Designing for User Delight

User delight is when a product or service goes beyond meeting basic needs and provides a positive, unexpected, and memorable experience. For instance, when using a food delivery app, user delight could be achieved not just by delivering the correct order on time (functional), but also through extra features like real-time tracking, personalized food recommendations, or a surprise discount code for their favorite cuisine (enjoyable and memorable). Designing such experiences requires a deep understanding of user needs, strategic design, and attention to detail.

Surface or visceral delight is the instinctive positive reaction users have to the look and feel of a product. This reaction is based on our natural preferences and evolution. For example, when we see a sleek, shiny smartphone, we instantly want it because it looks appealing and high-quality.

To create visceral delight, focus on aesthetics and visual design. Use colors, shapes, and images that appeal to your users. Ensure the interface is visually pleasing and engaging without making it too cluttered. Even if these elements don’t affect usability directly, they play a big role in creating a positive first impression and making users feel good about using the product.^[1]

Deep delight is when a product meets all user needs perfectly, including functionality, usability, reliability, and pleasure. It goes beyond just looking good — it makes using the product feel smooth and effortless.

This type of delight is hard to achieve but very rewarding. Users experiencing deep delight are likely to recommend the product and keep using it. To create deep delight, you need to focus on making workflows simple and reducing any pain points. It's about building a product that works well and meets user needs at the right time. While not as flashy as surface delight, deep delight ensures a lasting, positive user experience.^[2]

Aaron Walter's pyramid of needs is a model inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It emphasizes that products should meet users' basic functional needs and also their emotional and psychological needs.

Functional user needs are the basic requirements that a product must meet for users to achieve their goals. These needs focus on what the product does and how well it performs those tasks. For example, in a cooking app, a functional need is providing recipes. Users expect the app to offer clear, step-by-step instructions and ingredient lists.

To identify functional needs, start by understanding the main tasks users want to accomplish with your product. You can do this by conducting surveys, interviews, or observing users in action. Ask questions like, "What do you need this app to do?" or "What problems do you want to solve with this product?"

Reliability is about how consistently and dependably a product performs its tasks. Users expect the product to work correctly every time they use it, without failures or errors. For example, in a weather app, a reliability need is providing accurate and timely weather updates. Users rely on this information to plan their day, so the app must consistently deliver correct forecasts.

To identify and meet reliability needs:

• Observe how users interact with your product and gather feedback on any issues they encounter.
• Conduct user testing, analyze usage data, and monitor user reviews to pinpoint reliability concerns.
• Constantly test and update your product to address any reliability issues that arise.

This ensures your product is dependable and builds user trust.

Pleasure needs focus on making a product enjoyable and satisfying to use. For example, in a payment app, a pleasurability feature could be a pleasant chime sound when a payment is successfully made. This small, enjoyable detail can make users feel happy and satisfied, creating a positive association with the app. You can only think of pleasurability needs after the first 3 needs — functional, reliable, and usable — are fulfilled.^[3]

To identify pleasurability needs, you can:

• Ask users what they enjoy most about the product through surveys and interviews.
• Watch how users interact with the app and note moments of joy or frustration, although it can be hard to pinpoint.
• Experiment with adding small enjoyable elements, like sounds or animations, and see how users respond through A/B testing.

According to Don Norman’s theory of user delight, there are 3 levels of emotional processing — visceral, behavioral, and reflective.^[4] Behavioral delight is about how well a product works for users. It focuses on usability and practical aspects. This includes how easily users can complete tasks, how fast they achieve their goals, and how few errors they make. For example, a food delivery app that lets you quickly find an open restaurant near you and place an order without too many steps creates behavioral delight.

To create behavioral delight:

• Make sure your product is straightforward and easy to use.
• Design it so both new and experienced users can use it without much effort.
• Test how quickly users can perform tasks and reduce any steps that are redundant or cause mistakes.

Reflective delight is the positive feeling users get when a product resonates with their personal values, sense of self, and aspirations. It is about how the product makes them feel about themselves. For example, using a fitness app that tracks workouts and celebrates personal milestones and encourages healthy living can create reflective delight. The app aligns with users' goals of staying fit and healthy, making them feel proud and motivated.

To create reflective delight, you’ll need to design products that connect with users on a deeper level. Understand their values and aspirations, and create features that support and celebrate their actions. This makes users feel valued and understood, leading to a more meaningful and lasting connection with the product.

To create lasting delight, focus on meeting users' deep, long-term needs rather than just their immediate desires. Long-term needs are harder to identify but crucial for building strong user relationships. For example, a meditation app focused on surface delight might offer calming sounds and simple guided meditations but look similar to many other apps. However, if it aims to help users achieve lasting mindfulness and stress relief, it can provide much more like personalized meditation plans, progress tracking, mental health resources, and tools for integrating mindfulness into daily life. This long-term approach can help users build a sustainable meditation practice, leading to lasting delight.

Don’t try to impose joy on users because adding unnecessary design elements can interfere with their tasks and frustrate them. Designers sometimes try to bedazzle the interface with flashy animations or bright colors to engage users. However, these elements can distract users from their primary goals.^[5] For example, in a banking app, adding animated confetti every time a transaction is made might seem fun, but it can quickly become annoying for users who just want to manage their finances efficiently.

Keep it simple and focused. Ensure your design enhances the user experience without getting in the way. This way, users can complete their tasks smoothly and appreciate the subtle, thoughtful touches that add genuine delight.