User Experience Innovation: User Centered Design that Works

Avoid Unnecessary Wows

You must achieve a balance between providing positive surprises and wows on one hand, and on the other hand making sure not to be too clever. Remember that the difference between a wow and a pain point is often paper thin. A surprise element that is seen by 60 percent of users as a wow and 20 percent of users as a pain point should be redesigned or reconsidered.

Too much visual wow on your web page may easily become a pain point if the user believes that it slows down performing his core tasks. Hidden treasures may be a pain point if you, for example, choose to hide core functions. Overly intelligent solutions may intimidate a large number of your users and might make them dislike your product. Avoid creating surprises ...