I wonder, should my app have pretty dead end points so that my user can find them self somewhere or with something that looks cool, pleases the eye with shiny distractions and does nothing function related to the app but entertains and delights and takes their mind down an unintended path for a few minutes? What could this be? A button that performs a unique and elegant animation when it’s pressed. Or maybe it does three randomly similar animations when pressed. A beautiful picture that reacts to touch, perhaps it warps outward or stretches and blurs the pixels from coordinates that are touched and dragged. Like a barrier to a different universe. Text that responds to display (stretch & warp) interaction from the user but has specific channels for the content outside of their control. Perhaps one interaction can rearrange the content in novel ways. Why do this? Give someone a few short moments to discover simplicity in a chaotic stream of digital connectedness. Give them a few moments with easy breathing. When they get bored and the dead end gets redundant they will move on. Some caveats. The dead end has to be entertaining and/or useful to then before you do this. You shouldn’t overdue this. You digital distraction must be polished and well thought out. Even if it’s only designed for 20 seconds, each second must justify its existence. Plan meta themes and other connections from the app in advance.
1/25/2014 ~ 2 min read
