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A full archive of all 63 original case studies.

How (not) to get people to download your app
Reddit
9 min read minute read

How (not) to get people to download your app

Reddit's strategy of canibalising their own web experience, and blocking third party apps, might not be working.

SocialSocial Media
Exposing the growth engine of Threads
Threads
10 min read minute read

Exposing the growth engine of Threads

A deep dive into why Threads' launch strategy was so effective, and the UX theory behind their A/B tests.

TwitterSocial MediaSocial
Wise: UX without borders
Wise
9 min read minute read

Wise: UX without borders

Wise are a multi-currency financial service that, during the age of incumbent banking, earned success with their radical transparency.

FinTechBankingPayments
Ticketmaster: the UX of a true monopoly
Ticketmaster
12 min read minute read

Ticketmaster: the UX of a true monopoly

Behind the growing ticket sales and returning user base, lies a troubled experience with fundamental problems.

PurchasingTicketingConsumer
Using dark patterns to overcharge for pizza
Dominos
9 min read minute read

Using dark patterns to overcharge for pizza

How Dominos and Pizza Hut use UX tricks and design psychology to quietly charge more.

DeliveryConsumerIOS
A masterclass in pricing psychology
Netflix
12 min read minute read

A masterclass in pricing psychology

How Netflix doubled sign-ups to their ad-tier with one simple design tweak.

Streamingvideo
Payments: slow and shallow experiences
UX of Banking
8 min read minute read

Payments: slow and shallow experiences

Deconstructing the notion that these banks have feature parity in 2023.

UX of BankingFinTechBanking
The hidden complexity of bank cards
UX of Banking
21 min read minute read

The hidden complexity of bank cards

Historically, bank cards were relatively simple rectangles of plastic. But not any more.

UX of BankingFinTech
900 days of progress
UX of Banking
8 min read minute read

900 days of progress

A unique opportunity to revisit these 12 banks, re-benchmark them, and highlight what 900 days of progress looks like.

UX of BankingFinTechBanking
The flaws of an advertising giant
Google
7 min read minute read

The flaws of an advertising giant

Despite generating $200 billion in revenue, Google Ads is a frustratingly flawed and inconsistent experience.

AdvertisingGoogleB2C
The complexity of credit scores
Credit Karma
8 min read minute read

The complexity of credit scores

They're a confusing mosaic of your financial position. Here's how Credit Karma could educate their users more effectively.

FinTechCredit scoresBanking
The worst rated streaming service
HBO
8 min read minute read

The worst rated streaming service

HBO Max suffers from poor UX judgement, a lack of finesse and a focus on style over function. Let's learn from their mistakes.

StreamingIOS
One billion signatures
Docusign
7 min read minute read

One billion signatures

With an average rating of 4.9 stars, after 500,000 reviews, their IOS app must be doing something rightbut what?

SAASGoogleIOS
Apple Maps vs Google Maps
APPLE VS GOOGLE
9 min read minute read

Apple Maps vs Google Maps

Apple and Google have been fighting for map dominance for nearly a decade, but which is better?

MapsAppleTravel
Why airlines have a 91% churn
Delta
6 min read minute read

Why airlines have a 91% churn

Lousy mobile experiences are forcing consumers to use their desktops. But why is the UX so turbulent?

PurchasingAirlinesTravel
The UX of paid journalism
Wall Street Journal
6 min read minute read

The UX of paid journalism

Annoying paywalls, confusing plans with tempting introductory rates and a cancellation nightmare. Could paid journalism be better?

JournalismeCommerceNews
How Elon's Twitter could look
Twitter
5 min read minute read

How Elon's Twitter could look

How might thoughtful UX help promote transparency and freedom of speech on Twitter?

Social MediaTwitterTesla
Revolut Junior: adolescent banking
Revolut
11 min read minute read

Revolut Junior: adolescent banking

Revolut, the self-professed 'all things money' app, certainly hides any hesitation about diving into new marketsthis is no exception.

BankingRevolutMonzo
The imperfections of Gmail
Google
7 min read minute read

The imperfections of Gmail

1.8 billion active users, 44% of Americans opting to use it as their email solution, and it's created by Google. It should be great, right?

IOSEmailGmail
Monzo vs Starling: Overdrafts
MONZO VS STARLING
8 min read minute read

Monzo vs Starling: Overdrafts

Their core products are incredibly strong, but the cracks start to appear when you get even deeper into their experiences.

BankingMonzoStarling
The experience of being an Uber driver
Uber
8 min read minute read

The experience of being an Uber driver

I joined 4 million others, and became an actual Uber Driver, and the UX is surprisingly awkward.

