The Octalysis Design Process: 5 Steps to Better Gamification Strategy
Yu-kai Chou breaks down the 5-step Octalysis design process, from Strategy Dashboard and brainstorming to prioritization, Battleplan planning,…
Work with Yu-kai
The Blog
Ideas on motivation, behavior & design.
Deep dives on the psychology behind why people do what they do — from Yu-kai Chou, creator of the Octalysis Framework. Pick the topic that matters to you.
The Hidden 9th Core Drive: Why Sensation Sits Outside Octalysis
Yu-kai Chou explains Core Drive 9: Sensation, why it sits outside the Octalysis octagon, and when sensory design…
Why Most Leaderboards Fail (And How to Fix Yours in 5 Steps)
Yu-kai Chou explains why most leaderboards demotivate users, and shows five Octalysis-based fixes that create urgency, optimism, and…
Navo Orbico Sales Gamification Case Study: What Actually Worked
A transparent look at the Navo Orbico sales gamification redesign, the mechanics that drove adoption, and how its…
HTC VIVE Grew E-Commerce 188% Through Behavioral Design — Case Study
A case study on how behavioral design helped HTC VIVE improve conversion, traffic quality, and e-commerce revenue by…
Badge Gamification: Why Most Achievement Badges Fail
Learn why most badge gamification fails, how achievement symbols should be designed, and what separates meaningful recognition from…
Authority Branding Concepts (ABC) to LLMs, Search Engines, and Humans
Ranking #1 in 2026 no longer comes from publishing one SEO article and hoping Google does the rest.…
Yu-kai Chou’s Google Keynotes: A Decade of Behavioral Design Innovation
Most behavioral-design ideas get one shot at Google. Yu-kai Chou got three — across personal mastery, product motivation,…
Top Gamification Experts, Gurus & Designers: Where Are They Now (2026)
A 2026 retrospective on the original gamification experts, where their work evolved, and which voices still matter across…