In today’s fast-paced digital world, designing for emotional engagement has become essential in creating unforgettable user experiences. Great usability and functionality used to set products apart, but now they’re expected by users, thanks to well-established best practices in the industry for the past 30 years.
With so many apps achieving a seamless user experience, the real question is: what makes your product stand out?
Emotional connection is now the key differentiator that elevates a product from merely “good” to truly memorable. This shift is especially evident in the age of social media, where users engage with content that resonates with their values and emotions. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok highlight that people crave authenticity, relatability, and meaningful connection. The time of the uber-professional and over-produced cinematic productions is over.
Let’s explore key UX principles of emotional engagement and uncover why designing for human emotion has become more vital than ever before.
Unlocking emotional connections in UX Design
UX expert Jared Spool and Aarron Walter (Designing for Emotion, 2011) emphasise that emotional design keeps users coming back. When products connect emotionally, they become essential—users feel attached and invested in their experience.
Building on Spool’s insights, Don Norman’s three levels of design—visceral, behavioural, and reflective—play a crucial role in emotional engagement:
- Visceral Design: This is the instinctive reaction people have to a design. Elements like visuals, colours, animations, and branding catch their eye and create a strong first impression.
For example, Woolworths emphasises sleek, modern design across its stores and packaging, creating an impression of quality and elegance. This polished look helps customers associate the brand with premium products and a trusted shopping experience.
- Behavioural Design is how people feel when using a product. Jared Spool explains that when a product is easy and enjoyable to use, it creates satisfaction and reduces frustration.
For example, Netflix enhances emotional engagement by making it simple to find personalised content, offering a smooth and enjoyable experience.
- Reflective Design: The long-term connection people have with a product. When a design truly mirrors someone’s identity, it forges a deep emotional connection. Superbalist is a brilliant example of reflective design that really speaks to South Africans. Their platform features a vibrant mix of local and international brands, letting customers find products that match their personal styles. Plus, with the wishlist feature, users can create and share their curated lists, strengthening social connections and building a sense of community.
Why emotional engagement is more important now than ever
In today’s attention economy, we’re all flooded with content – emotional engagement is key to standing out. Aarron Walter’s pyramid of people’s needs shows that emotional engagement is at the top. This means that after meeting basic needs like functionality and usability, designers should focus on creating delightful and memorable experiences.
Emotional design triggers positive emotions which can make products more memorable. Let’s take a look at Strava – their product is a great example of emotional design in the UX space, particularly for its community-driven features that resonate with people within the fitness space.
Strava’s emotional hooks: connecting users through shared experiences
- Social connection: Strava brings people together with friend lists, challenges, and leaderboards, so users can share their activities and cheer each other on.
- Gamification & progress tracking: The app has fun badges and achievements for completing challenges, making users feel accomplished and inspiring them to reach new goals. (I know. Points and badges are old-school and seem so superficial, but they clearly work). Strava shows clear visuals of your progress, which boosts your sense of achievement and motivates you to keep getting better.
- Personal storytelling: Users can share their routes and experiences, turning their fitness journeys into personal stories that create strong emotional connections.
- Community Challenges: Strava regularly hosts challenges that encourage everyone to join in and compete, helping users feel a sense of belonging.
- Recognition and Support: Users can comment and give kudos on each other’s activities, creating a supportive vibe that lifts spirits and strengthens bonds within the community.
Yoco’s emotional drivers: building trust and empowering merchants
Let’s explore a local example: Yoco’s products and digital platforms connect with business owners by tapping into similar emotional triggers:
- Social Connection: Yoco brings small business owners together by encouraging them to connect, share their stories, learn from and support each other.
- Gamification & Progress Tracking: Yoco makes tracking progress exciting by using gamified features like sales milestones and visual progress bars. Business owners can see their growth over time, which gives them a sense of achievement and motivates them to aim even higher.
- Personal Storytelling & Support: Yoco shares inspiring success stories from different merchants, showcasing their journeys and how Yoco has helped them. This storytelling connects users to the wider Yoco community on an emotional level and reinforces the connection with Yoco as a brand.
So what? who cares?
As technology continues to change, we should use new tools to strengthen these connections and make interactions feel more human. By focusing on simple, enjoyable, and meaningful design, brands can connect with users and make them feel valued in today’s fast-paced digital world.