What Is Wow?

We need to start by trying to define what “Wow factor” actually is. The term is not really a working concept in the design lexicon; rather, it’s an expression of users’ favorable reaction to a unique or especially engaging application. While the use of this term may be problematic from a design perspective, it does a decent job of reflecting the gut response that users experience, and it is generally a reaction that we can all relate to at one level or another. But that still doesn’t answer the question.

In relation to the interaction of an iOS app, Wow factor can be defined as being an expression of the engagement layer of your application when that engagement exceeds a critical emotional threshold for the user. That threshold is ultimately dependent on the user, and as such is difficult to predict or determine without clearly understanding the personas to be targeted. However, we can discuss the nature of that emotional threshold and the key factors needed for that threshold to be crossed. These factors are as follows: