User Experience Case Studies That Demonstrate Emotional Design

Cross-Cultural Narratives of Sexual Self-Worth in Tech Use Link In Bio. SexTech isn’t one-size-fits-all—and neither is the psychology of pleasure. At V For Vibes, we’ve learned firsthand that what consumers believe they deserve in terms of pleasure, intimacy, and self-care is deeply shaped by cultural narratives around gender, shame, emotional expression, and power dynamics. Here’s what our localization research and market testing reveal: South Korea: Tech use often aligns with emotional discretion. Private, app-based experiences and anonymized interfaces perform better in a culture that values restraint and subtlety in expressions of desire. Brazil: Sensuality is integrated into everyday culture. Messaging that emphasizes celebration, embodiment, and boldness resonates far more than clinical or minimalist UX frameworks. Canada: Consumers respond more favorably to wellness-oriented language. Positioning sexual wellness as part of a broader health journey (versus erotic escapism) significantly increases engagement and conversion. According to CSA Research, 65% of consumers prefer content in their native language, but over 74% say they’re more likely to engage with emotionally resonant design that reflects their values, identity, and lifestyle—not just their dialect. What this tells us: Localization is not just about translation—it’s about emotional fluency. To succeed globally, SexTech brands must design for cultural permission structures, not just pleasure mechanics. Key takeaway: UX that honors local expressions of self-worth, gender roles, and sensual agency is not just ethical—it’s profitable. #CrossCulturalUX #ConsumerPsychology #PleasureEconomy #EmotionalDesign #VForVibes #SexualWellness #TechLocalization #BehavioralUX #SexTech #GlobalBrandStrategy #EmotionalIntelligenceInTech

People value what they create 63% more. Yet most digital experiences treat customers as passive recipients instead of co-creators. This psychological principle, known as the "Ikea Effect", is shockingly underutilized in digital journeys. When someone builds a piece of Ikea furniture, they develop an emotional attachment that transcends its objective value. The same phenomenon happens in digital experiences. After optimizing digital journeys for companies like Adobe and Nike for over a decade, I've discovered this pattern consistently: 👉 Those who customize or personalize a product before purchase are dramatically more likely to convert and remain loyal. One enterprise client implemented a product configurator that increased conversions by 31% and reduced returns by 24%. Users weren't getting a different product... they were getting the same product they helped create. The psychology is simple but powerful: ↳ Customization creates psychological ownership before financial ownership ↳ The effort invested creates value attribution ↳ Co-creation builds emotional connection Three ways to implement this today: 1️⃣ Replace dropdown options with visual configurators 2️⃣ Create personalization quizzes that guide product selection 3️⃣ Allow users to save and revisit their customized selections Most importantly: shift your mindset from selling products to facilitating creation. When customers feel like co-creators rather than consumers, they don't just buy more... they become advocates. How are you letting your customers build rather than just buy?

Goodbye, Google/Android AI ! 💐 Here's why. My daughter sent me a delighted text with a photo of surprise flowers from her boyfriend, on her first day back to college in the new academic year (that happens late for many schools in the western US). She was thrilled to share the surprise with me. The message was waiting on my phone this morning. 😢 But when I read it, I discovered that my Pixel phone had auto-replied to her, "That's terrible". I have no idea why it did that! I had not seen that suggestion nor intended to click on anything — and I apologized to her immediately. (My guess: it invoked the auto-reply when I unlocked the phone with the fingerprint reader.) On reflection, I find the situation to be unacceptable (keep reading), so I've disabled suggestions in Google Messages. I'm also disabling all other options I can find to share my data or offer suggestions. I can't have a phone that hurts people I care about and forces me to issue apologies. 💡 ... Yet I'm ALSO in UX, so I have three simple principles that are relevant for AI design: 1. AI actions must have strongly positive VALUE. Not only was this a bad interaction, I find that AI suggestions in general are only weakly valuable. I have no difficulty texting, but it's a continual pain to correct AI typos (like "it's" vs "its"). Score: FAIL on value. 2. AI actions must have LOW RISK. To text "That's terrible" by mistake when someone is sharing a delighted moment is a horrible outcome, far worse than the putative benefit of not typing a few letters. Score: FAIL on risk. 3. AI actions should be asymmetrically POSITIVE in emotional valence. Unless there is overwhelming reason to suggest an emotionally negative response like "that's terrible," such responses should never be recommended. Score: FAIL on emotional valence. Was this text incident a minor occurrence? In an absolute sense, yes, of course. But relative to the value I get from texting — and relative to the goals of texting — no, this is not minor. You had one job, Google Messages! I should be able to say what I want to share my daughter's happy moment. But Google failed and made me look foolish (and it would have been worse if I hadn't noticed). 📲 Would you like to turn off AI suggestions on your Android phone? Here's how: 1. Messages app; navigate to the home page / overall message list 2. Click on your account image (upper right) 3. Messages settings 4. Scroll down to Suggestions 5. Turn them all Off 6. If you have multiple accounts: return to messages list, swipe down on your profile photo and repeat the steps above for other accounts. After switching off one, they should be switched off for all accounts, but I would verify that. Finally ... to those who work on AI and LLMs: please learn about game theory, asymmetric payoffs, and the asymmetry of emotions in user experience! There is no reason this should have happened, and appropriate design could have prevented it. #ai #google #aifail #aidesign

I love writing about experience design especially through the lens of travel, hospitality, and community. Through my writing, the best thing happened, thanks to United Airlines, I got to experience its Polaris First Class. Most people board a flight thinking about where they’re going. Lately, I’ve been trying to pay more attention to the in-between. So while everyone around me turned their seats into beds and pulled down their shades... I pulled out my Notes app. I stayed wide awake soaking in every moment of the experience. But when hospitality is done well, it lights me up. It’s not the seat or the food, (those are table stakes) it’s the intention behind it all. → 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 from the cabin walls to the pajamas, reminding you this isn’t just a seat upgrade, it’s a separate experience → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 lets couples lower the privacy wall and share the flight, designing for emotional connection, not just privacy → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝘁 felt modern and smart, recognizing that today’s traveler wants recovery, wellness, and biohacking → 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 added trust and luxury to an otherwise awkward part of flying: airplane blankets. A small brand signal that changes how you feel about the materials touching your skin → 𝗔 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲 subtle, but surprisingly helpful for a quick reset before landing. Designed for people who don’t just want to arrive, but want to feel put together when they do We talk a lot about brand, about loyalty, about emotional connection. Polaris is doing something most brands don’t, intentionally designing for THEIR customer. and that's what sets apart good vs great experience design.