Welcome to Inspiration Monthly!

👋 Welcome to October's inspiration monthly in our third issue, formerly 'The Roundup'.

Based on reader feedback, I'm doubling down on sharing the latest and greatest design discoveries this month. This is still an experiment—If beneficial, it stays; if not, I'll pivot back to solely offering practical design and UX insights.

Enjoy! 🔮

Design Inspiration ✨

🔥 This incredible new ‘choose your card’ screen from the team at Wise. They’re really setting the standard - go check it out to see the beautifully animated cards.

Stripe’s new Embed Checkout site 🤩

This adorable, genius and creative macOS product called Posture Pal 🦒 I think it’s such a lateral way at thinking about how software and hardware can work together in ways we haven’t thought of before.

This Pokédex inspired piece of hardware is awesome and inspiring. Maybe there’s hope for hardware which can help kids to explore, which aren’t just phones.

This proposals tool called Penna.app. Both the website and product look ✨

This dynamic navigation is so buttery smooth and just dope 🧈 I’m so excited to see people challenge traditional websites in how we interact with them—Familiarity is important, but that doesn’t mean we can’t evolve from it.

These beautifully simple modals by Ashish.

This button animation by Jordan. It’s really simple and visually guiding on hover, exactly when it needs to be.

An awesome behind-the-scenes look at this launch material which was made for Linear in a very creative way.

👋 Alright, that’s my top picks for October

If you haven’t read this month’s practical design and UX advice from Designing Futures, here are the links:

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

✨ I hope this week’s writing was useful for you. Sharing this article with your team allows me to continue being helpful and continue writing. If you want to reach out, you can tweet or email me as I’d love to hear from you.

The best ideas grow with others, and the boldest innovations begin with a small, energised, ambitious team.

My favourite projects have been the ones where we rallied together, in a small group, to achieve an exciting goal in a short space of time. It makes you feel connected, and part of something that’s progressing together, bigger than yourself alone. You can safely bounce ideas off each other, and with the right energy, create something truly exciting and strive for excellence.

Airbnb started with three founders, and both Whatsapp and Instagram sold to Facebook when it had less than 55 employees. Small teams have the power to create incredible ideas and bring them into the world.

Let’s dive into the reasons behind why I believe small teams disrupt best, and walk through tips for your current project, or next one, on how you can work as small as possible.

1. Small increases focus

It’s well known that small teams, when high performing, are synonymous with speed. Their size allows for rapid consensus on objectives and streamlines their path toward a unified vision, reducing unnecessary stakeholder opinions or conflicts. In turn, this increases their overall performance due to the layers of communication being condensed.

2. Small generates magic

In a small team, you can feel when the magic is happening. Go watch this clip of when Dr Dre and Eminem met for the first time to see what that looks like.

Stripped of bureaucratic layers, a few people together can create a force of passion, agility, and common purpose. Their strength lies in unity, vision, and having space to think. Each member brings a piece of the puzzle, and together, they craft solutions and ideas that larger groups may not have the capacity to create. The magic happens when diverse skills and close collaboration start to bond, and there’s an unstoppable energy in the room between people. It lays the track for future innovation to evolve.

“As we’ve gotten bigger, we’ve tried to retain that small vibe.” - Electric Theatre, How Electric Theatre Collective Made Pharrell's "Cash In Cash Out" Video

Andy Allen, one of my favourite makers, has achieved excellence time and time again with a small team, creating some of the most beautiful software available today.

“A startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company's most important strength is new thinking: even more important than nimbleness, small size affords space to think.” - Peter Thiel, Zero to One.

3. Small kickstarts innovation

Small teams are the 1st gear towards creating something great. They create the work that large teams then build upon. This is true in reflection to some of the once disruptive, now familiar and trusted services we use today. Established companies such as Uber, Airbnb and Coinbase were once fun experiments which now, having been built upon with sophistication and rigour, finally deliver upon the original mission set out by those intending to disrupt from the outset.

“Small teams fuel the future, generating ideas that, if they succeed, will be the source of big-team development.” Small Teams of Scientists Have Fresher Ideas, Ed Yong, The Atlantic.

It takes time for innovation to establish. Products or services are arguably only innovative once people are using them. It takes an incredible amount of effort, will, and focus to go from zero to one and persuade early adopters it’s valuable–large teams refine and scale on that success to create mass adoption.

Small teams fuel the future, generating ideas that, if they succeed, will be the source of big-team development. Startups create, scale-ups optimise. Perhaps this is an integral economical part of the innovation lifecycle?

How to work as small as possible

Right now, you may be already working in a team, about to form a new project, or looking for collaborators. Sometimes you can’t easily change the team and stakeholders you have. But, there are things we can do to work in ways that are closer to the ways small teams operate.

1. Narrow your focus

Remind yourself, what is the current goal of your team right now? How can you move towards that goal more effectively? What can you remove to make it faster, or achieve quality to a higher degree? Who are all your owners or stakeholders that you need to get sign off from?

2. Foster creative thinking as a team

Imagine an environment where ideas can flourish. Lead by example and be open to confidently sharing any new ideas you have with your team, or ways to improve what you’re working on. You’ll help create an environment of psychological safety, and allow the magic to start forming.

3. Reduce process, Increase collaboration

As teams get bigger, there's often an inevitable increase in processes and communication channels. Aim for directness and simplicity in how you work together. Prioritise boosting collaboration rates over establishing processes. Remember, the ultimate goal is to deliver value to your users. The route to achieve that is yours to define.

Closing thoughts

The other week we spoke about how to create products which are better, even if they aren’t first to market. Uber didn't invent taxis, and Netflix didn't invent movie rentals—yet they both revolutionised these sectors by making them more accessible. At the heart of these innovations were small, ambitious teams.

They all started by nurturing a fleeting idea, and willing them into reality. Stay focused, embrace the power of small, and create something truly remarkable.

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

Many people believe they aren’t creative or simply don’t possess the natural skills to be. However, this simply isn't true; creativity is a muscle that anyone can learn to use in their lives and day-to-day work.

This week, I'm going to break down what creativity is, and how you can immediately tap into your creative potential using 'lateral thinking'. I'll also share real examples of how I've applied this approach as a designer on product teams.

“Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. It’s our birthright.” - Rick Rubin

What is creativity?

In its simplest form, creativity is the ability to generate new ideas or solutions.

This can be applied across various domains—be it art, science, business, or everyday life. While people often associate creativity with artistic or design-led endeavors, it's much more expansive than that.

Creativity isn't just about painting a canvas or designing a new interface. It can manifest in creating a recipe for a dinner with friends, devising a solution to a problem, or even reorganising a hectic work calendar.

Lateral thinking

One of the easiest and quickest ways to tap into your creative potential is through a concept that Edward de Bono introduced in his international best-seller: 'lateral thinking.'

Lateral thinking involves finding new ways to solve problems by looking at them from different angles. One of the best ways Edward explains this is by contrasting it with 'linear' thinking. He describes linear thinking as “A train journey from Point A to Point B to Point C—it's efficient but constrained by laid tracks”. In lateral thinking, you're free to rearrange the journey; your train might start at Point B, go to Point C, and then to Point A.

On a less abstract note, I've applied lateral thinking many times in my design work:

• It's encouraged me to reorganise the hierarchy of a screen's UI by considering various ways users might view or interpret it.

• It's inspired me to conduct competitor research in analogous or 'lateral' fields, outside of my current domain. Instead of just examining competitors in fintech, what might I learn from solutions in healthtech or edtech?

• On a lighter note, it's helped me energise participants in workshops that I've led by starting off with a game called 'Generate Alternatives.'

Let’s walk through what that looks like.

Practicing generating alternatives

Edward de Bono has a section of his book called "the generation of alternatives," which inspired me to create a quick and simple game. I've used it as an ice-breaker in workshops that I've led, involving everyone from engineers and product managers to healthcare clinicians.

This exercise is an incredibly effective way to make participants feel comfortable sharing ideas, create a collaborative environment, and boost overall engagement.

The game is straightforward. Think of as many alternative interpretations as possible for a given set of shapes.

For instance, they could be:

• Three overlapping plates

• A misaligned hazard symbol

• The iPhone 16's camera system

Lateral thinking helps us to appreciate the importance of disrupting established patterns of thought.

Lateral thinking teaches us the value of breaking free from established thought patterns. I highly recommend running this exercise into any future workshops where visual thinking is needed—whether you're wireframing, brainstorming, or sharing ideas in any other capacity. Draw some basic shapes, hand out post-it notes, and write "What could this be?" above them.

Here’s an snapshot from the book:

“The most basic principle of lateral thinking is that any particular way of looking at things is only one from among many other possible ways. Lateral thinking is concerned with exploring these other ways by restructuring and rearranging the information that is available. The very word 'lateral’ suggests the movement side ways to generate alternative patterns instead of moving straight ahead with the development of one particular pattern” - Edward De Bono

Closing thoughts

Think of lateral thinking as both a prompt and your creative reminder. Use it when you want to broaden your perspective as much as possible, whether you're redesigning the first impression users get during the onboarding flow or looking for a fresh way to articulate your solution.

Challenge yourself to pause and consider: Have I explored all the ways to approach this? Is there another angle? Creativity is boundless; there's always another perspective.

In a world racing toward innovation, lateral thinking is more than just a tool—it's a necessity. Linear thinking can often lead to predictable, uninspired solutions.

Unlock your creativity by looking at challenges and opportunities from a new angle—a lateral one.

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

Key takeaways

• What's Creativity: The skill to make new ideas or solutions.

• Lateral Thinking: A multi-angle approach to problem-solving.

• Generating Alternatives: Practice interpreting shapes in different forms.

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

In a world obsessed with being first and novel, it's easy to forget that many of today's industry leaders were far from the initial pioneers in their fields. Uber didn't invent taxis, and Netflix didn't invent movie rentals—yet they both revolutionised these sectors by making them more accessible.

Instead of dwelling on anxieties like, "They dominate the market; there’s no chance for us!" they brought the future forward simply by making their products better.

How do these companies manage to overshadow leaders in their market and dominate? The good news is you don't have to be first; you just have to solve problems for your target audience better than those who do now.

In this guide, we'll explore examples and key factors that set these innovators apart and how you can apply the same principles to work towards rewriting your category.

Four examples

Airbnb: An alternative to traditional hotels

• 📖 Background: Hotels have existed for centuries, and even the idea of home-sharing or bed-and-breakfasts wasn't new.

• 👀 What made them stand out: Airbnb made it easy, desirable, and socially acceptable to rent someone else's room or home.

• 🔥 Why they dominated: Through a seamless user interface, reviews, and a strong focus on community, Airbnb revolutionised traditional accommodation. They didn't invent home-sharing but improved it.

Monzo: An alternative to traditional banking (started in the UK)

• 📖 Background: Banks are as old as time. Online banking became popular in the late '90s with companies like HSBC and Barclays at the forefront.

• 👀 What made them stand out: Monzo brought a fresh user experience and approach to banking by being branchless, app-first, and offering real-time transaction updates.

• 🔥 Why they dominated: With a focus on a modern, app-first user experience, excellent customer service, and community, Monzo captured a large segment of a younger audience tired of slow, traditional banks.

Framer - An alternative to website no-code tools

• 📖 Background: Framer fills the gap between design and code, offering both visual and code-based editing.

• 👀 What made them stand out: Framer offers simplicity and versatility; it supports design, prototyping, and coding within a single tool. You don't need to know HTML, and it's great for designers accustomed to Figma.

• 🔥 Why they dominated: Framer attracted both designers and developers because of how easy it is to create high-quality sites. Webflow is still incredible, but Framer is faster and more enjoyable for building exceptional, smaller sites.

Apple: An alternative smartphone

• 📖 Background: Apple was far from the first company to enter the smartphone market, with BlackBerry and Nokia as early pioneers.

• 👀 What made them stand out: Apple redefined the user experience with a focus on design, ease-of-use, and an integrated ecosystem. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone but set a new standard.

• 🔥 Why they dominated: Through continuous innovation and high-quality products, Apple built brand loyalty that's hard to match. With good taste and a commitment to excellence, they delivered premium products that outperformed the rest.

Four factors that make them dominate

To guide you through the factors that contribute to these companies' success, I'll draw from my own professional experiences and day-to-day work.

#1 They raise the bar

“Those who have studied how chefs innovate report that they follow a process of feed-forward trial and modification, experimenting with variations on a central idea till they hit on a dish that they think will win the approval of customers. It is not very different from the way Thomas Edison improved the light bulb.” - Matt Ridley, How Innovation works

Monzo has raised the bar in their industry by introducing innovative features that make routine banking tasks—like checking transactions or receiving payments—more accessible. They revolutionized the way we bank by going branchless and mobile-first, and by simplifying historically complex processes.

Facing the monumental challenge of changing consumer behavior, Monzo bet on people being willing to move their salaries to a new bank. Once that happened, their growth skyrocketed, leaving competitors in the dust. In the UK, banks are ranked across various service categories to help consumers make informed choices. Monzo leads in almost every one of them.

In my own experience, startups that focus on setting the highest quality bar, truly dedicated to solving their customers' problems better than anyone else, tend to rise the highest.

#2 They care the most

User empathy is also a key differentiator for Monzo; they care about their customers a lot. During my time at Fat Llama, there were days we spoke to users daily. We also shipped faster than some of the other places I’ve worked at. There’s a correlation there.

Monzo prioritizes customer experience above all else. No need to visit a bank; just open the app. They've thoughtfully designed every small interaction to turn what used to be a headache and an 'Aaaarrggghhh!' into a few simple taps.

Whether it's finding your card number, sending money to friends, or requesting payments, Monzo makes it all feel effortless. Their user experience is so compelling that I can't bring myself to switch. I trust that I'll always be ahead of the curve, using the best tools available for my financial needs.

#3 They’re bold, and ignore the competition

Following others doesn't just lead to stagnation; it means you've consciously decided to lag behind. To be a leader, you must take risks and trust your intuition. Be bold and carve out your own path. Believe in your ability to change the game and don't shy away from promoting yourself.

I was genuinely surprised when Framer launched their latest website builder. I thought Webflow had already set the bar so high that gaining market share would be a challenge. I couldn't have been more wrong. Once I started using Framer, my perception of what no-code tools could be was transformed. Framer didn't just meet the bar; they raised it. Their commitment to quality is evident in their product.

#4 They aim for best in class

“You may feel like there are a billion newsletters out there—how can you possibly break through? I felt the same way when I started. It turns out that 99% of the content in the world is not very good. There’s always room for, and interest in, better content. You just need to rise above what’s already out there. And that takes work”. - from

If you need some inspiration, go to this tweet from featuring Kobe Bryant. He eloquently breaks down why you need to invest the time and effort to be the best in your class.

Closing thoughts

“So who invented the motor car running on an internal-combustion engine? Like the steam engine and the computer, there is no simple answer. Ford made it ubiquitous and cheap; Maybach gave it all its familiar features; Levassor provided crucial changes; Daimler got it running properly; Benz made it run on petrol; Otto devised the engine’s cycle; Lenoir made the first crude version; and de Rivaz presaged its history. And yet even this complicated history leaves out many other names: James Atkinson, Edward Butler, Rudolf Diesel, Armand Peugeot and many more. Innovation is not an individual phenomenon, but a collective, incremental and messy network phenomenon.” - Matt Ridley, How Innovation works

Whether you're running a business, contemplating a pivot, or just getting started, aim high—but you don’t need to invent something new.

You can raise the bar, care the most, be bold, and aim for best-in-class in spaces where others are already operating—and simply do it better.

Innovation often comes from improving things that already exist. What are the problems which you are currently experiencing yourself? Chances are, others are dealing with them too.

Look around. Plenty of the products and services around you right now probably don’t deliver an experience on par with the four principles we've discussed. Find that gap, because innovation is collective and incremental.

Now, it's your turn.

Key takeaways

• You don't have to be first, just be better

• Raise the bar for quality and accessibility

• Prioritise empathy and user-focused design

• Be bold and ignore the competition

• Aim to be best in class

• Innovation is often incremental, not revolutionary

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

Welcome to the roundup

👋 Welcome to the roundup! This is a new monthly post where I’ll be discovering and curating founder advice, design Inspiration and cool finds, to make you better at your job and business.

Enjoy! 🔮

Subscribe now

Founder advice 📚

Golden advice from Chris Frantz here on successful product hunt launches

He breaks down steps you should take to give you the best chance for a solid launch.

This amazing tweet from on a simple truth.

