MULTI-MODAL SYSTEM DESIGN

As interfaces evolve from computer-readable to human-readable, the rules of interaction design have to evolve with them. This project tackled the challenge of designing a cohesive multi-modal system for the Bose ecosystem — one that would ensure every product, regardless of its input method, feels unmistakably and consistently Bose.

The central insight driving the work: when a user buys a Bose product, it should act and react like one. That meant establishing a shared interaction language across touch, gesture, voice, and beyond — so that knowledge gained on one product transfers naturally to the next, building user confidence across the entire ecosystem.

A core area of focus was gesture design. The work defined principles for making gestures intuitive and low-effort — favoring single-vector, short-duration interactions over complex multi-step ones, and grounding new gestures in familiar metaphors users already know, like a swipe to dismiss or a sliding scale for volume. Skeuomorphic references to prior learned behaviors were embraced deliberately, helping users make sense of new interaction methods without starting from scratch.

The system also accounted for human-based inputs — head nods, gaze detection, and conversational cues — pointing toward a future where interaction feels less like operating a device and more like a natural exchange. Throughout, the guiding principle was restraint: fewer gestures per surface, clearer hierarchy, and a consistent ecosystem-wide vocabulary that scales gracefully to new products over time.

When a user buys a Bose product, let’s make sure it acts, and reacts like one.

Over time, out User Interfaces have evolved from computer-readable, to human-readable, making interactions more natural, and implicit.

Gestures that are short in duration, and focused in are most easily accessible and executable — for instance, single-vector gestures are more easily afforded than gestures with multiple twists and turns.

Consider how you can use familiar metaphors to support gestures that feel natural to the user, like a flick or a swipe away from the user to exit something, or confirm you want it out of your focus.

Avoid supporting too many gestures on a single surface, or multiple surfaces in close proximity. Doing so will decrease the risk user confusion, and false positives. Prioritize primary controls and think about what other modalities may be best suited for secondary controls.

Affording a set of common gestures across our ecosystem allows our users the ability reapply their knowledge to new product, which builds their confidence in themselves, and in Bose.

When considering additions to the set of gestures, consider how that gesture could be applied to other ecosystem, rather than a single product.

Consider the positive in skeuomorphic reference to previously learned behavior. Although a 1-to-1 solution may not apply, we can use nuances of a previous interface to help a user make sense of a new interaction method.

As examples, users already use sliders to adjust volume or swipe away at things they don’t like, so creating gestures that follow a sliding scale for volume, or a flick to dismiss build upon those familiar metaphors.

Human-based gestures take advantage of actions a user typically performs in conversation. For example, a head nod is a common action that has obvious connotations around acceptance. Gaze detection can also be employed to determine focus and attention.