📰 3 Design Articles
Robinhood App: The Secrets of a $7.08 Welcome Bonus
- UX consultant Peter Ramsey takes a deep dive into stock app Robinhood‘s UX showcasing how UX issues like verification delays and unclear onboarding processes can undermine user confidence and engagement, resulting in potentially less engagement and therefore, financial investment.
- Ramsey cites how Robinhood’s offer of $7.08 to trade with for joining is a great initial incentive but becomes convoluted when users open the app and realize they must go through several more steps before actually claiming the funds.
- “Robinhood has a well-designed conceptual loop, but the real product is hurt by a series of avoidable UX issues. You cannot expect your users to understand or be sympathetic to technical (or logistical) delays.”
How To Run UX Research Without Access To Users
- Author and designer Vitaly Friedman dissects strategies for conducting user research when direct user access is unavailable for any multitude of reasons, advocating for leveraging other avenues, such as connecting with colleagues who are close to users or finding discovery through means such as product support tickets or customer logs.
- The importance of UX research in driving better design decisions is also emphasized, detailing how it helps in understanding user needs and proving its worth to stakeholders by linking research outcomes directly to business goals and user satisfaction.
- “Research doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive; ask for a small but steady commitment to gather evidence… once your impact becomes visible, it will be so much easier to gain access to users that seemed almost impossible initially.”
Making Product Value Obvious
- Author Luke Wroblewski emphasizes the critical role of product designers in making the value of products immediately obvious to users, highlighting that a true understanding of product benefits through UX is essential for effective customer creation and retention.
- Using onboarding as a dynamic example, Wroblewski cites on the importance of first impressions in UX, illuminating the necessity for designers to ensure that features are both visible and compelling within the initial stages of interaction, thereby enhancing the likelihood of user adoption.
- “When you go deep into a problem, solutions like tutorials and tours are not what you end up with. You communicate what a product does for people through the interactions, organization, and visual presentation of the product itself. The two become inseparable and the design feels inevitable, unlike intro tours that feel bolted-on or like band-aids.”
💜 Portfolio Inspiration
Chofi Chang, a UX Academy graduate, has a unique portfolio showcasing a variety of work. Specializing in creating brand identity, projects across both UX and other types of design are shown. The visual presentation showcases the various disciplines, but still carries a sense of cohesion, communicating a variety of work without feeling fragmented—in fact, the visual choices and design hierarchy create a beautiful sense of cohesion.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 Interesting Stuff...
- A Playful New Visual Identity
- The Weather Channel's Design Over the Years
- Spotify Launches New User Feature
- Wild and Wacky Functional Sculptures
The function of design is letting design function. — Micha Commeren (designer)
🧪 From the Lab
🎉 Last Chance for Advanced Figma 🎉
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Enrollment for our June cohort of UX Academy Foundations is now open, with a launch date of June 10th. Most UX Academy students start with this beginner-friendly and flexible online course. Work 1:1 with an experienced design mentor and connect with students in our online community.
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