Do You Speak Human, Software?
A while ago I published a post where I argued that a lifecycle of a software product or an app looks similar to that of a human. The “app as a human” concept opens up a vast space for insights in human-friendly UX design. If we regard an app or a software as a human of sorts (think voice assistants), we might find ourselves expecting that the software treats us and our emotions respectfully — and these expectations would extend to the screen-based apps and software as well.
The challenge here lies in the diversity of people’s psyche. We all react differently to what the software “says” to us via screens. Going from the diversity of contexts where people live and act — which is usually taken into account by UX designers — might not be enough. It’s about emotions, and emotions can do a lot more than logical reasoning. Remember Apple fans, buying more and more of Apple products out of “I just like it”. Emotions are responsible for these just-like-its, when there’s no rational need to cut a $XXX, or even a $XXXX, hole in someone’s bank account.
We feel very good when a software app tells us, “thanks for taking your time to tell us what you think”. We feel good when a software app cares for us by saving our time with clear instructions, what-to-do’s, and error messages. A lame language in UI screens can be a source of bad mood which throws people out of their flow, instead of helping. It’s visuals and words that create a smooth and a feel-good UX landscape.
Here’s the list of basic human emotional needs:
As I tried to map the emotional needs to digital experiences, it turned out that software could account for about 60% of them (what’s your take?).
Let’s see how software does this job.
Mint
Mint is a personal finance tool, and it appeals a lot to our sense of safety and security.
“Remember kids, safety first” is a strong emotional caller. The lock with the mint leaf is smoother, but still emotional. The part on bank-level security appeals to our logical reasoning.
Next one:
The ban sign says it all. There’s no real $$ here, rest assured, no one will touch your money, including you.
You’re cared about when you see this:
The concept of “mint” (and a mint leaf) runs deep. Which mental/emotional connection might we have with the word “mint” and the image of mint? It’s something comforting, soothing, something that makes us free from worries and anxiety. That’s a great emotional token for a personal finance app. Besides, “mint” might be related to “minting coins”, which also implies that you’re going to own more and more coins if you’re with Mint, or something of that nature :)
Trello
What I liked right away about Trello, the collaboration tool, is the Husky dog icon. Well, maybe it’s not exactly a Husky, but I like this dog breed, and for some reason I assumed this must be a Husky:
What I liked even more is the message about serving humans. The 500.000 number looks reassuring to a new user.
Trello means business and cares for your time. You don’t linger even for an extra second on their sign-up page:
Speaking of sign-up and login pages, bad captures totally kill good emotions. They make you reload and reload the capture image, and still wouldn’t let you log in. You can live with a login capture, because it’s usually a one-time thing, because apps save your credentials. But anyone who has a capture on their sign-up page is committing a slow suicide:
Back to Trello and to their sign-up process. When I see this:
I have a mixed feeling of approval, empathy, and regret. Here’s why. I can see that these guys are after my actual name, because they’ve put up a message about the full name length. But I know all too well — as someone who processed hundreds, if not thousands, sign-up forms from potential leads— that if a sign-uper prefers to keep their name to themselves, this note would be of no use.
Here’s their account activation message:
I feel reassured and in control.
As Trello welcomes me, I can see that they have taken one step further in serving humans. They want to guide based on how people evaluate their previous experience with collab tools:
Evernote
The most emotionally insecure app that I tried in this research is Evernote. They have a good message on their web-site, but what you see inside the app and during the sign-up is confusing.
First, the elephant logo:
I don’t understand what an elephant has to do with my notes and images put to one place. Maybe it is supposed to be a symbol of everlasting wisdom? But there’s no emotional appeal for the app from my side. Elephants are nice, but they don’t fit in here.
Evernote’s sign-up form is as stern as a 17th century Quaker must have been. Here’s their unhelpful “user name not available” message:
It says nothing to me, accept that the name is not available. No hint on which available mods I can try. I had to mess a bit with figures and underscores until I got this:
Evernote uses machine language. There’s no feeling that you’re welcome here. Sometimes it’s the opposite, sign-up forms can be too off-hand. I don’t want to be tapped on the shoulder like that for any single line:
Back to Evernote. It had even more confusion in store as I tried to make the first note. Here’s the screenshot:
The Set URL context action. Which URL? For what? I typed something in there, but when I tried to access the note later — no success. Then Done and Auto Save on top. Hmm. Why Auto Save when there’s Done there? Which goes first? Should I rely on Auto Save, or should I click Done? Maybe Done is supposed to work when Auto Save is off? Then why keep it there when Auto Save is on? Questions like these rushed through my head, and the app did not offer any answers.
The “Set the note’s location” screen was a bummer. Am I supposed to know the latitude and longitude of my whereabouts in every new location? Maybe they have the auto define location feature somewhere (I can’t imagine that they don’t), but I was not offered this option, and guessing the latitude/longitude is too challenging a task for simply taking a note.
I don’t think I will be using Evernote. It’s too confusing and insecure. Well, they must have more options than taking just notes, as they position themselves as “capture anything- remember everything”, and maybe the other features in Evernote work great, but I don’t care now, as my first emotions about this app were negative.
Ebay
Now let me show you my favourite. What if I forget password? This piece from Ebay is a beauty:
Note a sensible display of case sensitivity. I like words and everything about playing on words, so seeing those characters is a candy for my eye.
We have so many exciting options to make software speak human language. We can do it with visuals and with words, as long as we keep this thin-line balance, where software approaches people gently. Just like a suave professional butler does.
Related:
UX: Why User Vision Design Matters
What UX and Volcanoes Have in Common
Why People Are Reluctant to Upgrade
Imperatives in User Experience Design
This story is based on an earlier article.
