Designing for Emotions
What makes a digital product special? How is it possible to persuade users to prefer one solution over competitors who offer the same solution? This article is for any contributor in the design of digital products, to help emphasize the importance of brand personality during the moments that matter.
Although making a product valuable and easy should always be our primary concern — understanding user needs, getting them from point A to point B with as little friction as possible — we should also strive for uniqueness in that journey, and seek to connect with users at a level that is emotional rather than solely utilitarian.
Delight from the product value, as well as its ease of use, are already drivers of high utilization; however, adding emotional impact is the key aspect that will solidify users’ preferences into loyalty.
NOTE: In this article, I’m associating human interactions that build stronger connections as a means to delight users while interacting with digital products and explaining how connecting these dots can help us make better design decisions and priorities. I strongly suggest that readers explore the included sources in which I found the theories I hereby present.
Bond with your users as you’d bond with a friend
“A relationship when one party is oblivious to the most profound moments in the life of the other is not a relationship.” — Chip and Dan Heath, The Power of Moments
Just as in human relationships, products that leverage features of good human connection, such as using an authentic, positive approach to connect with users, during moments that instinctively require it (e.g. a pandemic), go a long way toward building trust, by listening, empathizing, and reacting upon the context experience of the user in a human way.
“Connection is why we are here. Connection is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. The ability to feel connected is what we are wired to do.” — Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Because humans are wired to connect, products that tap into this natural human trait should uncover the same outcome. How unique your reaction is in a moment that requires it, is what will define the personality of your brand, that unique identity that will distinguish it from the rest.
It’s not only about what you say, it’s also about how and when you say it.
Find the correct time for the product to show its competitive advantage, its brand personality. Just like traits that define a person as more likable over others, authenticity, compassion, and uniqueness go a long way for digital products as well. However, timing is very important here for the sake of your authenticity, as that is validated when reactions occur during moments that actually matter. Designing experiences that are conscious of when these occur create stronger and more genuine connections with your users.
As explained in the book, The Power of Moments, which I strongly recommend, to grasp the importance of this concept in product design, look carefully at the elements present during the key moments when customers interact with your product. The reaction in these moments will directly echo your personality.
The book defines moments in two categories: The positive, dominated by four elements, pride, elevation, and insight, and the negative, composed of hardship, pain, and anxiety.
Here are some examples of events that users experience in their interactions with digital products and how to show that human side:
Installs and first impressions
The Moment: The app store, the “splash” screen, etc.
Their Emotion: A moment of excitement that comes from discovering something new: elevation and insight.
Your Reaction? Set the scene, say hello your way, with your style, and greet them with a smile.
Task completions
The Moment: The task was completed successfully.
Their Emotion: A process of anxiety and pain, which in the end results in pride and elevation.
Your Reaction? Provide users with the continuous positive reinforcement we all crave. Praise their sense of control and focus. End on a good note. Empathize with their delightful accomplishment.
Goals: setting, progress, achievement, and sharing
The Moment: Ready, set, goal.
Their Emotion: A flow of highs and lows from anxiety to pride, elevation, insight, and possibly connection.
Your Reaction? Praise their commitment, control, and empowerment. Look at you, way to go!
Personal recognition
The Moment: Notifications/likes/views/shares count, etc.
Their Emotion: A sense of connection, pride, and elevation from peer appreciation.
Your Reaction? Feed the perception of social acceptance, their social currency.
“Just as people use money to buy products or services, they use social currency to achieve desired positive impressions among their families, friends, and colleagues.” — Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On
Learning something new
The Moment: a “did you know”, a quote, or even a statistic details view.
Their Emotion: Insight, or even connection when sharing.
Your Reaction? Feed their sense of knowing a secret, a conversation starter, something they’ll know, which others may not.
“…Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting their products and ideas along the way.” — Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On
Reaching a dead end or unexpected results
The Moment: An empty state after a search action, a 404 page, or even an area that requires an action to populate content.
Their Emotion: Moments of anxiety, hardship, and pain.
