Look & Feel Is Your Moat.

How do you design a delightful app?

Why does it matter?

Where do you start?

I could write an infinite series of posts trying to answer these questions.

So let’s do exactly that.

This is an intro, the first in a series of deep dives into how to design great apps—from crafting experiences people love, to the tiny details that set great products apart.

It’ll be a mix of personal experiences, myth-busting, and unapologetic hot takes.

Let’s get started.

People don’t fall in love with a product because it solves a problem.

They fall in love with how it feels.

Yet, most teams obsess over MVPs, roadmaps, and frameworks, convincing themselves that function alone will make users care.

Sure, a few generic apps have shipped and made money overnight. I call them crapps.

Disposable, forgettable and clogging up the App Store (and our feeds).

In their handbook, the Duolingo team makes a key distinction between shipping MVPs and shipping v1s.

They never compromise on experience. They invest whatever it takes to get it right.

So instead of building a minimum viable product, how about aiming for a minimum lovable product?