Improving User Experience for Apps

Can you spot how Canva's pricing pages changes between these three images? Answer: The calculator. The price. The UI. When I type '1' person into the box, I see an outline around the 'Pro' column. Showing me this is the plan for me. When I type 2, I see the outline move to the 'Team' plan. Then I play around, I find that typing 100 moves the shiny outline to the Enterprise column. How fun. Notice how the tiers are also all purple with a crown (premium branding) versus the grey block that is free. Not only that, but the pricing increases. Showing me exactly how much I will pay (per year, not per month). Why is this so powerful? It’s not the calculator itself, it’s the feeling of control on the page. It’s about autonomy (and a bit of fun). Toggles, calculators, sliding scales — anything to give the user a sense of customisation, empowerment and control — can increase engagement. Making people feel like they’ve curated their experience (even if it’s from a choice of two options). Why? Users feel more invested in the product when they can shape their own experience. The ability to make choices also fosters a sense of ownership over the UI itself. Really? Perhaps. Psychology says so. BUT you'll have to see whether this works for your product. It's on Canva's page now - we'll check in again later to see if its stuck (and likely won out as a variant). Seen this elsewhere? ----- Hiiiii, I'm Rosie 👋 I do a weekly deep dives on growth, product & UX. 📅 Previously: DeepSeek: when UI doesn't matter 📅 Last week: Watch out - Gemini is coming for your Google Workspace 📅 This week: Slack, Grammarly and Mobbin's user research Head to growthdives.com to get them first 🕺

At 12:43 AM, I got rear-ended on the motorway with my wife in the driver’s seat. The responder that comforted me wasn’t human – yet it beat 99% of support reps I’ve ever spoken to. Here’s how Aviva’s AI chatbot earned my trust: I was standing in my driveway, shaken and exhausted, after being rear-ended on the motorway. My wife was still trying to process what happened. The last thing I wanted to do was… • talk to an insurance agent • go through 5 levels of IVR • repeat myself for the third time …but I needed to make a claim. So I opened the app, just to see what I could do. The support I received completely changed my mood within seconds. And it wasn't a rep who made my day. That app was Aviva’s — and the entire flow was powered by AI. I was just a tired husband looking for help, and they met me exactly where I was. Here’s what they got right (and what every B2B business can learn from): 1) Move from 'personalization' to instant recognition. As soon as I opened the app, the system immediately • greeted me by name • pulled up my active policies • guided me like a concierge. In moments of stress, the LAST thing I want to do is “log in, verify, and explain myself.” Recognition builds trust. Fast. If your AI asks the user things you already know, it's annoying – not smart. 2) A guided journey beats a flexible one. At no point during my claim did I feel lost. Aviva's AI suggested my next step before I even typed:  → “New or existing claim?” → “What kind of incident?” → “Want to upload images now or later?” Simple prompts. Clear direction. Fast action. In high pressure moments like this, decision fatigue is real. People want to be guided – and that guidance gives them freedom, momentum, and clarity. 3) Human handoff wasn't gatekept. Here's the part that really earned my trust. At any point, I could:  → Request a callback → Ask for a live agent → Leave the session without restarting later That option was always visible, never hidden. It told me: “You’re not trapped. We’ve got you — however you want to engage.” Trust breaks when users feel trapped. You don't gain efficiency by hiding the human behind a fortress of menus. — I didn't expect that midnight claim to teach me so much about user experience. The best AI doesn't feel like AI at all. Rather, it feels like someone who thought about you in advance. So the next time you're building a digital journey, ask: → Do we recognise who our users are and guide them without overwhelm? → Do we let them opt out when it gets too much? → Would we enjoy using this at 1am, after a bad day? If the answer isn’t a big, bold YES – it’s time to rethink it. Your solution is shaping how your customers feel about your brand in their most vulnerable moments. Offer empathy + trust at scale. 

