1) Delight your users
Craft moments of joy:
Tiny delights can significantly shape overall impressions. The value of these small moments lies not in their utility but in their ability to be fun, uplift their mood, or be a source of inspiration.
So consider how you might spike your users’ emotion — with the simple aim of making the moment enjoyable or notable.
Key Benefits:
Engagement
Sharing
Happiness
This concept emerged when I was working on this empty state at Headspace. My aim was to make sure it was delightful and educational.
I highlight this to illustrate that joy in design isn’t always about fancy confetti animations. A slight shift from an irritating empty state to a smile-inducing moment can spark just the right amount of joy.
Simplicity works.
All credit goes to Ryan Cox, for bringing this idea to life in minutes on his ipad. He’s such a talented and kind human.
2) Make the effort visible
The labour illusion — where perceived effort = value
Make the effort behind your service visible to enhance perceived value. This is because we have a tendency to perceive products and services more favourably when we’re aware of the effort that was put in to create it.
Key Benefits:
Conversions
Trust
At Ledger we’ve added a loader before we show users our partners quotes. In reality, the quotes are calculated in milliseconds.
Why?
To increase the perception of value on the quote screen. Reading that Ledger is finding me “the best quote” makes me feel like there is something special being prepared for me and that there is a lot of work happening behind the scenes. The truth is, there really is.
Next time you use a flight comparison site such as Kayak or Skyscanner, take a moment to notice their artificial waiting screens.
2) Make the effort visible
The labour illusion — where perceived effort = value
Make the effort behind your service visible to enhance perceived value. This is because we have a tendency to perceive products and services more favourably when we’re aware of the effort that was put in to create it.
Key Benefits:
Conversions
Trust
At Ledger we’ve added a loader before we show users our partners quotes. In reality, the quotes are calculated in milliseconds.
Why?
To increase the perception of value on the quote screen. Reading that Ledger is finding me “the best quote” makes me feel like there is something special being prepared for me and that there is a lot of work happening behind the scenes. The truth is, there really is.
Next time you use a flight comparison site such as Kayak or Skyscanner, take a moment to notice their artificial waiting screens.
3) Use faces
The power of human connection:
Incorporate human faces to draw attention and evoke empathy.
Directional
Source
Keep it authentic
real faces
Here are some beautiful examples w/ prompts
Consider the emotion
Key Benefits:
Engagement
Trust
When working with Feals to boost their landing page’s e-commerce conversion rates, I conducted heatmap tests to select the optimal hero image to increase clicks on the primary CTA.
The directional gaze image emerged as the clear winner, revealing the powerful impact of guiding viewer attention with simple visual cues.
This insight also informed the creative team’s strategy for photoshoots. Ensuring they captured images with purposeful gazes, they were able to build a scalable library of attention-commanding visuals.
4) Utilize scarcity
Limited availability drives action:
Utilize scarcity to create urgency and encourage immediate action.
Misleading scarcity:
It’s all too common to see ‘limited-time’ offers, complete with countdowns, that aren’t genuinely limited. Don’t do it. It’s lazy and undermines trust when users notice the same ‘urgent’ deal later.
Consider ways to ethically utilize the scarcity effect to maintain your products integrity and ensure you don’t compromise on long-term trust. I love the way airbnb have approached scarcity in the example above. It’s clever because it both nudges you to book the stay and validates your decision to book a gem 💎
Key Benefits:
Conversions
Perceived value
5) Encourage personalization
Endowment effect = People more greatly value things they’ve put work into:
The is also known as the IKEA effect, where we place more importance on the things we’ve built ourselves.
Personalization is at the heart of all habit forming products. We all love things that feel tailored to our preferences. They resonate emotionally and are infinitely more memorable.
Allow and encourage people to personalize their experience. It will enhance their sense of ownership and perceived value.
Be mindful to find the right balance to ensure you don’t overload the user with too many inputs at the beginning of their journey. Top product teams employ progressive personalization, subtly guiding users to tailor the product — over time—to their needs.
To go deeper on this one, I highly recommend Nir Eyal’s book — How to build habit forming products.
