The storytelling design is especially effective on small screens because the NYT team designed the illustration features with mobile app conventions, like switches and toggles, in mind. Despite the complexity of the material, you can explore the entire story with one hand. The open web is more capable than ever, and in our own user testing at Code and Theory, we've seen audiences respond positively to mobile app paradigms thoughtfully implemented on the web.

Audiences don't keep track of "rules" that govern what kind of UI should appear where. They just care about what works. We expect to see "app-like" experience design continue to succeed on the mobile web.