Beyond the Screen: Designing for Multi-State User Experiences

When most designers think of an interface, they picture a screen—a collection of buttons, inputs, and visual elements arranged according to a pattern library (of some sort). But what happens on the edge cases? When the user is new and the interface is empty? Or those moments when users perform specific tasks infrequently?

For example, consider the first time you open a new bank account. The task doesn’t end with account creation; it often involves funding or transferring money. Most banking apps assume there will be money in the account. But what if there isn’t? This is a perfect example of a multi-state UX moment worth designing for? 

Every app has states beyond the standard use, and these should be clearly defined and designed. Interfaces should be viewed as multi-state environments—adapting based on user familiarity, behaviour, and context. Hotel bookings, meeting events, concert tickets — any scenario with a pre-, during-, and post-state could include better guidance for typically expected “next actions.”  

Most projects focus on “regular use,” overlooking the full user lifecycle: new users, regular interactions, and those occasional or tentpole moments. The edge cases are often left to the developers or skipped in the project requirements. Designing interfaces that help inform users, and refine the requirements gathering process, can be approached by considering a couple of typical states of user engagement.

If everybody is experiencing it, why not plan for it?

Digital apps platforms have become nearly boilerplate in how they perform. The next horizons is designing interfaces that evolve with the user. Typically, users transition from a “first-run” experience to regular, ongoing tasks and occasionally return for less frequent, but critical, activities. Strategically acknowledging and planning for these states is the first step toward building better, more adaptable user experiences.

• First-Time Use (Newness): When users interact with your product for the first time, they need guidance. Onboarding steps, tooltips, and hand-holding features minimize cognitive load while users learn to navigate.
  
• Regular Use (Familiarity): As users become regulars, they no longer need guided instructions. Efficiency becomes the priority, with shortcuts, quick actions, and customizable settings taking center stage. Familiar users expect frictionless experiences.
  
• Occasional Use / Disengagement (Refreshing Memory): For sporadic users, there’s a balance between reintroducing key functions and respecting prior knowledge. Brief prompts or subtle reminders about features they haven’t interacted with for a while can be helpful.

Understanding and designing for these states helps tailor the experience to each user’s familiarity and engagement level. Most projects already account for errors at the field level. Defining error handling as a broader state allows for a more comprehensive strategy, helping users recover from an error or suggesting alternative actions.

• Error States (Expanding Beyond the Field): When something goes wrong, how does the interface as a whole—and each component specifically—help or hinder user recovery? Expanding error handling to a fully defined state for the screen can support occasional users and improve the overall experience.

The difference-maker in apps today is how effectively they assist and guide users at every stage, from initial exploration to regular engagement and occasional check-ins. Not just on correcting field level errors, but mentoring them into high performing, highly engaged power-users. 

Empower Your team and build on their insights 

The goal of any UX professional should be to inform better design decisions and to document them clearly for the team. Developers and QA testers need to know what breaks when there’s no data, and by planning for these states, teams can proactively design for them. 

Using techniques like application flows, swim-lanes, and design-based user stories, teams can rethink screens as multi-state experiences. Noting which components rely on existing data is a starting point. If the approach is to always show components—even without data—then messaging and coloru become key differentiators. If the strategy is to only show actionable content, hiding inactive elements may be the best approach. 

Codifying the teams plans into feature requirements, user stories, designs, and development plans should outline the variable states and include guidance on how to handle each alternative UX state. Once captured and integrated, it’s all implementation and iteration. Just like how Responsive Web, Touch UI, and even Accessibility rules are now part of the BAU of digital products today.

In the near future, emerging technologies like AI and machine learning could predict user states or adapt interfaces in real-time. As these technologies evolve, the potential for interfaces to self-assemble and predict user needs—perhaps before the user even realizes them—could redefine the role of UX design.

As a result, developing a UX strategy for multi-state interfaces is essential. Define a North Star, and socialize this guiding principle across all teams. When challenges arise, this strategic anchor provides a consistent approach to decision-making.

Design Beyond the Present Moment

Great UX design requires more than visually appealing screens; it’s about anticipating user needs across their entire lifecycle with your product. As accessibility once became a necessary consideration, forward thinking UX designers now build for evolving user engagement.

By adopting lifecycle thinking in UX, we’re on the vanguard of the natural growth of our industry. Gathering requirements that focus on states and adapting to users’ evolving familiarity enables UX designers and consultants to craft experiences that are not only functional, but truly intuitive; no matter when or how often users engage.

In this age of multi-state UX design, let’s focus not just on the screens themselves but on the broader journey—building interfaces that feel intuitive from the very first interaction to the hundredth.

As we continue to refine our approach, the next frontier may well be how AI assists in not only identifying these states through data analysis but also in dynamically adjusting interfaces in real-time. Until then, if you have a project that needs a forward thinking UX and/or Digital strategy, Vergel at Humanjava has you covered.