An award winning iOS app studio, Not Boring was founded in 2020 by Andy Allen. He was previously the Co-Founder of FiftyThree and maker of the massively successful drawing app, Paper.
Not Boring creates utility apps with a difference. They approach apps such as the weather, a timer, a calculator, and a habit tracker with imagination and fun. And their latest, Vibes, as a music app with a twist - made for focus, relaxation and sleep. They emphasize design, animation and sound in their experiences. And making utility apps interesting shows just how engaging user experiences can be.
How Meticulous Design Can Set A Brand Apart
A well crafted experience is often the difference between user retention and your brand being forgotten about. Vincent, our Head of Brand and Communication, recently gave his thoughts on the importance of this when he described how he was captivated by using the app, Cosmos.
For Not Boring, experience starts with the name they’ve chosen. And it's a good one. It’s direct. Not Boring’s name is a great reflection of their creativity, and piques curiosity. It takes the dull world of utility apps and gives them a whole new personality.
Their brand sets an upbeat, engaging tone that carries through each app. They demonstrate how a brand can connect their vision to customers. In this case, their vision is certainly playful. For small businesses, a brand that emotionally resonates is key to standing out.
Not Boring takes a “design first” approach, crafting apps around the experience they want users to enjoy. Not Boring’s apps inspire play and discovery. Download any of these and you'll see how this focus is immersive and keeps users coming back.
The Importance of Interaction Design
Google’s research has found that 26% of all apps downloaded are used just once. Then they’re discarded. It means that first impressions matter. The Mobile App User Retention & Engagement report also shows that apps prioritizing user experience have an average of 50% higher retention rates. So the facts are there. An app that does the fundamentals well is one people will keep using. And one that’s actually fun to use is going to fare even better.
Companies Leading from the Front
Not Boring aren't alone. Other companies leading in interaction design include Airbnb, Stripe, Slack, Nike and Square. If you've used their apps, you’ll recognize that not all of these have made you think “wow, what an app”. But delight isn't the primary goal for every app. For most apps, the brand wants an experience to feel smooth and flawless. And as people, we often recognize the part user experience has to play when we're having a bad one.
So making an experience as frictionless as possible is always a big priority. After all, we wouldn't be talking about how cool the calculator was in the first place if the the app didn't work. It means that finding the balance across both functionality and experience needs to be thought about with the end users in mind. Not Boring targets a very specific audience who belong to the creative workforce. It's an audience Andy and Mark know in real depth as a result of building Paper at FiftyThree.
Gamification is the Retention Factor at the Heart of their Award Winning Apps
Winning an Apple Design Award is a big deal for any iOS app company. The Apple Design Award also gives the brand credibility and authority, positioning Not Boring as an innovator. It validates their brand vision of making mundane tasks more engaging through design and gamification.
Their habits app does just that. The gamification element transforms habit tracking. It feels like an interactive artistic experience, rather than a chore. This interactivity strengthens the brand by giving users a memorable, positive experience. The designs and animations are just great to interact with.
Habit tracking is a tricky thing to get right. There's a lot of human emotion at work. Sometimes, we're fatigued. Sometimes, we can't be bothered to keep up our efforts. But with the Habits app, users feel good about using the app and accomplishing their goals. They associate that positive feeling with the Not Boring brand. The Apple Design Award also gives the brand credibility and authority, positioning Not Boring as an innovator. This award-winning brand experience ultimately drives higher usage, and spreads the word.
How Emotion Drives User Engagement
Whilst Not Boring’s apps have utility, emotion drives their popularity. They spark feeling and transform the mundane into the memorable. A sense of play brings a deeper connection than a clinical app with basic functions would. It's a lesson for small businesses that connecting with customers on a more emotional level can drive loyalty over time.
“Personality in design offers a profound advantage for businesses in industries where differentiation might otherwise be impossible." - Aarron Walter, author of Designing for Emotion
Great brands will often move beyond their core value to craft experiences worth sharing. Apps are no exception. One way you can attribute personality into an app is in creating delightful experiences. And we’re impressed by how Not Boring has achieved this.
In recent years, the likes of Pokemon Go and Snapchat focused heavily on creating these kind of experiences, especially as they were core to the app’s function. Not Boring has got the balance right, as it’s easy to create moments of fun that over-do it, and distract from the app’s primary purpose.
Creating Curiosity with Every Experience
Not Boring proves imagination’s power to captivate. Their design-first approach shows how ordinary utilities can become engaging experiences. We can learn that allowing users to discover things builds deeper, more meaningful connections. Every design experience needs to be functional. But a dynamic brand can make it fun, too.
Which digital experiences have resonated most with you? We love to find new gems that we can share around the team and obsess over, so please share them with us.
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