Look at these 2 UIs.

One of them will 100% outperform the other for 1 key reason:

The Zeigarnik Effect.

Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about this psychological trick (& how to use it for your products to increase conversions): The Zeigarnik Effect says our brains HATE unfinished business.

Like that TV show cliffhanger that keeps you up at night.

Or that half-filled progress bar that makes you twitch.

Your brain literally can't let go of incomplete tasks.

And smart designers use this to their advantage.

Credits: @jimkwik

Look at these 2 UIs.

One of them will 100% outperform the other for 1 key reason:

The Von Restorff Effect.

Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about this psychological trick (and how to use it for your own products to increase conversions): The Von Restorff Effect is basically a fancy way of saying "make it pop."

In design terms: make one thing visually different → people notice it more.

But here's the thing most designers get wrong:

Making something stand out is only valuable if it drives actual results.

Otherwise, it's just noise.

I'm obsessed with design psychology.

After 10 years of building products, I've discovered a UI/UX secret:

Dark Mode makes apps harder to use.

Here's why we're all getting Dark Mode wrong, how to use it properly, and what @Apple knew all along: Here's an unexpected fact:

Studies show dark text on light backgrounds is 26% more readable.

The Nielsen Norman Group found reading speed decreases by nearly 10% with white text on black.

Yet every designer acts like dark mode is the holy grail of UX.

Look at these UIs.

One of them will 100% outperform the other for 1 key reason:

Hick's Law.

Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about this psychological trick (and how to use it for your own products to increase conversions):
Hick's Law states:

The more options you give users, the longer they take to make a decision.

Here's the fancy formula: T = b × log₂ (n + 1)

In plain English: More choices = exponentially more brain processing time.

I LOVE design psychology.

Here are 9 sneaky psychological principles your favorite apps use to keep you hooked:

1. The IKEA Effect
@NotionHQ is a master of the IKEA effect:

You fall in love with their product because you build it yourself.

When you create your own workspace from scratch, you value it more.

It's like IKEA furniture - you'll defend that wobbly shelf because you assembled it with your own hands...

I LOVE design psychology.

@Apple, @NotionHQ, and @Family all exploit the same psychological loophole to dominate their competition.

It's called Jakob's Law.

Once you understand it, you'll never look at product design the same way again 🧵 Jakob's Law is simple:

Users bring expectations from EVERY other app they've used before yours.

This means people prefer your product to work the SAME WAY as products they already know.

Break this, and you're training users from scratch. Good luck with that.

A hill I'm willing to die on:

Spotify's UI & UX will never be defeated.

With 678+ million users, there's a reason it dominates music apps.

Let me break down why its design is so good (and what you can steal from it): 1. The navigation is stupid simple:

• Home
• Search
• Your Library

That's it. NEVER more than 2 taps from anything.

While most apps keep adding useless features to their bottom navigator, @Spotify understood that less is more.

I design apps for a living.

I've spent 6+ years using every FinTech app on the market.

Here are 9 of the best (and worst) FinTech apps & what you can learn from their UI/UX:

1. @RevolutApp @RevolutApp is becoming an "everything app" beyond just banking.

I literally booked a hotel last weekend for €6 for two nights (plus a free massage) using Revolut points.

It has a clean, consistent UI that doesn't try to do too much at once.

I'm an Apple fanboy.

But I admit some of their apps suck.

Here's my brutally honest take on the 9 most popular @Apple apps (as a product designer):

1. Apple Maps Apple maps went from being the app everyone laughed at to a genuinely great experience - BUT only in the US.

It sucks in most other places.

It also still misses some of Google Maps' best features like Street View and business info details.

I'm starting a design war.

Here are 10 times Apple's UI obliterated Android's:

1. Superior Notifications iOS Notifications have a beautiful bounce animation that feels weighted.

Notice how the notifications don't just appear - they settle in with a satisfying "plop" feeling.

Android is functional, sure. But not fluid and haptic. It lacks the "feel."

I'm obsessed with design psychology.

Here are 9 psychological tricks your favorite apps use to keep you addicted:

1) Skeleton Loaders Those gray loading "skeletons" replace content before it loads - because it makes the waiting time feel shorter.

Movement creates the illusion of progress when nothing's happening.

Ex: LinkedIn & FaceBook.

I design apps for a living.

But I've never seen ANYTHING like the @notboring apps.

They're redefining what "good design" means with physics, weight & movement.

Let me show you how they make their apps feel alive (and what designers & founders can steal from them): 🧵 Before I break down each app...

The thing I love about @notboring is they're not crazy revolutionary in terms of features.

But they took basic apps (calculator, weather, timer) and just made them FEEL amazing.

Same functions - but completely different experience.

I've built 60+ apps in my career.

Most designers take 3+ months to complete an app—but I built & shipped this golf app just in 28 DAYS.

Here's my exact process that breaks every UX design rule (and what startups & founders can steal from it): 1) Skip the research BS

Most designers follow a rigid process & get lost in research.

But when deadlines are tight, you need to be pragmatic.

For this golf app, I skipped wireframes and went straight to competitive analysis—their users needed a solution, not process.

I asked 35,000 designers what their favorite apps were.

These are the 10 best apps in the world (according to the designers of X):

1) @family I keep talking about this app and I'm glad everyone thinks it's great, too.

They add delightful touches exactly where they matter:

• Setting up a wallet gets a satisfying animation
• Sending tokens shows clear visual feedback

Every animation has a purpose.

I'm a design geek.

I've tested HUNDREDS of apps—and @mymind is the No. 1 BEST app for creatives.

10 genius UI features from @mymind that will transform your creative workflow forever (screenshots & learnings included) 🧵 1) Serendipity

The coolest thing about @mymind is the way it handles your captured content.

Swipe left to forget. Swipe right to keep.

It's like @Tinder but for your inspiration—this simple interaction makes organizing bookmarks fun rather than a chore.

I'm a designer.

Here are 9 of the worst UX experiences I've ever seen:

1. Macbook Touchbar I HATED this thing. I had to keep looking at the touch strip to see if I was pressing the right button.

Totally killed my flow.

Thank god they finally brought back real keys in 2020.

Some mistakes are just too obvious.

I'm a design addict—and an airplane nerd.

I've studied THOUSANDS of interfaces—and @Flighty is the best-designed travel app I've ever seen.

Here's a full breakdown of 9 magical features & what you can learn from them 🧵 1) Useless until it's not

This is more of a principle than a feature, but I love it.

Most apps beg for daily attention.

Flighty is a "nothing app" until you're traveling—then it becomes the MOST valuable app on your phone.

It's the perfect example of how situational apps should work.

I'm an Apple fanboy.

Here are 30 times @Apple nailed their design:

1) Physical card animation 2) Priority notifications

The liquid bounce is literally a piece of art. LOOK AT IT:

I'm a design addict.

I spend 8 hours a day looking at UIs — and this is the best designed app I've ever seen.

Here's a full breakdown of @family, why it's the best-designed app out there & what you can learn from it 🧵: 1) The Dynamic Tray System

Most crypto wallets bombard you with every feature at once.

Coinbase throws charts, tokens, and news in your face immediately - see photo.

Family reveals complexity ONLY when you need it through their dynamic tray system ⬇️

The simplest way I went from charging $2k to $30k+ per project 1/6 How I did it previously:

Showed pretty designs
Listed technical skills
Competed on price
Promised fast delivery

My no-code tech stack that I can’t live without (8 Free tools to save you hours): 1. @figma

An online Web app for UI Design that allows easy and seamless collaboration.

Can be used for things like…

- Web Design
- App Design
- Logo and branding design