Key Benefits:
Retention
Engagement
Sharing
5) Encourage personalization
Endowment effect = People more greatly value things they’ve put work into:
The is also known as the IKEA effect, where we place more importance on the things we’ve built ourselves.
Personalization is at the heart of all habit forming products. We all love things that feel tailored to our preferences. They resonate emotionally and are infinitely more memorable.
Allow and encourage people to personalize their experience. It will enhance their sense of ownership and perceived value.
Be mindful to find the right balance to ensure you don’t overload the user with too many inputs at the beginning of their journey. Top product teams employ progressive personalization, subtly guiding users to tailor the product — over time—to their needs.
To go deeper on this one, I highly recommend Nir Eyal’s book — How to build habit forming products.
Key Benefits:
Retention
Engagement
Sharing
A memorable moment when working on community features at Headspace was the avatar creator. It allowed you to personalize your very own character. The aim was to increase engagement with our community features and I wanted people to form an emotional attachment to their character as well as their practice.
Ken Seeno showed me his figma prototyping skills that day and they’ve stuck with me ever since. Here’s the prototype if you want to take it for a spin.
6) Start small to achieve more
The foot in the door effect:
People who first agree to a small request, are more likely to then agree to a big request later.
Freedman and Fraser, who came up with this idea, said it’s a gentle way to get someone to agree without making them feel forced.
Never use this to manipulate. This should be used to encourage behavior or change that people have already expressed is a desired outcome.
So in the context of a product that promises positive change (e.g. fitness or positive habits) this is how you should approach it:
Start small
Step it up:
Cheer them on
Keep it consistent:
Show success stories
Key Benefits:
Engagement
Trust
Value
In the Fabulous app, during onboarding, they show you a promise with your name on it. You “sign” it by pressing your thumb on the screen.
Even a small step like a thumb press can make you more likely to try the app and commit to your goals.
Small steps can lead to big outcomes.
7) Leverage loss aversion
We subconsciously avoid losing:
Loss aversion is a cognitive bias where the fear of loss outweighs the joy of gain. This principle is deeply rooted in our psychology. We are hardwired to instinctively avoid losses. Explore the psychology of this further here.
Experiencing a loss feels 2x as impactful as achieving a win. In other words, losing $100 will “hurt” more than the joy of gaining $100.
This is how you might leverage loss aversion effectively:
Highlight potential losses: Start by subtly highlighting what users might lose if they follow through with an action. This is not about creating fear but rather about emphasizing the value of what’s at stake.
Acorns are using loss aversion in a very clever way here. They reframe your potential loss as gains. Giving people a clear projection of what is at stake if they aren’t able to part with $5/week.
Provide assurance: Offer immediate validation or confirmation when users take actions that could lead to loss, reinforcing their decision and reducing anxiety. For example if people make changes in their settings and tap the back button — show a success toast telling em’ their changes were saved. Instant positive feedback helps build confidence in the product and their choices.
Remind people of their commitments: This is easy to do and motivates and encourages continued engagement. For instance, for a fitness app, after someone completes a workout, show a summary of their progress with a message like “Great work! You’ve completed 5 workouts this week. Keep up with your goal!”
Showcase success stories: At our core, often what we truly desire is transformation. Use social proof to share examples of how others have successfully transformed themselves without experiencing loss. For example for a language learning app, highlight stories from users on the benefits they gained and the losses they avoided by sticking with the program: “I almost gave up, but now I can confidently converse in Spanish, it’s really created a new spark in my relationship!”
Key Benefits:
Churn:
Conversions:
Trust:
Bonus tip: opt in toggle
Rise takes a different approach by allowing users to opt-in for reminders. This personalized approach could offer a greater sense of reassurance, as it involves a deliberate choice. It might also be a perfect moment to prompt users to turn on those pesky push notifications.
Appealing to our intrinsic motivations is why I love being a product designer. It’s such a practical blend of design, psychology and business.
Your Neuro Nuggets:
Delight your users:
Make the effort visible:
Use faces:
Utilize scarcity:
Encourage personalization:
Start small to achieve more:
Be clear on the consequences: