Pathfinder Blog
Topic Archive: Zeigarnik

“Webisodes” – Storytelling, Interaction and Business Strategy Converge

Bob Moll, Thursday, August 24, 2006 @ 1:51 pm

If you haven’t heard the term, it’s probably just what you would think. A webisode is simply a short video or cartoon clip delivered on the web. Generally there is a sequence of webisodes purposed to encourage return visits (an example of the Zeigarnik effect – see our prior blog article).

Because the content is delivered on the web, it’s easy to integrate interactivity to encourage consumers to stick around .

Take Unilever’s on-line soap opera pitch for its “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” product. The series of animated on-line “webisodes” challenged the viewer to put together clues and solve a mystery to have a chance to win a prize. Though the contest is over, you can still visit the content.

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user experience design User Experience Design

The Zeigarnik Effect in GUI Design

Bob Moll, Friday, May 26, 2006 @ 10:27 am

The Zeigarnik effect suggests people remember incomplete or interrupted things better than completed things. It’s human nature to want to complete a task or hear the end of a story, and when we don’t a psychological tension results until the item is completed.

The effect has an interesting implication for digital interfaces. When a user involved in a long task encounters an interruption or an opportunity to complete a quick task, there’s a good chance the interruption or new task will get acted on. This can leave a lineage of uncompleted tasks and non-linear navigation trails. 

One way to combat this that we have used in a variety of applications is to dynamically create a task queue. The queue stacks up incomplete tasks in one place so the user can get back to these tasks when he or she is ready. In a restricted domain, it’s usually possible to apply some intelligence as to how the queue is built so it reads fluidly and clearly.

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user experience design User Experience Design

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