Persuasive Design Patterns—Design experiences that enhance and align with motivations

@jennyshen Jenny Shen Persuasive Design Patterns UX/Frontend

@jennyshen

• Defining persuasive design patterns • E-commerce persuasive design patterns • Engagement design patterns • Design patterns for trust • Persuasive design ethics OUTLINE

Defining Persuasive Design 01 why, where and what

@jennyshen Source: Opera. Logos: respective owners

Persuasive Design : Designs that draw on a deep understanding of user’s motivations, desires, and behavioural quirks

Applications in Digital : • E-commerce • Reward programs • Social networks • Political campaigns • Non-profit organizations • Clubs & communities

Persuasive Design to Sell 02 applications in e-commerce

Loss Aversion : Fear of losing motivates us more than the prospect of gaining something of equal value Loss Aversion : Fear of losing motivates us more than the prospect of gaining something of equal value

@jennyshen Value function of prospect theory by Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky

@jennyshen Source: Infographic by One Productions

@jennyshen Source: GoDaddy, millo.co

@jennyshen Loss Aversion : • Frame gains and losses to make some options seem more desirable than others

@jennyshen Applying Loss Aversion : • Limited time discounts • Trial periods • Lazy registration What is lost by leaving your product/service?

Endowment Effect : We place greater value on objects if emotional value has been invested

@jennyshen • Amazon’s features: wish lists, make gift organizers, rate and recommend products, make lists, award users badges allow users to gain ownership • Endowment effect makes users place higher value on buying on Amazon v.s. competitors Endowment Effect :

@jennyshen Source: Amazon, Airbnb

@jennyshen Source: LinkedIn

@jennyshen Source: OKCupid

@jennyshen Endowment Effect : • Retain regular users • Let users place more value in your product over a competitor

@jennyshen • Allow users to build their profiles with wish lists, ratings, recommendations, etc. • Highlight invested efforts that will be lost Applying Endowment Effect :

Scarcity : We perceive scarce objects as more desirable and more valuable

@jennyshen Source: Airbnb, Kayak, Gilt, Amazon

@jennyshen Source: starbucks.co.jp, Kitkat 季節のおすすめ Kyuusyuu Only

@jennyshen Source: Patreon, overflow.io

@jennyshen • Encourages purchasing or other behavior • Infers value and exclusivity • Why it works: humans use an item’s availability to quickly determine its quality and value. • The scarcity principle is a shortcut for us to make quick decisions • Scarcity works most when it’s created by social demand Scarcity :

@jennyshen • Time-based scarcity : holiday sales, coupons with expiry date, limited time offers • Stock scarcity : highlighting remaining quantity or highlighting limited quantity available • Restricted access : paywalls, member-only content Applying Scarcity :

03 applications in reward programs & digital products Persuasive Design to Engage

Hook Model : An experience designed to connect the user’s problem to your solution

@jennyshen Source: Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover

Completion : Provide a well defined end-goal and progress to give a feeling of closure

@jennyshen • As humans, we have an natural tendency to avoid doubt and uncertainty • The need for closure drives us toward a well defined end-goal Completion :

@jennyshen Source: dtelepathy.com, Google Plus

@jennyshen • Provide users with a tangible end-goal that they can strive toward achieving • Set expectations and communicate progress such as time, number of steps or % of progress Applying Completion :

@jennyshen • Points • Badges • Levels • Certification Achievements : Gamification

@jennyshen Source: Foursquare, Hungrygowhere

Variable Rewards : The sense of scarcity and unpredictability entices users curiosity in discovering the pattern

@jennyshen • Compared to fixed rewards, variable rewards produce the highest activity in users • Humans react differently to certain patterns of rewards. Studies concludes that variable reward schedules and contingencies motivate us more than fixed schedules and contingencies. Variable Rewards :

@jennyshen Source: society-plus.com, Nintendo

@jennyshen • Give out rewards at variable ratio and interval • Random and unexpected bonus and rewards: upload quota bonus, gift for community engagement, secret badge, spin to win Applying Variable Rewards :

Persuasive Design for Trust 04 applications in onboarding and user acquisition

Authority : Humans have a strong tendency to comply with authority figures

@jennyshen • We see information from a recognized authority as a valuable shortcut for deciding how to act in a situation, with little or no consideration • People trust authorities, their taste and often believe that it fits their own • Humans are vulnerable to the appearance of authority, even if there’s no real authority Authority :

@jennyshen Source: Zalora, Visual Cinnamon, news.com.au, dailymail.co.uk

@jennyshen • Certifications and awards • Logos or names of known companies • Associate your product/service with authority figures in your industry Applying Authority :

Social Proof : Humans have a common tendency to adopt the opinions and follow the behaviours of the majority to feel safer and to avoid conflict

@jennyshen Social Proof : • We believe that acting in accord with social evidence is a shortcut to correct behavior and good decision • Most of us would rather imitate that initiate • We often resort to short-cutting our thought processes because thinking and decision making requires brain energy

@jennyshen Source: joeydevilla.com, pjrvs.com, Usabilla, Booking.com

@jennyshen Applying Social Proof : • Use numbers from facts or statistics, e.g. 14 reviews, 80 people liked this, 590 subscribers, 200+ clients • To assure users that they are not alone in the decision, highlight what others similar to them did, e.g. “others also bought / viewed this listing” • Testimonials and ratings

Persuasive Design Ethics 05 are persuasion tactics dark patterns?

Is persuasive design ethical ?

@jennyshen Source: https://medium.muz.li/malachidigest-3cad286bba02

@jennyshen Source: TheNextWeb, Twitter/Linkedin (respective owners)

Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics for Interface Design User control and freedom

@jennyshen Persuasion Design Ethics : • Everyone’s scale of ethical/unethical is different • Persuasion is subjective • What we don’t like is when companies manipulate us into doing things we later regret

@jennyshen Persuasive design is not unethical , unless one intentionally deceives user or takes away user’s freedom to do something against company interest. “ ” —Jenny Shen

• Loss Aversion • Endowment Effect • Scarcity PERSUASIVE DESIGN CHEAT SHEET Jenny Shen / jennyshen.com To Sell : To Engage : For Trust : • Hook Model • Completion • Achievements • Va r i a b l e R e w a rd s • Authority • Social Proof Ethics : • Respect user control & freedom

jennyshen.com @jennyshen jenny@jennyshen.com

@jennyshen • Source: http://ui-patterns.com/patterns • Noun Project icons: Ananth (badge), Abner Ignatius (chat), Arthur Shlain (document), Seyeong (scale), Hare Krishna (shop)

@jennyshen Jenny Shen Persuasive Design Patterns UX/Frontend