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Although most founders believe that their app will see a ‘hockey stick’ growth trajectory, it very rarely happens. Even rarer whilst competing with some of the largest, most influential tech companies in the world; Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.
In other words: the Clubhouse story is the perfect example of how exponential growth turns UX molehills into mountains.
You see, Clubhouse—the audio-chat social network—has gone from a few hundred thousand users, to around 10 million within just a few months.
But, scaling that quickly introduces new complexities.
Whilst early-adopters are typically forgiving with UX issues, the millions of people being invited to the app each month will be far less tolerant.
So let’s look at the experience of finding new content on Clubhouse.
🏠
Why Clubhouse’s homepage is confusing.
🤯
What people get wrong about ‘aha moments’.
🔍
How UX can be used as a crutch.
🚧
Be aware of broken ‘hooks’.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points
Although most founders believe that their app will see a ‘hockey stick’ growth trajectory, it very rarely happens. Even rarer whilst competing with some of the largest, most influential tech companies in the world; Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.
In other words: the Clubhouse story is the perfect example of how exponential growth turns UX molehills into mountains.
You see, Clubhouse—the audio-chat social network—has gone from a few hundred thousand users, to around 10 million within just a few months.
But, scaling that quickly introduces new complexities.
Whilst early-adopters are typically forgiving with UX issues, the millions of people being invited to the app each month will be far less tolerant.
So let’s look at the experience of finding new content on Clubhouse.
🏠
Why Clubhouse’s homepage is confusing.
🤯
What people get wrong about ‘aha moments’.
🔍
How UX can be used as a crutch.
🚧
Be aware of broken ‘hooks’.

A behind the scenes look at how I redesigned the Built for Mars sign-up flow, and iterated from early feedback.
The two "obvious" fixes that did nothing
Why you shouldn't always force an input
Why limiting the user's choices can be beneficial
Hinge built its reputation on a single promise: it's the dating app that wants you to leave. This is a breakdown of how the interface is actually engineered to make sure you don't.
How dating apps keep you engaged (not romantically)
The design equivalent of clickbait headlines
How Hinge leverages social scarcity
The challenge for a navigation app isn't to efficiently show you the best route, it's to make you believe that you've found the best route.
How strategy influences design
Waze is cornered, and slowly shrinking
What Apple's strategy appears to be

From rat mazes to coffee apps: why the motivation to reach a reward increases the closer your users get to their goal.
How to use the Goal Gradient Effect
Spinning the flywheel of purchases
Why your rules need to be clear
Sometimes, the best onboarding is no onboarding, and simple products get bogged down with unnecessary explanations. This case study on Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda demonstrates when to just let the user try it for themselves.
Sometimes the best onboarding, is no onboarding
“Show, don’t tell” often beats education
Data can’t always tell you when onboarding is wrong

An analysis of Monzo’s 1p challenge, focusing on the middle slump, where progress slows and motivation quietly fades.
Delight can replace progress, but only temporarily
"The middle" is the real retention problem
Motivation needs contextualised reference points