begins in the design and planning phases and carries through into the development phase. To work well a responsive strategy isn’t something you tack on at the end stages of a project, it has to be in the minds of the designer/developer at the beginning.