This hits home for me, because I genuinely believe it’s the reason for most purchases. Most B2B tools help businesses earn more money, and even talks about how he helps people become hero’s at their job. I don’t have any experience in the second point…

Why perseverance is an underrated factor of success.

“Half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is perseverance“ - Steve Jobs

I’m slowly realising how important this is. Most of us give up before we see success, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not just around the corner.

Design Inspiration ✨

This FIRE landing page transition by Nick Sanchez using Framer. Beautiful.

This apps by Apple page. A really nice and unique execution of graphics and product details. Super simple, but it’s gorgeous.

Glideapps.com’s landing page. This may have been updated some time ago, but I’ve only just noticed and thought it deserved a feature. Simple and clean

Cool finds ⚡️

This unbelievable AI language translation demo which alters your lips, accent and language 🤯

This demo from Matter on their latest update, allowing you to highlight podcasts. This is something I’m in dire need of. I’m always manually writing notes down whilst listening!

A cool prototype built in SwiftUI from Robera Geleta on integrating AI in mail.

👋 Alright, that’s my top picks for September

If you haven’t read this month’s practical design and UX guides from Designing Futures, here are the links:

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

This week, I'm sharing a short personal reflection on how I mentally overcame a plateau in growth, something many of you may have experienced in your current projects or businesses.

Whether you're working on a startup, thinking of starting one, or managing a side project, we all hit mental walls at some point. We can either let them consume us, or we can figure out how to work through them and move forward.

I hope this week's story helps you to do just that.

After enjoying some steady initial growth, hitting a four-day stretch with zero new subscribers felt hard. It's easy to spiral into thoughts like:

• There's no one left interested in my work

• I've shown all my cards, and now everyone's seen them

• Maybe I've already failed

• It feels like I’ve hit a wall

Thankfully, I'm lucky enough to have an amazing partner who slapped some sense into me and reminded me of a stupidly obvious truth—I'm still at the starting line.

The newsletter hasn't been running for that long. I have so many ideas and lessons I can simplify from my experience to provide value to founders, indie hackers, and product people. My passion for helping people bring their ideas to life fuels me.

I spent three years procrastinating on this project, and the growth chart says it all. The moment I took action, things started moving.

People ask me what changed. The real shift was finally gathering the courage to put my ideas and voice out there. I shelved my self-doubt and started sharing my insights and experiences.

You know that feeling when you have a fresh new idea bursting out of you? Those moments where nothing else matters. Those moments where you need to pause whatever you're doing and start jotting down thoughts—because deep down, you know you either have to save it or share it with the world.

I like to think of this as the fresh idea feeling.

Why do fresh ideas feel so good?

It's not just emotional, the moment your brain sparks a new idea that resonates with you, it showers you with dopamine1.

This surge can even catapult you into a flow state, where time seems to blur and your creativity takes the wheel2. Our brains are wired to love novelty, and new ideas feel like finding hidden treasure3.

It's a beautiful blend between biology and psychology that not only fuels your creativity but also your happiness. The fresh idea feeling serves as a form of cognitive reevaluation, helping you manage stress by shifting your perspective4.

How can we keep ideas fresh?

The other day, while cycling and listening to one of my favourite podcasts, a fresh idea popped into my head. It reminded me of how I felt when my partner talked some sense into me. The fresh idea feeling shouldn't just exist in that initial spark; its glow should extend for months.

A plateau becomes a forever-state only if we let doubt creep in. When we have fresh ideas, we lack the feeling of failure because it hasn’t materialised yet. By reminding myself that I'm still in the early stages, I can fuel new creative energy into my project and serve the audience I know needs my writing—the ones who've told me so and whom I'm excited to help.

The trick is to persevere even when we feel like giving up, because it’s likely that some success or small progress, is just around the corner.

I'm 3 months in—It's time to continue feeling excited.

What idea is still early for you?

Key takeaways

1. Take action: Overcoming procrastination leads to progress, as my chart shows.

2. Plateaus are temporary: Don't view a growth stall as failure.

3. Fresh ideas: The initial buzz from a new idea can serve as long-term motivation.

4. Mindset matters: A shift in perspective can reignite passion for your original idea.

5. Stay early, stay excited: Remembering you're in the project's early stages can reignite your energy.

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

Taking an idea from concept to reality without understanding your customers is like assembling a puzzle without looking at the picture on the box. You might get there eventually, but it's going to be risky, time-consuming, and costly.

In this article, we’ll walk through some straightforward steps to help you feel confident you're building something that people want.

It’s the 'picture on the box' instructions for your next big idea.

Why is this important?

One of the biggest skill gaps we see in the tech-industry, is problem discovery.

We are all naturally creative, and when we have that shiny new idea, we get excited and want to begin bringing it into the world immediately.

This is in fact an incredible skill. The ability to take something that was once just a thought, and literally will it into existence for others to use or see, is magical.

Creating and developing an idea on your own can attract an audience who finds it valuable. However, the most impactful ideas truly come to life when they're nurtured through collaboration.

The best ideas grow with others.

The best ideas address unmet needs for specific people. Understanding them and being customer-centric from the start is crucial for a few reasons:

• ✅ You gain immediate insights into what your target audience actually needs.

• ✅ You're more likely to create a product that resonates with people.

• ✅ Spending time listening to others can attract early supporters who become your first customers and advocates (I experienced this firsthand with this newsletter).

As an example, I recently came across this tweet by Lukas Hermann, who bootstrapped stagetimer.io with his partner and co-founder Liz.

Whilst the tweet is impressive, it was his replies to other Indie developers in the comments, expressing the need to be customer-centric, which I think is worth it’s weight in gold.

Lukas shares the importance of how knowing your customer is key. He spent time in the beginning drilling down on who they are, what their needs are, and sharing content that helped him to learn about them.

Here’s another example from , with a similarly great reply from Viktor Nagornyy.

Step 1 - Build conversations, before products

“Building is secondary to delivering value” -

If you have an idea, or even just a thought that you want to explore, the next step is determining what you need to learn about its potential audience.

By spending time speaking with potential users before developing your idea, you set the stage for growth.

What do you want to learn?

Identify gaps in your knowledge that could inform your idea's viability. For example, when I first had the idea for this newsletter, I noticed a gap in the market for practical design and UX advice, specifically for early-stage founders and Indie hackers.

To validate this, I spoke to this audience to understand their specific challenges.

🕵️ I needed to learn:

• How much are design and user experience skills an issue for them?

• When do these challenges arise?

• What are their specific pain points? For example: running user tests, improving overall experience, or refining the UI.

Go where your customers go

After figuring out what the top aspects are that you need to learn more about, the natural next step is to figure out where your potential customers hang out.

In an online world, the intuitive decision is to go Twitter (…X), LinkedIn etc. But try and have a good think about other places that they may go: e.g. Niche subreddits, coffee shops, forums, or industry events.

How to speak to customers

Once you’ve figured out where they are, it’s time to talk to them!

In principle, you want to ask open-ended questions which allow them to provide you open answers.

Example

When I initially had the idea for this newsletter, I asked a very simple question on the r/startups subreddit, to both build conversation, and strengthen my articulation of the problem space.

What I shouldn’t have done is ask such a direct and closed question at the end “Is this a problem for you?” These typically generate “Yes, no, maybe” responses that don’t provide you many insights. But, I was in the heat of the moment and wasn’t properly wearing my UX research hat, my creative hat was suck on too tight.

It would have been much better for me to say “What kind of design and UX difficulties have you faced when building your startup in the past?“

Whilst these are only simple signals, it gave me initial confidence that my audience are experiencing problems that I feel I can add value to, by simplifying my expertise into practical guides.

Whilst it’s always better to speak to people in person (online or offline), this async approach did help give me some small and immediate validation to get the wheels turning.

💬 Tips for speaking to customers:

• Use open-ended questions: 'Can you describe your process?' or 'Tell me about a time when...'

• Be authentic: People crave authenticity, and this fosters trust and openness.

• Be transparent: Share your ideas and findings, encouraging clear feedback in return.

If you want a further in-depth guide on user interviews, or great questions that yield the best insights for your product or ideas, drop me an email and I’ll make a start.

Step 2 - Find your core insight

“Product creators like to think of what’s possible: They dream about how introducing their product into the market might change the world. This is an appropriate framing — as long as it comes with a bit of humble pie. New products don’t succeed because of the wide breadth of features they provide. Facebook isn’t successful because it allows people to build groups, host events or post photos of their dogs. Instead, Facebook is successful because of one core insight: People want to connect with their friends and family online. You can’t have 20 insights and be successful — you must have just one.” - Gagan Biyani, co-founder and CEO at Maven.

Gagan wrote a great and in-depth article called The Minimum Viable Testing Process for Evaluating Startup Ideas, in which he share an excellent truth. Early-stage startups need to understand one core insight about who they are building for in order to move forward.

Through conversations with potential customers, aim to identify a single, unambiguous truth that drives your idea. For Facebook, it boiled down to people's desire to connect with friends and family.

If you’re interested in this topic and want to dive deeper, Gagan will teach you in his article how to test the riskiest assumptions about your startup idea.

Spot the patterns

As you collect insights over time, recurring themes will emerge. It's tempting to act on individual feedback, but that can lead to skewed perspectives.

This is a tricky balance to strike with intuition, but the most important insights will get more obvious over time.

Step 3 - Find willing collaborators

As you build conversations, the next step is to start gathering these customers into a single place, whether an email list, a dedicated subreddit, or an early-access platform.

Andy Budd recently wrote a great thread on why startup waitlists for can be problematic. This isn’t because they’re ineffective, in-fact they are a great way for you to find willing collaborators which will help you continue to evolve, shape and nurture your idea into a successful product.

What makes them problematic is that so many founders treat them as a sales list, rather than a collaborative community with users.

Step 4 - Co-create with your community

The best ideas grow with others.

Make your email list, audience or small community a place of creative collaboration, a place to nurture ideas and let users evolve your product with you.

Help them to see your vision, or what you’re working towards. Once you feel more confident in the direction, go to Mobbin to get inspired, sketch your thoughts, and create a prototype in no-code, some code, or Figma to bring it to life.

Starting with conversations ensures you're not only building your idea right, but building the right idea.

Key takeaways

• Build conversations, before products

• Customer conversations can lead to early-collaborators and fans

• Go to where your customers hang out

• Ask open-ended questions to gather the best insights

• Find your core insight

• The best ideas grow with others

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

Matt Lerner, co-founder and CEO at Startup Core Strengths, recently wrote an article for FirstRound titled “Finding Language/Market Fit: How to Make Customers Feel Like You’ve Read Their Minds“. Not only do I love this piece, but I recommend you go ahead and read it as soon as you can.

Why? Matt breaks down: why finding language/market fit is critical for founders, how to draft impactful language, validate user comprehension, and test your results.

This week, I’ve written a complementary article that further re-iterates some of the key points highlighted by Matt, with my added perspective, experiences from previous projects, and practical tips and tricks from my journey in user research.

“Writing is easy, all you have to do is cross out the wrong words” - Mark Twain

Writing is everywhere, from titles, descriptions, buttons, popups and emails, to websites.

It’s the interconnected foundations of the entire user experience that guides, educates and instructs people on how to use your product. Every sentence, call to action, and guiding label should be thoughtfully designed to cater to the specific audience that's engaging with your product to solve their challenges.

Language that resonates with your users is language they're already familiar with and actively seeking on web pages and apps. Familiar language allows them to cut through the noise – with a clear path for them to discover your solution, to fix problems for their unmet needs.

This can boost conversion by:

• Increasing chances of making a good first Impression

• Reducing time for users to learn what your product does

• Lowering barrier to entry for users to try your product

• Increasing ease-of-use and ability to use your product

I’ve seen companies with language/market fit normally get conversion rates from 8% - 40%, which results in much stronger unit economics. Why the sudden jump? Visitors to your site or app store listing bring different levels of intent. It’s easy to convert high-intent users. But if you’re an unfamiliar startup, most of your visitors will have low intent, more curious than desperate. As you tighten up your language, you’ll be able to cut through to that massive pool of low-intent traffic. - Matt Lerner

Here’s an example of tailored language

Casual
B2B platform for Business Planning

Casual's understanding of their user is clear - they intentionally use terms that minimise the learning curve for users when navigating their platform. This approach enhances usability by:

• ✅ Emphasising the primary task for their customers – crafting business data models. The 'New Model' call to action is both clear and actionable.

• ✅ Familiarity is fostered through terms such as 'P&L', 'Cash balance', 'Forecast burn' and 'Runway'. These terms steer users towards recurring tasks they commonly engage in, whether they utilise Casual's solution or not.

• ✅ Catering to its B2B context, where users expect 'Documentation' to seek comprehensive support or troubleshooting assistance.

Four key insights

Let's dive into four key insights you aim to grasp about your users, to effectively communicate in their language. Achieving this can be done through a variation of listening methods.

👂 Pay close attention to the words and ways users describe the following aspects (don’t worry we’ll walk through them):

1. Their Mental models

2. Their Jobs To Be Done

3. Their Core Motivations or ‘Why’

4. Their Experience

✍️ Aquire these insights by:

1. Conducting one-on-one conversations or interviews with existing or potential users.

2. Observing the language they use on social media, forums, or online communities.

3. Exploring interviews featuring your target audience, such as podcasts.

Stage 1 - Listening and Observing

Mental Models

A mental model is what the user believes about a system and how it works.

Imagine yourself buying new clothes online - the mental image you create, the steps you think through – that's your mental model of the process.

“Users spend most of their time on websites other than yours. Thus a big part of customers' mental models of your site will be influenced by information gleaned from other sites. People expect websites to act alike.” - Jakob's Law of the Internet User Experience 

To truly understand your user's mental model, my favourite method is to simply have a conversation.

Regularly set aside time for one-on-one chats with users, to talk about their problems and everyday challenges, not necessarily just your product. For instance, if you're working on a better booking system for spa treatments, ask customers to walk you through their usual routine – how often they do it, when, and what the experience is like.

Your goal is to catch the words they use and how they describe their experience.

Often, you'll pick up on terms they naturally use, ones you might not have thought about. These insights can shape your entire service or experience.

Casual conversations help build rapport. If they're new or haven't used your product, ask them about their experiences with your competitors.

It's all about getting into their mindset and seeing how they view things.

Jobs To Be Done

Bob Moesta introduced the “Jobs To Be Done.” (JTBD) framework – a concept I highly recommend exploring, especially through Lenny's recent episode with him, for an easy introduction.

Jobs To Be Done is a concept that helps you understand why people buy or use your product. Imagine your product as a "tool" people "hire" to get a specific "job" done in their life. Understanding this "job" helps you make a product that's useful.

Thinking in terms of the users job is a great way to focus on when they need to do their task. This will help you understand so much more than you would have initially thought, including their environment - whether it's an office, a street, or their home sofa.

Speak to users about the task they’re trying to complete. Ask them to walk through when it happens, and describe what their environment looks like. As mentioned before, pay close attention to the way they describe completing that task and the terms they use.

Core Motivations

Beyond comprehending the Jobs or tasks that your users are trying to complete, I also think there’s another angle which is possibly the most important, their motivations, or the “why” behind their actions.

Years ago, I worked on a nutrition-based consumer app in a startup called OME Health, that helped people do a range of things, such as losing weight, to improving their energy. After interviewing users to improve our onboarding, I noticed that there was a hidden motivation behind their intention.

Yes, they want to lose weight, but there’s a deeper meaning to it. A core ‘why’. Users told us that “I want to be healthy for my family“, or “I want to feel like myself again“.

Understanding the core motivations of your users, will help light the creative spark that ignites inspiration, and allow you to leap past what you imagined a good solution, or experience could look like.

Find out the reasons underlying their intentions. Ask them what using your product or your competitor's product signifies for them – how it enhances their lives.

Experience

Another powerful way to truly understand your users, beyond exploring their mental models and Jobs To Be Done, is by discussing their experience.

How familiar are they with the domain you’re working on? Are you selling to experts? Or introducing them to something new?

When I worked at Checkout.com (a stripe competitor in the payments space), I became familiar with technical payments language that other enterprise merchants, which we sell our solution to, are already experts in.

This awareness was important. For instance, while designing the user experiences for Checkout.com's payments dashboard, I knew it was essential to use terms that these users were familiar with and expect to see. Terms like Reporting, Acceptance Rate, Declines, and Issuing were part of their everyday vocabulary.

Recognising this, and understanding that users might commonly utilise both Checkout.com and Stripe simultaneously, equipped me with the knowledge to craft designs that resonate with their familiarity. Additionally, I had a better grasp of their literacy level with these technical terms.

Ask about their experience in the area you’re solving for.

Stage 2 - Apply your insights

How do you describe the problem you’re solving it?

Now that you've gathered valuable insights from users, the next step is to infuse or adapt these insights into how you articulate the problem your product addresses.

Your solution statement, which communicates the precise problem your product solves, forms the foundation of your communication and writing.

From landing pages and blogs, to LinkedIn bios, features, and business sales calls, everything should echo your researched and tailored approach to your solution. This approach significantly heightens the probability of your solution resonating and aligning with what users need and expect.

Is your language tailored?

Consider whether your language caters to a specific audience. Are you addressing problems in the B2B space, B2C, or both? Let's look at examples of how you can precisely choose the words for two distinct user bases:

For B2B:

• Your language should encapsulate business challenges and opportunities.

• Use concise and authoritative terms that directly align with the goals and concerns of enterprises (if that’s your target audience).

• Craft your writing to be impactful, driving action and offering tangible solutions.

For B2C:

• Tailor your language to resonate with individual consumers' needs and aspirations.

• Use accessible language that is common to a wider audience of users.

Overall, any writing should be concise, actionable and present.

Is your end-to-end experience using this tailored language?

As re-iterated through the article, understanding the overall tasks that users intend to complete, will unlock the insights you need, in order to use specific language that greets their expectation when they are looking to complete it.

It will help them feel confident through the experience that it’s the right solution for their job, and that you’ve done the hard work to understand them.

In the example above, the user experience remains consistent with terms and expressions relevant to nutrition-based weight loss solutions. Language such as 'Guide,' 'Support,' 'Programme,' and 'I’m ready! Let’s get started' are mostly consistent.

Closing thoughts

Every label, word or description is something for users to read. This helps them to understand what your product does and how to use it.

By listening to the way users talk, learning their tasks, and their experience, you can create something which not only boosts conversion, but connects to their core motivations.

You’ll create an experience that matches their “Why“.

Key takeaways

• Learn their mental models: Learn how they view things from their perspective.

• Learn their jobs: Your language should explain how your solution fits into their lives.

• Learn their motivations: What’s the reason behind their intent with your solution?

• Learn their experience: What is their literacy? What experience do they have?

• Make it familiar: Use words they know and use themselves.

• Write clearly: Writing should be actionable, present and concise.

See you next week,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

Welcome to the roundup

👋 Welcome to the roundup! This is a new monthly post where I’ll be discovering and condensing:

1. Advice from founders

2. Design Inspiration

3. Cool finds

This is first issue of the roundup and will be treated as an experiment. If it provides you value, or begins to, I’ll continue to shape it and keep it coming. If not, I’ll stop and focus fully on the practical design and UX advice.

Enjoy! 🔮

Founder advice 📚

How Pallyy.com hit 59k MRR from Tim Bennetto – Go to tweet

Such a simple, and confidence inspiring summary. Simplicity and discipline beats complexity and motivation every time.

What is holding you back by – Go to tweet

I think it highlights the issue that so many of us are facing. Focus. The discipline to put our distractions to the side, and work hard at what we know we need to do is not only harder than ever, but more important.

This great tweet from Pete on when to quit, and being determined – Go to tweet

I think this beautifully demonstrates with simple data why determination is so important. You may not get there on the first try, some do, but it’s more important to keep going and thinking long-term.

Design Inspiration ✨

This new app icon designed by Adam Whitcroft for @with_multi. It feels so modern and fresh. I’m obsessed.

This bold take on footers designs by Noah Webster-James. You know, those boring ol’ things at the bottom of the page? I love the size of this. We’re so used to footers being these tiny details at the end. What if they were as important as everything else?

This landing page and Onboarding screen from Qatalog 🔥 – found on Mobbin

Cool finds ⚡️

The voiceover in this video was 100% AI generated 🤯

No words. You need to hear it.

Haptic – a simple and minimalistic action-based journal for iPhone

This website raises the bar and the app is simply beautiful.

Multiplayer collaboration for macOS – multi.app

Really interesting execution on a native-mac feel approach to sharing control for any app or display between teams for faster communication. This is the standard inside products, but not on an OS level. I’m keen to see how this innovative idea evolves.

👋 Alright, that’s my top picks for #1

If you haven’t read this month’s practical design and UX advice from Designing Futures, here are the links:

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

✨ I hope this week’s writing was useful for you. Sharing this article with your team allows me to continue being helpful and continue writing. If you want to reach out, you can tweet or email me as I’d love to hear from you.

“User experience is critical. Especially when you compete on a market with the same features but want to sell a better product.” - Feedback from a founder

🗞️ Recent posts:

• How to Make a Great First Impression with User Onboarding

• How to Strike the Perfect Balance Between Using Your Intuition and User Research

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Every day, hundreds of new products hit the internet, each hoping to make a lasting impression. Yet, only a few manage to catch our attention.

Over the years, standout products like Headspace, Airbnb, Spark, and Notion have set impressive benchmarks. They've made exceptional user experiences both a norm and an expectation.

This might seem daunting, but I think this is as a fresh opportunity. It's undeniable that perception is powerful. A stellar user experience can transform your product from just another option to the top choice.

Today, where many products boast similar features, it's those intuitive, bold, and user-obsessed thinkers that truly stand out—shifting from mundane to memorable.

This week, we'll explore why standing out means more than just being different—it's about being remarkably better. Let's dive into the steps you can take to achieve that.

Wrap your arms around the problem

In one of Figma’s latest articles ‘Is the New Deal for business leading by design?‘ , design legend and co-founder at Sundial, highlights a quote that is also a favourite of mine from Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb. He talks about how you need to “Wrap your arms around the problem“, which I think is an awesome metaphor for a simple truth that means you need to understand and own the entire problem space you’re working in.

To do that, you’ll read from many UX resources that you need to start with user needs. This is sage advice, but foundational. To dive deeper, you can lean on what the Job To Be Done framework ‘JTBD’ teaches, which is to think about the task that your users are trying to complete.

People are always trying to complete tasks, and this is a tactical angle to a ‘user need’ which allows you to think about not just what that task is, but when your users are completing it, and why.

Understanding how and when these tasks are completed, either through observing your current product or by watching potential users, lets you analyse the experience into tangible steps.

Why is this important?

Grasping the entire user journey allows you to become an expert on your users and the environment of their challenges. It’s a base for creating today’s top-tier user experiences, allowing you to:

• ✅ Simplify your product to its essence

• ✅ Ignite innovative concepts for improvement

• ✅ Stay a step ahead by comprehending the nuances of your users' journey

How do I get started?

Let's draw inspiration from an example Brian Chesky shared regarding Airbnb. To refine their service, Airbnb's team meticulously mapped out the entire user journey. This allowed them to gain a profound understanding of the entire process.

Map out your user’s tasks ✍️

1. Make a list of tasks or ‘jobs’ that your users need to complete.

2. Prioritise those tasks by how often they need to be completed.

Map our your user’s overall journey 🗺️

1. Map out of every step users take to complete their tasks.

2. If your product is already active, start from the first interaction, such as a Google search or landing on your homepage. Still in the exploration phase? Review current available solutions or observe how users currently manage these tasks.

3. Order them into a step-by-step process that gives you an overview of the entire experience.

Review the entire journey 💡

1. How well does your product allow users to complete their tasks? Or alternatively, how do users complete them today?

2. Are there ways to make the journey smoother, quicker, or more user-friendly?

3. Where are the points of friction?

4. How efficiently does your product, or the existing methods, help users in completing all of required tasks?

It's alright if you're limited by the user feedback you have, or are making decisions based on your intuition. Embracing the mindset of 'wrapping your arms around the problem' sets you up for the 'simple truths' we'll explore next.

Five Simple truths to stand out

1. Be targeted

Trying to be everything to everyone can make your product a master of none.

Picture a shop juggling roles of a deli and a boutique; its identity gets lost. It’s confusing, and customers might doubt its ability to shine in either of those things. Your digital product or service isn’t any different.

Grabbing attention isn't just about sleek designs or catchy phrases. It's about resonating deeply with your audience's needs.

Design for your users, not just for screens and consider their environment and the devices they’re using. If they're predominantly mobile users who frequently use Twitter, tailor your design to be mobile-friendly and familiar in its user interface. Or if you’re working on a B2B enterprise tool, think about how this fits into their desktop workflow amongst other tools. This makes the user's transition to your product smoother and more intuitive.

2. Be bold and exciting

Being bold isn’t about only standing out; it’s also about creating something impactful for the right audience, in an memorable way.

People appreciate the bold. It’s a new and fresh way of looking at things, it’s exciting.

Take Screen Studio for example, their mission is to create “Beautiful Screen Recordings in Minutes.“ Here’s an example of what their tool can do:

Screen Studio challenges the status quo with:

• ✅ Bold new features such as beautiful zooming interactions

• ✅ Customisable backgrounds

• ✅ Personalised options to make my recording mine

It not only incredibly easy to use, but allows me to create beautiful recordings. It’s quick, bold, and overall feels high quality.

3. Work hard to make it simple

Simplicity represents the pinnacle of quality in any user experience, because it eliminates unnecessary complexity that can lead to confusion.

“When an app feels simple, users perceive it as natural, an extension of what they know. It arises from their experience and it flows naturally from what they expect.”
- Designer at Apple

Strive to create an experience so intuitive that users don't need a manual to navigate. It should feel like a natural extension of what they know. In the UX world, we refer to this as designing in alignment with the users' 'mental model'. This means understanding how users perceive and model your product in their mind and in relation to what they already know and are familiar with.

This meme on simplicity hits home for iOS users for a reason.

For those taking notes, their primary 'Jobs To Be Done' include:

• Quickly capturing information

• Easily finding or reading that information

• Editing the information

Apple Notes stands out in its simplicity. One tap on the icon, and you're in. Another tap on a note, and you're ready to read or edit. There aren't any complex menus or distractions to mentally sift through. It's intuitive, rapid, and responsive—feeling like a seamless extension of what users know.

Its minimalism and intuitiveness make it universally usable.

It’s not overloaded with features; it's simple and straightforward. Every founder must ask: What's the core functionality? Overstuffing a product with features only introduces more potential obstacles and learning curves for users.

Using the 'Jobs To Be Done' approach, consider the steps your users take to complete their tasks with your product. The objective is to streamline the entire experience, ruthlessly focusing on the most essential features and making them outstanding.

“Making something look simple is easy. Making something simple to use is much harder - especially when the underlying systems are complex - but that’s what we should be doing. Don’t take “It’s always been that way” for an answer. It’s usually more and harder work to make things simple, but it’s the right thing to do.” - Gov.uk

In summary, do less.

4. Iterate, Iterate, Iterate

Here in the UK, our government's digital team introduced a list of design principles specific to government needs, complemented by posters to illustrate them.

Their ‘iteration’ poster speaks a thousand words. It’s something that designers know yields the best results. While the first version of anything might be functional, it's usually the tenth version that shines the brightest.

This doesn’t mean you need to ship ten variations of what you’re working on. It means you need to have done the hard work to make it simple, and thought about, or drawn out new approaches to make something the best it can be.

The goal is to evolve your solution based on the promise made to users when they signed up. Consider iteration not as a one-time task but as an ongoing commitment, ensuring you're always delivering the highest standard possible.

If you need help breaking down your overall experience and design, to figure out where you could iterate - I highly recommend taking a read through a post from Pat, Better by Design. This will give you some great ideas on what you can refine and improve. If you have any questions or would like to discuss these principles, please tweet or email me, I’d be more than happy to talk them through.

5. Be inspired

I know what you might be thinking, how can I ‘be inspired’?

Whilst this is something that doesn’t sound actionable, I find that it is something that you can easily make time for. Feeling inspired not only supercharges your ability to do all of the simple truths above, but let’s you see things long term, from a different point of view.

Actively take the time to do what inspires you. Spending time in my quiet creative zone gives me my best ideas. It helps my brain to quiet down and bring me the information I’m looking for. Some of my favourite ways to do this are:

• Sit in a coffee shop, with music, a podcast, or with nothing at all.

• Go for a walk in a different direction, be open to randomness.

• Watch a favourite film which has nothing to do with your venture.

• Browse Mobbin to train your design and UX senses, so that you aim for quality.

These simple truths aren't just tips, but catalysts for creativity: urging you to re-think, refine, and be ambitious about the product and experience you want to bring into the world.

Rick Rubin, in his recent book "The Creative Act: A Way of Being," talks about the importance of having an open mindset in the world. I believe this openness means to embrace fresh ideas and to be constantly open to life's unexpected cues. With this mindset, understanding your user’s tasks, thinking boldly, striving for simplicity, and being iterative – I'm confident you're paving a path to something truly distinctive and exciting.

Something that stands out.

Key takeaways

• UX is crucial: A great experience can elevate your product to the preferred choice.

• Wrap your arms around the problem: Become an expert in your users.

• Review the journey: Think of the tasks and overall journey users need to take.

• Be targeted: Speak directly to your audience's needs and desires.

• Be bold: Create something impactful for the right audience, in an memorable way.

• Iterate, Iterate, Iterate: To achieve the best possible solution.

• Be Inspired: Take the time to embrace fresh ideas with an open mindset.

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

🗓️ Next week

The Roundup: Issue #1, August 2023
Your Monthly Dose of Founder Advice, Design Magic, & Cool Finds.

Onboarding is more than just a sign-up process. It's the initial guide and a memorable first moment with your product. This isn't about creating a one-time interaction; it's about igniting a lasting relationship.

When users' needs are met, they aren't just choosing a tool. They're inviting your product into their daily routines, seeking to elevate their personal or professional efficiency.

The challenge isn't just convincing them of your product's potential, but also quickly and consistently showcasing its tangible benefits, and surpassing their expectations over time.

Why is onboarding important?

Today, there are a lot of SaaS apps competing in the same product space. This makes it easy for users to compare and switch to a different one. If you find that users are either struggling to sign up, or they leave shortly after trying out your product, it's likely they haven't experienced its value and aren’t convinced that it’s the tool for them.

The goal is to quickly guide users from introduction to that 'Aha!' moment, where they understand your product and are convinced it's the right tool for their needs.

While there's no one-size-fits-all strategy, we can review the stages of onboarding and explore methods that take your product's initial impression into a lasting impact. Together, we'll ensure that your solution not only resonates with potential users but also showcases its worth effectively, enabling them to fully experience its benefits.

Firstly, define your users ‘Aha!'

What does success look like for your users? When do they truly experience the value your product offers for the very first time? Answering these questions will not only help you create an onboarding process that directs users toward this goal but also assist in identifying ways to improve their journey to that 'Aha!' moment.

Examples:

• For a consumer nutrition app, a user's first success might be when they log their meal.

• In the case of a B2B climate-tech SaaS, the first success could be the completion of the initial customer integration.

• For a productivity screen-recorder SaaS tool, maybe the 'Aha!' moment occurs when users download the tool and realise how easy it was to record their first minute.

The 3 stages of onboarding

Think of the overall onboarding experience like planning a vacation:

1. First Impressions: Imagine you're searching for your next holiday spot. You see a photo of a beautiful place and think, "I want to go there!". That's like a user seeing your product for the first time and sparking their interest.

2. Product onboarding: Once you've picked a place, you book your flight and hotel. That's like a user deciding to try out your product, by signing up to see what it's all about.

3. Value onboarding: Now you've arrived and you're checking if the place is as good as the photos. In the same way, users check if your product lives up to its original promises from the first impressions, and if it really helps them or not.

Stage 1 - First impressions 🖼️

Let’s walk through some examples:

Example 1 - Equals.com

• ✅ Clear problem statement: Concisely explains the problem they're addressing. However, using a word like 'any' could be made more specific. Their sub-line effectively highlights the top features, indicating why their solution is the best.

• ✅ Clear call to action: Comes with an enticing offer. The low friction, "try for free" language reduces the friction to try it.

• ✅ Unique design: The fun, modern design stands out. The instant product preview provides a comprehensive understanding of the product’s functionality and benefits.

Example 2 - Bento.me

• ✅ Design & solution clarity: The design is clean and straightforward, paired with a very specific product explanation. The mention of "link in bio" instantly clarifies its use, and the unique selling point stands out, enhancing the perception of quality.

• ✅ Effective call to action: The call to action is straightforward and uses engaging, personalised language, making it inviting.

