Building interfaces as a system of layers.
For years we’ve thought about the web as a two-dimensional space filled with pages that sit side by side on a flat, infinite plane. But as the devices we design for take on an increasingly diverse array of shapes and sizes, we should embrace new ways of designing up and down. By building interfaces using a system of layers, we solve tricky design problems, flexibly adapt to a variety of screens, and create new patterns that will point the way to future interactions.
In geometric terms, the z-axis is the vertex that measures space above and below the x- and y-axes. Translation for those of us who napped through geometry: it’s how we describe panels and layers that sit above or below one another.
Designing on the z-axis simply means incorporating three-dimensional physics—as represented by the z-axis—into our interface designs. Not the faux-depth of skeuomorphic text shadows and button highlights, but an interface made of components that exist on distinct layers and move independently of one another.
