Ever get sucked into a game, where you spend hours chasing the sweet feeling of accomplishment, and wanting to win more or keep trying until you do? Well, that’s not magic, it’s UX design with a secret weapon. Want your designs to keep your users immersed? You can use the same tricks to make the operation of an app feel like you just conquered a level. Get ready to learn about the protagonist in this story; persuasive design and its tiny but mighty sidekick, micro-interactions.
Let’s face it, an app with a cluttered interface is like a board game with missing pieces — leading the user only to frustration. Here, User Experience Design comes in to craft interfaces that are functional and intuitive. But what if we could take it a step further and create interfaces that delighted users and kept them engaged? This is where persuasive design slides in.
The User Psychology Playbook
On some websites, you might sign up for a service and immediately receive a free trial. This is a tactic coined by Dr. Robert Cialdini, a persuasion guru. His book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” outlines six principles that influence our decisions.
Reciprocity: We feel obligated to return favours received from others.
Commitment and Consistency: Once we make a choice, we strive to remain consistent with that decision.
Social Proof: We look to the actions of others to determine what is correct.
Liking: We are more likely to be persuaded by people we find likable.
Authority: We tend to defer to figures of authority and expertise.
Scarcity: We desire things that are perceived as limited or in short supply.
Slightly abstract? See how you can relate them to the digital world:
Free Stuff Makes Friends (Reciprocity): The free trial these websites offer, taps into reciprocity. Reciprocation makes you feel obligated to engage further because you got something first.
Your Commitment (Commitment and Consistency): Ever personalised an app’s settings? This is the commitment and consistency principle. By allowing you the customization of your experience according to your preferences, it will lead you to engage more with it.
The Power of the Crowd (Social Proof): User reviews and social media buzz are like digital whispers saying, “This app is awesome!” That’s social proof in action, building trust and making you feel confident about using it.
Microinteractions: The Little Impactful Design Elements
Consider pressing a button and watching a cool animation appear. Or hearing a satisfying chime after completing a task. These are micro-interactions, small design features that respond to what you do. They might appear inconsequential, but they’re a really big deal — they help in:
Understanding the System: Imagine you click a button, and no changes occur on the screen — any regular user would be left wondering if anything happened, or they’d press it multiple times. A system with clear micro-interactions lets you know instantly if something is happening or not.
Polishing the Experience: A photo popping up when you hover on it lets you know that it is clickable. When you do click on it, a smooth transition takes you to the next page. When an app has been well-crafted with micro-interactions like these, it feels smooth and professional, creating a bridge between one user action to the next. It’s like putting sprinkles on top of an already yummy cake!
The Perfect Match: Persuasive Design Meets Microinteractions
Think about a progress bar that fills up as you complete a task (Scarcity) — it’s like the loading screen for a game, building anticipation, ensuring your wait time is engaging — and persuading you not to exit the screen. Or perhaps an entertaining animation that appears when you finish one stage (Liking) — it’s almost as if someone is giving you a virtual high five — it pushes you subconsciously to want more — and consequently, you follow through on that want.
Through embedding micro-interactions with persuasive design, us designers will be able to prompt users subtly into positive actions.
What To Remember: Making User Experience A Better Experience
The line between positive nudges and being manipulative, making users feel forced to perform actions is a thin one. When the designer/the design starts becoming the sole beneficiary, it is teetering on the very edge of that line. However, the ethical use of persuasive design can do wonders for your UX design. When you know what Cialdini’s principles are and how to apply them in micro-interactions, you can develop interfaces that are not just usable, but also direct users towards desired outcomes, with the added benefit of keeping them satisfied and delighted. When you next design an interaction, think about utilising these methods to ensure it is as interesting and gratifying as any game that captivates you!
Co-authored with Atharv singh.
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