TechCrunch – Jonathan Saragossi
Computer software and apps are our modern-day toys. Whether it’s a hot dating app or a system for planning molecules (a true story), interface designers must treat the process of creating a new app as if they were creating a new toy. I’m calling it “playification,” and I believe it’s a must-have tool for anyone in our industry.
Let’s face it, the users of our products, due to their overflow of stimulation and reduced ability to concentrate, are like kids in a toy store. They have infantile attention spans; our job is to catch their attention and place them in a clear process that is both enjoyable and productive. After all, we are the new toy makers.
Game-like product design is nothing new; a few years ago, the term gamification gained huge momentum. The main idea was to create mechanisms of point-based games with the goal of keeping users in the product and generating high engagement rates.
Every product team I worked with added a gamification layer of scoring and prizes to the product. It worked to some degree, but eventually wasn’t a “game changer.” Most of the products trying to implement this principle did so as a layer on top of existing products, making it too artificial, and subsequently failed.
Learning from this experience, I want to present a different approach: playification — planning the product as a playful toy from the start. This approach relates to the very core of the product. Not a layer that will gamify, but rather a new mold that will make your product an actual toy. I have implemented these principles in the past, as I continue to do today, and, time after time, they do not disappoint.
These are the principles guiding me when I design a new toy-like product:
Intuitive
A good toy allows you to understand how to play with it at a single glance. It is obvious how to operate the first layer from the get go, and you don’t need to read the instructions. The packaging (or in our case, the homepage, or instructions given upon installation) also has a role.
Remember the talking parrots and the big arrow pointing to one button? TRY ME! That is the exact idea. Does your product have one basic function that immediately clarifies its value? Is this option exposed in a way that users will press it the first time they encounter the product?
Desirable At First Sight
The goal is to recreate the strong initial sensation any good toy summons: You immediately want to grab it and try it out. It has to be attractive, especially the parts you see immediately. The importance of the screenshots on the App Store and the start screen are often overlooked; as in most apps and programs, the first screens are a sign-up screen and Terms of Use. That is not the way to design a toy. Keep the sign-up process for after the user has experienced the product.
Amazing At First Action
Have we succeeded in building something desirable, something that makes users push the button? Now we need to amaze them, right at that first push. Put the most amazing thing your product can do or create at the first click.
It sounds obvious, but you would be surprised to find out how many products place their main capabilities at a distance of many clicks. The farther away the good stuff is, the fewer users who will experience it and stay on to play. The rule of thumb is that with every click, you lose about a quarter (!) of the users.
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment