Laurel & Wolf — Product Friction
This post is by Ali Shadle. Product Friction is any obstacle that prevents a user from getting real, tangible value from a product.
Learn the secrets to building the path of least resistance from popular web applications!
Table of Contents
Author Credibility: Yu-kai Chou
Yu-kai Chou created the Octalysis Framework after studying gamification since 2003 — years before the term entered mainstream vocabulary. As a Human-Systems Architect & Behavioral Designer, his framework has been applied by LEGO, Microsoft, Porsche, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, and MrBeast, impacting over 1.5 Billion Users.
Chou has taught the Octalysis methodology at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Tesla, Google, BCG, and IDEO.
His work has been cited by Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Wired, US Department of Energy, NIST, NSF, NCBI, US Department of Education, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar — with 3,700+ more academic publications. Explore his books here.
Understanding Where Products Create Friction
Ali Shadle has created a way to teardown the user experience and offer solutions.
Using a human-focused design mindset, Ali reacted and created actionable solutions to Laurel and Wolf’s homepage, funnel, and checkout. (Note: ProductFriction.com is no longer available. Laurel & Wolf shut down in 2019.)
Homepage: Setting the Tone
The homepage is the user’s first impression of the site.
In Octalysis terms, this is the Discovery Phase — where first impressions either hook the user or lose them forever.
Funnel: Guiding the User
As the user interacts, she needs to feel inspired, see accomplishment, and be curious as to what happens next.
This maps directly to Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity and Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback.
Checkout: Get It Done
Make the user feel great about her purchase.
A smooth checkout reduces Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance anxiety and reinforces Core Drive 4: Ownership & Possession.
Ali Shadle is a designer and was a member of Octalysis Prime.
Related Reading
- The Octalysis Framework for Gamification & Behavioral Design
- Human-Focused Design: The Better Term for Gamification
- 4 Experience Phases: The Discovery Phase
- What is Gamification?
- Octalysis Prime and Lifestyle Inertia Design
- Books by Yu-kai Chou