DeliveryUberIOS
Is this the easiest way to send money?
Cash App
7 min read minute read

Is this the easiest way to send money?

More than 70 million people use Cash App, but how true are the bold claims that it's the easiest way to send money?

PaymentsFinTechIOS
The next-gen console showdown
PS5 VS XBOX
12 min read minute read

The next-gen console showdown

I've spent a few months with both the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5, agonising over the small details. This is what I found.

GamingPlaystationXbox
Can Apple beat Peloton?
Apple
8 min read minute read

Can Apple beat Peloton?

Instead of buying a Peloton treadmill for £2,295, couldn't you just use your iPhone, and a £400 treadmill that you picked up from Amazon?

AppleFitnessIOS
Selling an NFT on OpenSea
Opensea
6 min read minute read

Selling an NFT on OpenSea

Is the user experience of creating and selling NFTs on OpenSea any good? Or is there scope for someone else to do much better?

NFTsCryptoBitcoin
Can Gamestop beat Amazon?
Gamestop
5 min read minute read

Can Gamestop beat Amazon?

This UX analysis covers common pitfalls of eCommerce. How do you make shopping online feel intuitive? This is how.

eCommerceGamingRobinhood
YouTube Shorts: a clone of TikTok
YouTube
9 min read minute read

YouTube Shorts: a clone of TikTok

After seeing the explosive growth of TikTok, YouTube reacted, launching an almost identical concept under the title of YouTube Shorts.

YouTubeVideo CallTikTok
Improving Apple's Airtags
Apple
6 min read minute read

Improving Apple's Airtags

Apple are indisputably a leader in intuitive design, but after spending a few weeks using AirTags, I'm disappointed.

IOSApple
Is monetisation killing Twitch?
Twitch
7 min read minute read

Is monetisation killing Twitch?

How does Twitch make money? And more importantly, do these revenue streams make the experience worse? Yes, yes they do.

GamingAmazonStreaming
Playing Among Us
Among Us
6 min read minute read

Playing Among Us

Among Us is not only a much-loved game, but arguably the most successful mobile game ever created. Here's how it could be better.

GamingAmong UsIOS
Finding conversations on Clubhouse
Clubhouse
7 min read minute read

Finding conversations on Clubhouse

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.

SocialOnboardingWhatsApp
How Robinhood handled a crisis
Robinhood
5 min read minute read

How Robinhood handled a crisis

Robinhood took unprecedented action and, without warning, temporarily restricted trading on immensely popular stocks like GameStop (GME).

InvestingRobinhoodCrisis
A more private WhatsApp?
Signal
8 min read minute read

A more private WhatsApp?

Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and Edward Snowden are just 3 of the influential advocates for Signal. Is the hype justified?

SocialIOSSignal
A rare Spotify miss: Group Sessions
Spotify
7 min read minute read

A rare Spotify miss: Group Sessions

When Spotify started testing a feature called Group Sessionsletting friends listen to music togetherI expected their UX to be world-class.

StreamingMusicSpotify
Buying a greetings card online
Moonpig
6 min read minute read

Buying a greetings card online

Moonpig is an online greeting card store, and although they do sell other types of gifts, the core of their business has been cards for 20 years.

PurchaseGreetings cardsMoonpig
Building a store
UX of Payments
11 min read minute read

Building a store

Verifone are so far behind with their softwarecompared to iZettle, SumUp, Square and Shopifythat I doubt theyll ever catch up.

UX of PaymentsBankingFinTech
Making a payment
UX OF PAYMENTS
10 min read minute read

Making a payment

Most iZettle, Square and SumUp customers would save money by switching to Verifone. But that doesnt mean they should.

UX of PaymentsBankingFinTech
The card reader
UX of Payments
11 min read minute read

The card reader

The incumbent provider Verifone performed considerably worse than iZettle, Square and SumUp.

UX of PaymentsBankingFinTech
Opening an account
UX of Payments
10 min read minute read

Opening an account

The challenger providers were cheaper, simpler, faster and more efficient. And not just a little bitconsiderably so.

UX of PaymentsiZettleSumup
How Klarna Works
Klarna
8 min read minute read

How Klarna Works

Klarna is one of the biggest buy-now, pay-later services in the world, and youll probably have seen their logo in a few familiar places, like ASOS, Topshop and Wayfair.

PurchaseKlarnaPayPal
Buying Bitcoin on Coinbase
Coinbase
6 min read minute read

Buying Bitcoin on Coinbase

Coinbase want to make buying cryptocurrency feel safer and simpler, in the hope that it entices new investors.