You are using a platform that approves access and triggers automated actions. Then something goes wrong and nobody can explain why. Trust-by-design starts there: people need visibility and control before damage spreads. The practical point is simple. A platform does not earn trust only because it works on a normal day. It earns trust when people can understand what happened and how to stop the same issue from spreading. Transparency is the first layer. Users and teams should be able to see which action was taken and which rule made it happen. Without that visibility, even a secure platform can feel like a black box. Accountability makes the system governable. When approvals and corrections have clear owners, problems do not disappear inside the workflow. They can be reviewed, fixed, and learned from. Security then has to protect daily use, not only the perimeter. Data flows and system connections are where real operational risk enters, especially when automated actions depend on them. Human control is what turns trust into practice. People need a real way to pause, question, or correct a decision before the platform scales an error. #TrustByDesign #DigitalTrust

We often say “people don’t buy products, they buy feelings.” But here’s the twist; people don’t just buy feelings. They experience them through design. Every swipe, scroll, haptic pulse, sound cue, and animation is a moment of emotional choreography. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • FEATURES DON’T CONVERT - FEELINGS DO A smooth interface isn’t enough anymore. What converts is the emotion the experience evokes - relief, delight, confidence, or even belonging. You don’t remember the app that loaded fastest. You remember the one that made you smile when it did. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • FEELINGS DRIVE DECISIONS (AND REVENUE) → Cognitive fluency: Interfaces that are simple and predictable “feel right,” which reads as trustworthy and high quality. → Loss aversion: Users work harder to avoid losing what they’ve earned (credits, streaks, carts) than to gain something new. → Peak–End rule: People remember the emotional high point and the ending. Design your peaks and endings like they’re your brand. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • MICRO-INTERACTIONS = MICRO-EMOTIONS → Apple’s haptics reduce uncertainty and signal precision (visceral satisfaction confidence). → Netflix previews create open loops (Zeigarnik effect) that pull you into a session before you choose. → Duolingo blends encouragement + accountability: streaks (goal-gradient), “streak freeze” (loss aversion), leaderboards (social proof), and the owl’s tone (gentle shame → commitment). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • CLOSE THE “AFFECTIVE GAP” BETWEEN GOOD AND GREAT Good brands ship usable features. Great brands shape feelings across the whole journey: → Visceral layer (first glance): Reduce cognitive load; make the next action obvious. → Behavioral layer (in use): Show progress, provide reversible choices, celebrate milestones. → Reflective layer (memory): End on a high, summarize achievement, invite sharing. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • MAKE EMOTION MEASURABLE Feelings aren’t fluffy if you pick the right lenses: → Confidence Task success without help, drop in abandonment at critical steps. → Progress Time-to-first-value, streak retention, return after day 7/30. → Belonging/Recognition Organic shares, community replies, unsolicited reviews. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • When emotion becomes part of UX, you don’t just create usability. You create affinity. Because features are copied. But feelings? Those are proprietary. ------------------------------------------ 💬 Let me know what you think 🔗 Share if helpful! 👉 Follow Anand Sankara Narayanan for brand stories & strategies ------------------------------------------

I Redesigned a Crypto Dashboard. Users Finished Tasks 68% Faster. As a UX designer, I thought crypto dashboards needed more features. I was wrong. They need less friction. After 47 user interviews and countless iterations designing CoinSphere, Here's what changed everything: The Problem: ❌ Before: 6 clicks to see Bitcoin price ✅ After: Instant view on dashboard load ❌ Before: Charts with 12 indicators ✅ After: One clean line showing what matters Result: 68% faster task completion ⚡ Here's What Actually Works: 🎯 Show What Matters First → Balance at the top – users want to know their worth instantly → Top coins visible without scrolling → Real-time updates without manual refresh 🎨 Design for Trust → Dark mode reduces eye strain for extended trading → Green/red for instant comprehension → Clean charts over overwhelming graphs ⚡ Make Actions Effortless → Buy crypto in 2 clicks max → Trading tools always in sidebar → Zero hidden menus or surprises 4 UX Principles That Drive Results: Clarity → Users scan, not read. Make it obvious. Simplicity → Hide advanced features until needed. Feedback → Show every change instantly. Consistency → Keep patterns familiar and predictable. One user told me "I finally feel in control of my crypto." That's when I realized: Good UX = Confidence. Key Takeaway: Every element should answer: "Does this help users make better decisions?" Because in finance, confused users don't convert. They leave. What's your biggest UX challenge in fintech/crypto? Let's discuss in the comments 👇 #UXDesign #CryptoUX #ProductDesign #UserExperience #FintechDesign #DashboardDesign

