Post on 16-Nov-2014
description
INTERFACE MAGICHannah Donovan 12 June 2009
WHAT IS “CONVERSION”?
WHAT IS “MAGIC”?
★ An unconventional delightful quality (i.e. the magic of the theatre)
★ Mysterious tricks (such as making things appear and disappear).
★ Oooh! How did it know?
★ Wow, that’s so cool, it just…worked
★ Huh...what just happened?
★ WTF! Why did it just do that for me?
★ This is so paperclippy! Gah!
Magic can be used for evil and awesome
When you use magic for awesome, it’s an experience users will come
back for.
Good experiences convert.
Magical experiences convert better.
GOOD EXPERIENCES
“Customers online don’t respond to a brand marketed to them, they respond to the experience they have. If they can accomplish their goal quickly and easily,
they return to the site, and tell their friends. It’s that simple.”
— Mark Hurst
MAGICAL EXPERIENCES
…ARE RISKIER
SECRET INGREDIENT:EXPECTATION
MAGIC POTIONINGREDIENTS:★ A handful of expected★ A pinch of unexpected
DIRECTIONS:★ Mix until ratios are right (for your user)★ Test and try again
EXPECTATION
PERCEPTIONEXPECTATION
BAD MAGIC
CASE STUDY:OLD LAST.FM SIGN UP
CASE STUDY:TWITTER SIGN UP
CASE STUDY: WEBSITE X
★ The magic should work quickly
★ Don’t get too clever. Let people learn on their own. It’s satisfying.
★ If the functionality exists, expose it . No behind the scenes auto-magical whizbang.
★ Stick to the vernacular, don’t make people learn the names of your spells.
SUMMARY
GOOD MAGIC
CASE STUDY:NEW LAST.FM SIGNUP
CASE STUDY:FACEBOOK
CASE STUDY:HYPEM.COM
★ Expose magic early,
★ Expose the functionality. Show the user how things happen.
★ Always have empathy. Keep in mind what they want, write use cases and let that guide your decisions.
★ Foster serendipitous moments
SUMMARY
MAKING MAGIC
★ Comes after creating a good experience
★ Is built on understanding what your users want (empathy)
★ Is risky
★ Relies on a precise ratio of the expected to the unexpected.
★ Has an element of delightful surprise
★ Shouldn’t get to clever; expose functionality
★ Should let the user learn on their own
★ Should happen quickly
★ Should use “plain English” or Dutch ;-)