• ✅ Quick product overview: As users scroll, they quickly encounter the product and its standout features, reinforcing the promise made at the beginning of the page.

Tip 1 - Clearly communicate your solution ✨

• Create an inspiring intro: Explain your product's promise using both text and visuals. Aim for high-quality. Remember, while some products can thrive despite subpar design, a polished appearance can boost trust and engagement.

• Speak their language: Tailor your content to resonate with your target audience. Understand the terminologies, pain points, and desires they relate to.

• Define the problem, for whom, and when: Be explicit. For instance, "Helping freelancers manage their finances when starting a business."

• Inspire action: Motivate users to take the next step, whether it's signing up, purchasing, or exploring further.

Tip 2 - Elevate the perceived quality ✨

“Ultimately, what determines whether users will engage with your site is their assessment of the site’s expected utility: perceived value vs. the perceived cost of interacting with the site. According to the information-foraging theory, people behave on the web like animals in the wild: they assess the perceived value of a new foraging patch against the perceived cost (effort) of obtaining that food.”

- Aurora Harley, Nelson Norman Group

• Simplicity is key: Many UI issues faced by early-stage founders arise from over-complicating things. Keep your design and messaging straightforward and clean. Get rid of unnecessary elements. Look to successful products for inspiration on streamlined, efficient design. Go to Mobbin for examples.

• Engage with the right tone: The way you communicate with users significantly impacts their perception. Ensure your tone matches what they expect. Whether that’s friendly, genuine, or helpful.

• Stay updated: Regularly assess and update your design to ensure it remains fresh, relevant, and modern.

Tip 3 - Make the next action obvious ✨

• Guided prompt: Clearly indicate what the next step is and how users can take action. A button should be unmistakable and inviting.

• Immediate direction: Users should know, without a doubt, where to go to get started. Prioritise your actions correctly. Highlight your primary action with a standout button, avoiding multiple buttons with the same function which can scatter focus. Ensure this button contrasts well with the page's design, drawing attention second only to your headline.

Stage 2 - Product Onboarding 🛫

Let’s walk through some examples:

Example 1 - Mint (Video)

• ✏️ Consistency & aesthetics: The onboarding process has a disjointed feel due to the contrasting design of the 'Intuit' and ‘Mint’ sections. This can weaken user trust in the product's quality.

• ✅ User-centric approach in Mint section: The second section uses a simple and beautiful design which is pleasant to use. They understand the goals of the users who are coming to this app well, by asking what the app can help them with. Whilst it’s an extra question in the process, it’s a meaningful one. It can make users a little more confident that this is the tool for them.

• ✅ Clear next steps: Mint highlights the primary action users need to take at the end of the flow – linking a bank account. Clear cues like this streamline the onboarding experience, guiding users to their next step effortlessly.

Example 2 - OpenPhone (Video)

• ✅ Design excellence: The onboarding experience is presented in a modern, attractive, and straightforward manner, which sets a positive tone for the experience.

• ✅ User focus & clarity: Throughout the onboarding, there's a clear emphasis on minimising cognitive load. With a design that makes users focus on one question at a time, the experience feels intuitive and undistracted.

• ✏️ Commitment hesitation: Requiring users to choose a plan before exploring the product can be off-putting. While not a total dealbreaker, this approach risks losing users who'd prefer to familiarise themselves with the platform before making any financial commitments. Offering an initial product tour or limited access might build user confidence and lead to more substantial commitments later on.

Example 3 - Mixpanel (Video)

• ✅ Efficient sign-up: The process from the homepage to accessing the product is quick and uncomplicated, making the onboarding experience smooth for users.

• ✅ Design quality: The modern design enhances the perception of the product's quality, setting a positive expectation right from the start.

• ✅ Strategic user journey: The onboarding sequence effectively guides users through initial set-up tasks like creating an organisation and the first project. This ensures that once users reach the dashboard, they're met with a sense of progress and achievement.

Tip 1 - Personalise their journey ✨

• Tailored flow: Use essential questions that both pave the path to success and reaffirm the landing page's value promise. This can be in the form of setting specific goals or adapting the product experience to the user's needs.

• Guided experience: Ensure users feel directed and supported at each step. This not only enhances user experience but strengthens their trust in your solution.

Tip 2 - Simplify to reduce friction ✨

• Reduce steps: Every additional question is a potential barrier. Aim for a sign-up process that's efficient and gets users to the core product swiftly.

• Immediate value: The focus should be on a fast transition into the product where users can instantly start experiencing its value.

Tip 3 - Collect essential data only ✨

• Faster onboarding: Fewer steps equate to a faster and more direct experience. It's vital to ensure users can quickly delve into your product's functionalities.

• Privacy by design: Embrace a privacy-first approach. Request only essential data and always be transparent about its usage. Avoid the pitfalls of excessive data collection practices like those seen with apps like Threads on iOS.

Stage 3 - Value onboarding 🏖

“If your onboarding only extends as far as the first minute or two within your app, it’s not only colliding with a TON of other competing information that users have to wrap their head around, it’s also abandoning those users long before they’re actually fully up and running (which can easily take days, if not weeks).”

- Samuel Hulick, UserOnboard.com

After the initial signup, the true test begins: delivering on the promise you made during first impressions. Think of 'value onboarding' as your chance to give users an demo of why they chose your tool over countless others.

While traditional onboarding may be about ushering users through the door, its significance decreases if users feel lost once inside. Your job extends beyond the welcome mat. If users find it challenging to experience the very benefits you promised, their journey with your product may be short-lived. Ensure the path to value is straightforward, intuitive, and fulfilling – or risk them heading for the exit.

Let’s walk through some examples:

Example 1 - Mixpanel

• ✅ Guided progress: The homepage effectively outlines the next steps, providing a clear view of tasks ahead.

• ✅ Intuitive navigation: Navigating the homepage is a breeze, with clean and straightforward options to move forward.

• ✅ Resources at hand: Quick-start guides and SDK examples are readily available. This not only supports exploration but also accelerates the learning curve, ensuring users can dive in with confidence.

Example 2 - Trello

• ✅ Guided paths forward: The product introduces itself with ready-to-use templates with different Trello board styles, drastically cutting down the learning time and letting users dive right in.

• ✅ Focused action: The primary button is geared towards achieving the initial success, guiding users to create their first board.

• ✏️ Navigation duplication: The side navigation seems a little distracting. It's unclear how it differentiates from the main navigation at the top.

Example 3 - OME Health

• ✅ Progression system: The app effectively utilises a progression system to provide an engaging introduction. Presenting the health journey as a timeline gives users an immediate sense of progress.

• ✅ Guided experience: Users are directed and their expectations are set through a clear timeline design. This ensures they understand both their current status and future steps.

• ✅ Remarkable moment: The app focuses on creating a lasting impression, especially for first-time users embarking on a weight loss journey with language such as “The start of your new journey”.

Tip 1 - Guide users to make their first win ✨

For more advice on specific onboarding patterns such as improving empty states, I highly recommend diving through Samuel’s incredibly concise and useful website specialising in these patterns here.

• Remove roadblocks: While empty states can be used, they should guide users toward their next action. They shouldn't be left to figure out what to do on their own.

• Progression systems: Utilise them to provide clarity on the user's journey within the product. They are helpful in showing the immediate next steps.

• Simple first forward: No-one wants another to-do list. Ensure the experience is as straightforward as possible, even if it seems overly basic at times.

Tip 2 - Make it memorable ✨

• Be engaging: Think about the difference in experience between a waiter who merely points to a table versus one who welcomes you warmly. The latter leaves a lasting impression.

• Be Impactful: Ensure users feel this product is the solution they've been searching for without being obtrusive.

Tip 3 - Become their long-term coach ✨

• Be empathic: Always try and approach the experience from their perspective. Think about a time you started using a new tool, what difficulties did you face getting up-to-speed in the learning process?

• Clear direction: Users should never be left wondering "What's next?". Keep the journey intuitive.

• Build & nurture the habit: Recognise that while users might take time to familiarise themselves fully, if they find value, they'll hopefully invest the time to form a habit. Regularly check in and evaluate if the solution meets their needs by speaking with them, refining the experience as needed.

Measure, refine, repeat.

Utilise analytics tools to refine your onboarding. Activation rate, time-to-value and retention will give you insights to spot weak points.

