Headspace has Great UX

Because I'm a big fan of well-designed UX, and I geek out over process improvement, using the Headspace app is a treat.

(If you haven't heard of Headspace, it's a guided meditation app. I put its intro video at the end of this post in case you're interested in watching it.)

I use the app a few times a week and each session's well worth it.

I like it so much, in fact, that I've been wanting to write them a letter for a long time to let them know how much I appreciate their work.

I'm going to tackle that task and make this post an open letter to them.

Headspace, let me list the ways I love thee: 

1. The UX has gotten better.

I first started using Headspace about three years ago, but I stopped using it after six months because I didn't like how it tracked my progress.

For instance, if I was following a course, my meditation time wouldn't get counted unless I went to the home screen when I was done. That was a problem because usually I'd finish a session, then immediately close the app and move on.

I repeated several sessions before I figured out what was happening. By that time, I'd gotten bored and frustrated of listening to the same recordings over and over again. So I quit the app.

Then last year I decided to give it another shot.

Lucky for me, they fixed how progress is tracked and now credit's given immediately, without having to navigate someplace else. That small (but mighty) improvement has helped me go forward with ease.

This is a "before" and "after" of how I felt about the changes.

2. It makes meditating easy.

Speaking of ease, Headspace does the impossible and makes meditation fun.

In each session, there's a narrator who guides the recordings. He has a sense of humor, and an uncanny way of reminding me to focus whenever my mind starts to wander.

It's another small thing, yet that gentle guidance is important.

3. The animation's thoughtful, playful and human.

In the app's "My Journey" section, you can see when you meditated and what course you're working on.

The designers did a fantastic job here and put in animations to mark big moments (like hitting your first three-day run streak). Not only are the pictures fun, they're also encouraging nudges to keep their customers coming back.

Added to that, they have videos on the basics of meditation that you can watch any time. Plus each course comes with at least one informational video that gives coaching on how to get the most out of it.

The clips are fun to watch, relatable and disarming. But best of all, they take the mystery out of meditation. (Watch the first 10 seconds of the video at the end of post to see what I mean.)

You've Won Me Over, Headspace

I'm impressed by how much you've improved your service. And I'm grateful that you offer it. Keep up the great work!