July 31, 2012
GrubHub - An App With a Soul
I was ordering food with GrubHub on my iPhone this past week and was pleasantly surprised by this simple graphic on the confirmation screen:
What you aren’t able to see is when you tap the image, the cartoons begin to dance. This type of interaction is what Chuck Longanecker calls an emotionally intelligent interaction.
An emotionally intelligent interaction is any state (or change in state) of a website/app where the messaging or functionality includes attention to details that create a user experience that feels organic and human. These interactions can be a big experience (like when an entire website is down), or a very small experience (such as when an error state on a form element appears). They can be derived from different elements, including messaging and copy, color and design, and responsiveness to user inputs and system outputs.
Combining each of these crafted experiences creates soul and personality for a website. And it’s that emotional connection with users that builds lasting loyalty, and raving fans.
GrubHub has done a great job building a brand with a charming personality that breeds loyal customers. As designers it’s easy to forget that we have so many opportunities like this to put a smile on our user’s faces. Try adding an emotionally intelligent interaction to your app, I’m sure your users will appreciate it.