It's important to set up feedback loops, but timing is everything. Speak with users for feedback after they've received value from you. Imagine that you’re about to test drive a car, and the dealer asks how it is to drive before you’ve even sat in it? Of course, it doesn’t make sense and it’s off-putting.

Make it a habit to speak with users regularly. If possible, observe their interactions with your product. Questions about their initial experience can offer invaluable insights that will guide your decisions like a compass.

Summary of learnings

1. Onboarding is more than just a sign-up process: Beyond the first impression, ensure you have a clear and engaging flow that helps your users to see the magic of your product right from the start.

2. Keep it sweet & simple: Onboarding should feel like a breeze. Cut the extra steps, ask for just the essentials, and keep it clutter-free. Eliminate any unnecessary UI or information that could mentally overload users.

3. Lead them to the eureka moment: Guide your users to that 'Wow! I get it now!' moment. Help them see and feel the real value your product brings.

4. Always learn & improve: Feedback is a gift. Embrace it. Make your onboarding experience even better with each insight and suggestion. Offer users help when they're lost, celebrate their milestones, and always be ready to listen to their feedback.

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

✨ I hope this week’s writing was useful for you. Sharing this article with your team allows me to continue being helpful and continue writing. If you want to reach out, you can tweet or email me as I’d love to hear from you.

🗓️ Next week’s article:

How to beat the competition, by design.

My favourite founder-related GIF this week,

Truly understanding what your users want and need can be hard. Sometimes you don’t have all the answers when you have to make tough decisions. Do my users actually require this feature? What do I call it? Does it speak their language? Knowing when to trust yourself based on your intuition, or realising that you need to learn more before deciding is harder.

You may feel that you don’t have enough experience, or not enough user feedback. Sometimes you don’t have enough time, or it’s simply hard to collect thoughts and opinions to make the right decision.

The hard truth is, there is no right answer. You have to use a mix of both research and intuition to create great products, but it’s not impossible. Intuition will help you to think broadly, and be creative with your solutions, and user research will help you validate these efforts, to ensure they are effective.

The insights you learn through user research are a bit like a compass. They give you a direction you should go in, and sometimes they’re correct, sometimes they’re not, but you’re the captain of the ship. So, how do you keep sailing forward, or choose another direction to pivot to?

As a designer, I’ve helped many companies shape their ideas. Starting from early-stage products which are still trying to figure out their solution and who it’s for, to corporations which fiercely compete against other mature products.

In small startups with low to sometimes no budget, it’s common to struggle gathering any insights or validation in our ideas from active users or prospective ones. This forced me to rely upon my intuition almost every day.

In the large corporations with established solutions and market share, you can also be forced to decide between juxtaposing information all the time. Should we do this feature? Is this worth our time given our position? Is the solution we’re working on providing any benefit to the customers we’re serving?

A compass can sometimes help us navigate these questions, and reduce the burden of feeling stuck. For a real compass to work, it needs to be balanced, so the magnetic needle is flat and able to give you a direction. And at each end of the needle, there are two counterweights which allow it to do just that.

For this analogy, your compass has user confidence on one side, which is based on how well you know your users and customers.

On the other, you have your experience and observations which you’ve learnt through the success, failures, and decisions you’ve made in the past.

User confidence

As you learn more about your users and customers, you’ll naturally become more confident in understanding them over time. You’ll train your brain to habitually ask yourself questions that help to refine your product from their perspective. Thinking in their perspective is the core of what it means to be user-centred when building your product.

Your confidence is a feeling that comes from spending time with users talking about your solution, their problems and what’s important to them. Understanding that at the core, they’ve hired your product or service to help them complete a task, is a useful truth to help you ask better questions, and filter unnecessary information.

You won’t always have every answer because the people using your product are unique. But, over time, you’ll learn more and more about how they use your product in better detail. You’ll start to feel more confident in what their day-to-day activities look like, the tools they use, and the behaviours or patterns they take to complete those tasks.

This objective data is imperative to your foundation of knowledge and evidence in understanding who uses your product. It gives your compass the energy to move the needle, and gives you a sense of your true north. You should collect, refresh and continue to build this library of user knowledge over time.

But as we’re aware of, sometimes this needle struggles to point in solely one direction. We can be unsure at times of what to do with the limited pieces of information we have, and every so often we need to decide what to do next on our own.

Experience and observations

The other side is balanced and powered by your very own experience, decisions, and observations from the past. This is what your intuition is made from. It’s a feeling that you can’t quite put your finger on, but it’s a sense of certainty that you know things are going in the right direction or not.

You might be thinking one of the two classic thoughts founders have which counter-argue this notion, especially when they start to doubt their abilities:

“I don’t have enough experience, let alone in design or UX to make a good decision. I’m not a designer.”

“Intuition is subjective, I don’t know whether I trust my ideas or know the best practices. It’s also not a reliable data source.”

Firstly, let’s set one thing straight. Everyone is a designer. Yes, you read that right. Have a look at any product team, every single person across design, engineering, data and product are making decisions on behalf of their users. Aspiring founders are deciding what overall solution and features are going to benefit their future users. By definition, they are designing. Of course, the support from dedicated designers will be helpful and bring skill to the table. But that shouldn’t stop you from utilising the lessons you’ve learnt along the way.

Secondly, your Intuition is based on experience, decisions, and observations as we’ve mentioned. This is in-fact data. It’s the learnings you’ve made from the small successes, failures, and feedback that you’ve had in the past.

So, how do we strike a balance?

Let’s break this down into a short-term answer, and long-term routines which make this process easier over time.

The short term

I’ve found that navigating the decision of relying on your intuition vs user research can be clarified by asking yourself some key questions.

1. How well do you know this domain?

If you’re an aspiring founder, or have only just started to work on your problem, or you’ve just shipped your first release, a data-informed approach to guiding you may be the best scenario. However, if you’ve spent a long time in the space you’re in, there’s a good chance you know how it works, and what the problem-space looks like for your users. Trust in your experience.

2. Has this problem already been solved?

Even if we haven’t solved the problem already, we can increase our user confidence by looking at the way other problems have been solved. What do those other designed experiences validate for you? Does it tell you that there is a market for what you’re working on? Does it show you one example of how to solve it? We can even remix our experience and observations from what good design looks like in adjacent products and experiences to create new ones.

3. Is the environment changing rapidly?

Similar to the first point, if your environment is constantly changing: such as the user-base, or your decisions regarding whom you want to target. Then a data-informed approach may be best, as in these scenarios it’s more difficult to rely on intuition of something which we haven’t yet developed patterned thinking on just yet.

Long-term routines

To make better decisions which become easier over time, or feel more assertive to lean on your intuition, vs decide that more research is needed, you need to do these 3 things regularly:

Continuous research with your users

The founders who spend time with their users most are the ones that create exceptional products. Why? Because they know exactly what problem they are facing, how often they face it, how they solve it today and why their solution is placed to solve it for them. Try to spend 5 minutes with your users every single day, even if that’s reading feedback via an email.

Execute small decisions, and gather feedback

Try new ideas and execute them regularly whilst gathering feedback from your users. This will not only continue to build your user confidence, but it’ll build up your experience from the small successes, failures, and learnings that will inevitably come from this process.

Continue building observations

Spending time outside your space will help give you perspective on a considerable range of topics that you can draw observations from:

• Look for inspiration in analogous areas which have nothing to do with what you’re working on.

• Reflect on what you perceive the best practices to be from your favourite designed apps or websites.

• Look at how other founders or companies are solving a problem related to yours.

As cliché as I know it sounds, you need to believe in your abilities and be bold. This is the core to strong decision-making, which is the hardest to do. These key questions and routines are muscles you’ll build over time, and will provide you the reliable data that compounds into a great intuition.

It might not always feel easy or straightforward, but when you start to feel confident, knowing exactly who your customers are and what they truly need, you’ll be able to make lightning fast decisions, and reduce the time to execute.

All the best,
Josh (@joshuanewton1) 🔮

✨ I hope this week’s writing was useful for you. Sharing this article with your team allows me to continue being helpful and continue writing. If you want to reach out, you can tweet or email me as I’d love to hear from you.

🗓️ Upcoming articles which I’m excited about:

• Techniques for having more ideas

• How to understand your user’s ‘why’

• Help users understand your product faster with mental models

• Weekly roundups - Impressive new products and bold ideas

• Managing the stress of ambiguity