You open an app. It asks for your email before you’ve seen anything. Then a permissions request. Then a loading spinner. By the fourth screen, you’re out. It’s easy to blame churn on onboarding friction. But what actually failed was the contract. Every interaction is a trade. You give time, attention, or data. You expect something back. If the swap feels fair, you keep going. If it doesn’t, you leave. This is the part most teams miss. They chase features, funnels, and engagement metrics. But product/market fit doesn’t arrive all at once. It’s stitched together through a chain of moments that each feel like a good deal. Every screen is a contract. Every click is an incentive test. When something doesn’t feel worth it, users don’t rage quit. They just fade. No notification. No feedback. Just a quiet decision: not worth it. It starts with the first ask. The second click. The moment when a user’s effort isn’t matched by a reward. Most products ask too soon, give too late, and hide the payoff behind one more step. Over time, those mismatched trades add up to mistrust. You can’t delight someone who doesn’t feel safe. And you can’t surprise someone who already left. When product/market fit fails, it often looks like weak retention. But underneath that is a series of broken contracts. Ask yourself: what are you really offering in return for the user’s effort? Do they get it right away? Do they even know it’s coming? Good products pass this test quietly. They build trust one swap at a time. Tap, reward. Scroll, reveal. Submit, unlock. No lectures. No magic. Just a rhythm of fairness that makes the next click feel like a smart bet. This is how TikTok nails it. One swipe, one payoff. Same with Duolingo. Same with Instagram stories. Clear trade, fast return, no confusion about what’s being asked or what you’ll get. The loop feels cheap, in a good way. If users are leaving, don’t just look at where the drop off is happening. Look at what the swap was. What were you asking for? What were they getting? Was it clear? Was it instant? Did it feel like the next action would be worth more than the last one? Don’t think of design as a layer on top of the product. It is the pricing model. It’s where users decide if the trade is fair. The best UX goes beyond removing friction. It prices attention fairly. It keeps the loop intact. It rewards people before they’re asked to commit. And when it fails, it fails like a contract: quietly, but with consequences. That’s what product/market fit really is. A long chain of fair trades that never feel overpriced. If you’ve been struggling to get people to stick, you’re not alone. But before you fix the feature, audit the contract. See where the swaps stopped feeling worth it. Because that’s where trust broke. And trust is what product/market fit is made of.

Information design matters a lot! It's what helps users quickly understand what they're seeing, what matters, and what to do next. Today we're breaking down Google One's pricing card. This simple component is packed with smart choices around layout, spacing, typography, and visual hierarchy. 🔶 Typography hierarchy: - Plan names use a bold, medium-sized font that creates clear distinction - Pricing uses larger, weighted typography to draw immediate attention - Feature lists maintain consistent spacing with subtle color variations - Secondary information is appropriately de-emphasized 🔶 Spacing & Layout: - Generous padding creates breathing room and reduces cognitive load - Consistent vertical rhythm between elements guides the eye naturally - Strategic use of white space prevents information overload - Card boundaries are clearly defined without being heavy-handed 🔶 Visual Hierarchy: - Price points are the dominant visual element (as they should be) - Feature comparisons are scannable at a glance - Call-to-action buttons have appropriate prominence - Color choices reinforce the information structure Tight spacing groups related elements, while broad spacing separates concepts. Typography weight guides attention so users never have to hunt for important information. When patterns are consistent and predictable, users can focus on content. 🔶 The Takeaway Great design communicates its purpose clearly. When spacing, typography, and hierarchy work together, users can make decisions faster, which is important for sections like pricing pages. Information design is a key skill for both designers and developers. Master these basics, and you'll create interfaces that convert.

