Building mobile experiences that people actually use
We started teaching mobile design when most courses still focused on desktop-first thinking. Now we help designers across New Zealand create interfaces that work on the screens people carry everywhere.
What drives our approach
Back in 2015, we noticed something odd. Design education was obsessed with massive desktop layouts while everyone around us spent their days scrolling on phones. The disconnect felt absurd.
So we built a curriculum around mobile-first principles before it became standard practice. We focused on constraints—small screens, thumb zones, variable connectivity—because those limitations force better design decisions.
Our students learn by building real interfaces for real devices. Not theoretical exercises, but actual prototypes they can test on their phones during lunch breaks. The feedback loop stays tight and practical.
- Courses designed around how people actually hold and interact with their devices
- Projects that account for one-handed use, interrupted attention, and varied lighting conditions
- Techniques borrowed from native app development applied to responsive web design
- Regular updates as mobile platforms evolve and new interaction patterns emerge
Numbers that matter to us
Why we focus exclusively on mobile
Desktop design skills transfer poorly to mobile contexts. The interaction models differ fundamentally—hover states disappear, click targets need different sizing, navigation patterns shift completely.
We teach designers to think in gestures rather than mouse movements. Swipes, pinches, and long-presses create different affordances. Screen real estate becomes precious, so every element needs justification.
Our curriculum covers performance considerations specific to mobile networks, battery-conscious animation techniques, and how to design for thumbs rather than cursors. These details change everything about interface decisions.