Most everywhere I turn, I hear notions of seamless being used as it relations to consumer experiences. Whether it’s seamless onboarding for a new app, seamless connectivity across mobile or wi-fi networks, of even seamless undergarments that minimize irritation of our most sensitive components, Seamless is the rage. It makes sense in a way, we have been living with experiences festooned with speed bumps, potholes, and other types of hiccups in the experience. The notion of having a seamless move through the majesty of these well design experiences is incredible appealing.
What if there is a dark side to seamless? What if seamless means you miss important parts of the consumer journey? What if you fail to notice the tremendous effort made by the provider of the experience to make it seamless? Do we notice the efforts of road crews to make our daily commutes seamless or do we silent hurl frustrations at them when our time in the car drags a little longer while the crews do what is necessary to ensure our future selves miss the benefits these crews toiled to deliver?
What if instead we consider the design of effortless experiences. Experiences which allow the user to maintain awareness of the benefits bestowed by the design even as it takes place. No bawdy reminders of all that the designers did to enable your passage along this joyous journey of discovery, but instead a new level of design layered into the overall experience. Much the way we see mile markers celebrate our progress on a race, I think there is a chance to add elements to experiences that remind the user of milestones passed on the journey in a way that sparks thoughts of “wow, that was much easier than I though it would be.”
Imagine running a “seamless” marathon, no indication of progress until the finish line. Sounds like a painful experience.
Seamless experiences may loose value to their users over time, as the wonder of seamlessness fades to the mundane. Effortless experiences nudge the users subtly as to the value that is created for their lives. Both have low effort by the user. Both offer experiences without the speed bumps and hiccups that plague many customer journeys today, but one ensures the user recognizes and ideally is grateful for the benefits conferred by the effortless experience. Ideally, it will not lose its luster as fast as the seamless experience, boosting retention of those users and extending the joy just a bit longer.
How will you design effortless experiences?