Reinventing Core App UX for an Ultra-Wide Mobile Device

I collaborated on the design of two flagship applications, Twitter and Spotify, for the Essential Project Gem smartphone. A radically unconventional device defined by its ultra-tall, narrow horizontal form factor. This project required rethinking the most established mobile interaction patterns from the ground up.

The primary challenge was to translate vertically native, feed-driven interfaces into a horizontally constrained, single-hand device with significant physical and digital limitations. We had to reconsider fundamental UX assumptions around scrolling, hierarchy, reachability, content density, and gesture models. Every interaction had to feel intentional, legible, and fluid within extreme spatial constraints.

Approaching the work as a form-factor-first UX experiment, we explored new navigation paradigms, adaptive layouts, and content prioritization strategies that preserved the essence of each platform while making them usable in a dramatically different physical context. The outcome demonstrated how platform behaviors can be preserved without being rigidly tied to legacy screen assumptions.