€250,000+ in additional yearly revenue. From a small UX change. No new traffic. No new products. The brand already had everything in place: • bundle discounts • multi-pack pricing • clear value for buying more On paper, it should have worked. But most customers ignored it. The issue wasn’t pricing. It was how the offer was experienced. When we looked at behavior, it became clear: Users weren’t engaging with the bundle options. Not because they didn’t care… But because nothing pushed them to. They didn’t: • notice the options • feel the benefit • understand the difference So they defaulted to the easiest choice. The brand had already tried the obvious fixes: • pre-selecting higher quantities • forcing bundles • small UI tweaks Nothing moved AOV in a meaningful way. So instead of pushing harder… We changed how the decision felt. The insight was simple: People don’t respond to pricing tables. They respond to feedback. Progress. Small rewards. That’s where the change came in. We made upgrading feel like a better choice - not just a cheaper one. A simple progress-style selector. Clear savings messaging. Visual feedback that updated instantly. Small interactions that made the action feel rewarding. Now users didn’t have to think. They could see the value. And feel it. That’s what shifted behavior. The result: +1.20% revenue uplift Which translated into: €250,000+ in additional yearly revenue The takeaway isn’t about bundles. It’s about behavior. Customers don’t choose the best option. They choose the option that feels easiest and most rewarding. If your AOV isn’t improving, don’t just change pricing. Look at how the decision is experienced. Follow for CRO frameworks, ecommerce insights, and real test breakdowns.

Dear founders, Nobody cares about your personal taste in how your app should look. Your users decide that. Not you. And I say this with love, because the sooner you accept it, the faster your app grows. Here is what your user is thinking the moment they open your app for the first time: Do I know what this app does? Do I know what happens when I tap this button? Does this feel like something made for someone like me? Would I be comfortable telling my friend to download this? Those are not design questions. That is a human being deciding whether to trust you. And you have about 7 seconds to earn that trust. Not with fancy animations. Not with a beautiful logo. With clarity. With copy that sounds like a real person wrote it. With images that look like their actual life. With a CTA that tells them exactly what happens next, no guessing, no confusion. When you get that right, something beautiful happens. Your user stops being a user. They become invested. They open your app every single day. They hit their goals. They feel good. And then, without you asking, they start telling people. Their friends. Their family. Their colleagues. Anyone who will listen. That is the gospel of a well designed app. That is what great UIUX does. It does not just make things look good. It makes people feel good enough to stay, grow and bring others along.

📈 Why 73% of Crypto Trading Platforms Confuse Professional Traders And How We Fixed It? We interviewed 50+ professional crypto traders. The complaint was universal: "𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀." 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Most crypto trading interfaces are designed like Bloomberg terminals from 2005 - overwhelming data grids, 12 charts per screen, information competing for attention. Professional traders don't need more data. They need signal, not noise. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻: A crypto trading platform for traders who make decisions in seconds, not minutes. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱: ⌙ 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆 Your active positions front-and-center. Everything else contextual. The interface shows what matters now, not everything simultaneously. ⌙ 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗧𝗮𝗽 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 From analysis to trade execution in 2 taps. No modals, no confirmation screens (unless high-risk). Speed matters in crypto. ⌙ 𝗔𝗜-𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Not "Bitcoin is up 3%"—that's obvious. "Unusual volume spike in ETH/BTC suggests institutional accumulation." Actionable intelligence. ⌙ 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 Your portfolio risk isn't a number—it's a visual system. Overexposed? The interface shows you immediately, not after you've already executed. ⌙ 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 Beginners see simplified views. Professionals see full depth. The interface adapts to expertise level without manual configuration. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:  • Beta testing with 200+ active traders:  • 64% faster trade execution  • 41% reduction in decision fatigue (measured via user surveys)  • 3.2x increase in daily active trading volume 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝘀: Professional traders didn't want "𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲" UX. They wanted clear UX. There's a difference. Simple = removing functionality. Clear = organizing complexity intelligently. Crypto trading is complex. Interfaces shouldn't make it worse. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: In high-stakes environments, every pixel either helps decision-making or hinders it. There's no neutral. Information architecture is the product. 𝗔𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘅, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Building fintech or trading platforms? Let's talk about designing for professional users who demand speed and precision. What frustrates you most about trading interfaces? 👇 #CryptoTrading #FintechDesign #TradingPlatform #UX #WebDesign #CryptoDesign #InterfaceDesign