Users that feel that email is too emotionally inexpressive and repetitive need a sense-engaging moment to release emotion between tasks as a mental reward, a confirmation of task completion, and a break from monotony.  

POINT OF VIEW:

By: Cecilia, Gary & Huisi

STRESS! No emotionalcatharsis or

release; useris unsatisfied

User has a list of emails to get through

A!er user finishes an email, presses a ‘trash’ button

STRESS!No sense of

progress or thata task has been

completed

STRESS! No mental

break betweenemails

Email instantly disappears,only to reveal the next one

INSPIRATIONS:

Clear Fruit Ninja

-Todo list app -Game focusing on one primary motion – slicing

-Engages all of the senses to provide a very satisfying, addicting user experience

-No buttons – just gestures tocontrol adding & deleting items

-Uses sound to break monotonyand associate task completion with reward

TRENDS & INSIGHTS:

Combining visual, aural, and tactile stimuli is a great way to engage the user and elicit emotion – we can see this trend in many mobile games, but apps like Clear extend this to productivity.

Successful productivity apps are moving more toward a model of simplicity and elegance – “it just works”

OPPORTUNITIES:

Reinventing mental model of email from repetitive task list to a moment where users can reflect and have an emotional outlet for their various conversations

Combine the sensory engagement used in games (such as Fruit Ninja) with a productivity app (email), to produce a richer and more exciting experience