Your Reaction? It’s not the end of the world that we are here; please grab some candy while you wait. Even better, play a game.
Integrate this model and map these moments in digital experiences. Stop talking to the brain, and speak to the heart.
Memories built from positive moments, not negative ones
In today’s competitive market, when utility and usability may not be enough, loyalty and trust cannot be an afterthought.
“It’s not the best product that wins, it’s the one that creates a habit in people.” — Nir Eyal, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Empathy means not only listening to your users but reacting during events that require us to do so; authenticity is then making it special — because just as in our personal lives, when you see a friend who is going through a hard moment, you attend to them. Look at negative moments in the user’s experience as opportunities for you to become memorable.
The human side of digital interaction that leaders in the arena are aware of and nurture is the importance of uniqueness beyond usefulness.
A bad moment of “no connection” is an opportunity to be special and turn a negative into a positive memory. Sure, the page you were looking for couldn’t load, but you’ve unlocked a game as a token of that misfortune. The user didn’t reach a dead end, they unlocked a minigame, an unexpected reward.
Grab a souvenir if you are on your way out
Beyond transforming negatives into positives, mark those milestones in their journey. Leverage gamification techniques and record good memories by providing the user with a giveaway gesture when these occur (e.g. badges). Highlighting significant milestones in the user’s journey with continuous positive reinforcements is like providing the user with a “souvenir” for greater remembrance later, and a constant “win” every step of the way. These objects solidify important milestones and turn those moments into attachments, providing the user with an important event with which to remember their experience with your product and relationship with your brand.
The compilation of these tangible memories helps bring a moment back to life, as the badges earned become mnemonics of your brand. Help the user relive your connection while reflecting on that visual later. These memories are just like those bracelets/tickets from concerts you’ve gone to, which you still keep in that special drawer. It’s not about the object, it’s about the memory.
Memorable attachments help reinforce not only the connection but the continuous appreciation of a relationship with a product/service over time.
It’s not about having a perfect experience, it’s about having one that can be remembered
We try to craft impeccably designed products with a perfect balance of quality and mitigated risk of friction from beginning to end. Special focus should be paid to the users’ emotional waves in that experience and how you are perceived on those key moments of greatest vulnerability.
Since it’s human nature to not remember every single detail of experiences we live through, flagship events are the ones that turn into memories and how we actually remember the full experience. It’s these moments that actually impact the way users will rate a product, in the tilting balance of negatives and positives.
“Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember.” — Oscar Levant
Emotional experiences will always trump users’ memory. People will talk about how you made them feel. Just as they say, “our lives are measured in moments,” it is those special moments that endure in our memories. Leveraging this powerful factor to influence your design priorities will enrich the overall experience and make your product one that everyone will remember, distinguish, and love. Maximize customer satisfaction not by trying to be completely perfect but being extra attentive in key moments of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
We don’t choose between experiences; we choose between memories of experiences. What we remember is what we felt, not what we actually lived through.
Don’t aim for users, aim for ambassadors
So, what makes your product special, is not just the value and ease of use but how YOU did that for your user. Why not leverage this powerful human trait to build memorable, emotional connections? Building relationships not only creates trust with your user but radiates that trust to others, leveraging the most powerful way of marketing: organic, natural word of mouth, because when you provide something that makes your users feel exclusive, they’ll be more likely to tell their friends.
Delighting users above the norm of utility and usability is what will ultimately influence their perception of your brand and their decision making to prefer you. Since emotions overcome actions, bond with your users emotionally; that is what will drive them to act. When what you say may not be remembered, focus on what YOU make them feel.
Become the author of richer experiences and a richer life by humanizing technology. Why leave your customers’ most cherished moments to chance when you can create them?
Recommended reading (references):
- The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact ~ A book by Chip and Dan Heath.
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead ~ A book by Brené Brown.
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products ~ A book by Nir Eyal.
- Contagious: Why Things Catch On ~ A book by Jonah Berger.