CryptoInvestingCoinbase
Freetrade: the UK's Robinhood?
Freetrade
5 min read minute read

Freetrade: the UK's Robinhood?

In a world where everything is free, how will these companies compete? The answer, at least partly, is in having the best experience.

InvestingStocksFinTech
Customer support
UX of Banking
11 min read minute read

Customer support

There are some clear winners and losers here. But overall, the user experience of customer support is desperate for some innovation.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
Open Banking
UX of Banking
12 min read minute read

Open Banking

Although the challenger banks were considerably faster, all of the banks could improve the experience of using Open Banking.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
Making an international payment
UX of Banking
14 min read minute read

Making an international payment

Quite clearly, if you want to make international payments frequently you have to use a challenger bank, or Barclays.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
Freezing my card
UX of Banking
11 min read minute read

Freezing my card

Whilst the challenger banks have made this feature more accessible, they had a poor overall experience. Barclays was considerably better.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
Making my first payment
UX of Banking
14 min read minute read

Making my first payment

With a few exceptions, there wasnt a huge variance in the amount of effort, or time taken to send a payment from any of the banks.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
Opening 12 bank accounts
UX of Banking
15 min read minute read

Opening 12 bank accounts

The challenger banks were significantly quicker (in days) and required less effort (in clicks) to get an active account.

UX of BankingBankingFinTech
How TikTok works
TikTok
7 min read minute read

How TikTok works

Whats the experience of creating your first TikTok like? What have they done really well, and what could be better?

SocialTikTokSocial Media
The growing complexity of Hulu
Hulu
6 min read minute read

The growing complexity of Hulu

Between Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, you already have more content available than you could ever realistically consume.

StreamingHuluNetflix
Let's jump on Zoom
Zoom
5 min read minute read

Let's jump on Zoom

Zoom became a household name during the 2020 pandemic, but does it really have revolutionary UX?

Video CallZoomSkype
Disney+ takes on Netflix
Disney
7 min read minute read

Disney+ takes on Netflix

If it looks like Netflix, talks like Netflix and quacks like Netflix, is it a duck? Wait, no, is it Netflix?

StreamingDisney+Hulu
How categories and tags on Monzo work
Monzo
6 min read minute read

How categories and tags on Monzo work

Their core product is often praised for being intuitive, but when you go a little deeper, does it give up any ground?

BankingFinTechMonzo
Buying a domain on GoDaddy
GoDaddy
7 min read minute read

Buying a domain on GoDaddy

Every founder buys a domain, normally before they build anything. But what's that experience like?

DomainsWebPurchasing
How creating an event on Eventbrite works
Eventbrite
4 min read minute read

How creating an event on Eventbrite works

Here's a deep dive into the ticketing world of Eventbrite. Let's create an event together.

TicketsPurchasePurchasing
Creating a Go Fund Me campaign
Go Fund Me
7 min read minute read

Creating a Go Fund Me campaign

More than $5bn has been donated through Go Fund Me, so you'd expect that experience to be great, right?

Raising MoneyCharityGo Fund Me
Live chat domination
Intercom
9 min read minute read

Live chat domination

Intercom has become the go-to live chat bubble online. But could their service be better? Yes.

Customer SupportIntercomCreating an account
An onboarding masterclass
Notion
7 min read minute read

An onboarding masterclass

Notion is a tool that use every day. But let's go back and see what the new user experience is like.

ProductivityNotionDesktop
Signing up to Asana
Asana
5 min read minute read

Signing up to Asana

Asana is a tool designed to boost efficiency, but here are a few UX tricks that could supercharge it.

ProductivityAsanaDesktop
Signing up to Mailchimp
Mailchimp
6 min read minute read

Signing up to Mailchimp

Creating an account on Mailchimp is daunting, and full of UX slight-of-hand. Let's talk about it.

NewslettersCreating an accountMailchimp
Mario Kart Tour on IOS
Mario Kart
5 min read minute read

Mario Kart Tour on IOS

It's a me, Mario. Except these time he's on IOS, and the experience is nothing like Nintentdo's previous endeavours.

GamingMarioIOS
Booking a valuation with Purplebricks
Purplebricks
4 min read minute read

Booking a valuation with Purplebricks

So you're looking to sell your house and need a valuation? Purplebricks are here to help, sort of.

PropertyPurplebricksDesktop
How Rightmove’s search works
Rightmove
4 min read minute read

How Rightmove’s search works

Rightmove is the UK's biggest property portal, but their search sucks. This is why.

PropertyRightmoveDesktop