Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design

Users’ attention is critical for today’s competitive field of user experience (UX) design. To achieve this designers might use the Zeigarnik Effect as a powerful method that effectively grabs users’ attention. In this article, we will learn about the Zeigarnik Effect and its applications in UX Design.

Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design

What is the Zeigarnik Effect?

The Zeigarnik Effect is named after the Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. It states that people usually remember partially completed tasks more clearly than finished ones. People feel mental pressure when a job is partially completed, so they feel like going back and completing the task they began. This effect only works for the jobs that the person started, if the job is not started only in the first place then this effect is not so successful.

There are two main ways to implement the Zeigarnik Effect in design:

• Implicit Incompletion: This approach is an indirect means to use elements such as cliffhangers to create a sense of uncertainty. These elements encourage users to stay engaged by suggesting that there is more to discover or achieve. The users themselves will not directly see the effect but indirectly will be under it. Cliffhangers create an urge to come back and complete the content that they consume.
• Explicit Incompletion: This approach directly presents users with a task that is deliberately left unfinished. This could be a partially completed form, a saved shopping cart, or a multi-step onboarding process where users are encouraged to return later. The users can see the effects at work by taking a look at the UI. You will find progress bars, notifications, emails, etc which will move you to complete the task that you started.

Applications of the Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design

The various applications of Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design are:

1. User Engagement:

Using the effect effectively guarantees user engagement and repeated customers. The desire to complete unfinished tasks keeps users coming back to the product or service, fostering continued engagement.

2. Conversion Rates:

You can use gentle reminders like notifications and emails to create a sense of progress which leads users towards completing desired actions such as completing registrations or purchases.

3. Brand Recall:

The Effect also have a positive experience as users completes tasks which they find engaging and good. They suggest you app to their friend and families which can contribute to stronger brand recall and user loyalty.

4. Customer Satisfaction:

The Zeigarnik Effect does not manipulate the users, it just uses their natural desire of finishing a job which can contribute to a more satisfying user experience. Using the effect to manipulate the users to the extreme can degrade the customer trust and business. Be careful how and where you use the effect and try no to target kids.

How to use Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design?

The various uses of Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design are:

Visualization the process:

If you break down complex processes into smaller, manageable steps with progress indicators then you are using the Zeigarnik Effect to encourage users to complete the entire onboarding journey. This also makes the UI more user friendly and engaging as users find its simple to view and use. Also if their steps are saved then they can come back and continue with them whenever they have time.

Gamification:

UI elements like points, badges, or leaderboards creates a sense of incompleteness and adding them in your app can motivating users to return back. This also creates a competitive mindset in which people compare their score among others promoting your app. Gamifying creates as sense of competition with others and with oneself to beat a target that they already achieve or want to achieve

Saving progress:

You can add feature such as saving abandoned carts or partially filled form and send reminders or offers for completing the task. Saving carts feature can move users to purchase the items. Saving progress not only is a part of this effect it is also sign of good UI that is not frustrating for the users as users does not want to do the same works multiple times.

Freemium Models:

If you projects allows subscription or any other premium features then you can have a free version for limited features and then showcase users the premium features so that they can upgrade and complete the experience. Freemium model is a kind of self advertising as users can try the app before buying, so this model brings users to check the premium features and eventually buy having a successful business mode.

Reminders:

To remind users for something such as an incomplete form you can add emailing features for important task or notifications for frequent tasks but the reminders should be carefully timed and should contain only the required matter to avoid confusion and frustration among users. You can design multiple types of notifications and customize it to prevent a feel of repeated boring notification. The notifications can be send on specific time range when the users is guaranteed to be using the device.

Key Steps to apply Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design

The various key steps to apply Zeigarnik Effect in UX Design are:

Drawing Attention:

First of all you need to draw the attention of the user to start with the task which you want. This can be performed by designing attention grabbing UI and good attractive headings. New users can get overwhelmed with the UI so for new users the UI can be simple and gradually new things can be added with time. You can also add beginner steps or tutorials for new users having a pleasant welcome.

Allow partial task completion:

After grabbing their attention ask them for participation of the task or consumption of some content. Create a feeling or less friction and allow some form of customization for a feel of uniqueness. Allow them to complete some simple task from the get go or consume the content that you are sure will bring them back. Also save there progress and do not force users to complete the task until a specific goal is reached or until all of the task is completed.

Showcase the progress:

A well timed interruption can put when the users is getting the hang of the content or the product. Their progress can be also be shown using come progress indication or save for later option. This interruption compels the users to come back for more thus increasing the users retention rate. The UI should be designed in way that showcase the users progress without congesting the screen with numbers, add graph, bars or other colourful UI elements.

Timely Reminders:

The users may forget about their partially completed work due to their busy life so, you can add notifications and also send occasional emails to remind their progress. Too frequent notifications or emails may frustrate the users and destroy the Zeigarnik Effect completely. Notification can be customized to make is look different, you can also add specific notification sound differentiating from other apps.

Conclusion

The Zeigarnik Effect provides UX designers with a powerful tool to improve user engagement and user retention. Applying it strategically can create experiences for users which makes them come back for more, thus leading to a more successful and satisfying product. Use the Zeigarnik Effect ethically to avoid creating frustration or feelings of manipulation by creating a well-rounded and user-centered experience.