Begin Well. End Well.
Designing Intentional Experiences That Welcome Us In and Send Us Off with Care
Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash
The College Admission Postcard
At our house, college season has arrived. Every day the mailbox is filled with postcards attempting to communicate the value proposition of the school and capture my son’s attention. I love these postcards. They are great lessons in good and bad messaging and marketing.
But as many UX designers know, the real test isn’t the glossy postcard snapshot making it to the refrigerator instead of the recycling bin. It is the whole user experience journey. That journey is about removing obstacles, opening doors for real connections between prospective students and the right institution.
The College Visit
THE BEGINNING
Last weekend, we loaded up the car and drove to visit some colleges that my son was interested in. It ended up being a rainy gray start and we were a few minutes late (and a little flustered). College A did not miss a beat. We checked in. We were escorted to our first activity- a tour of the Engineering building. The engineering student ambassador who met us instantly put us at ease. He smiled, made eye contact, and asked a few quick questions to adjust the tour for our timing. No rush. No guilt. Just awareness and grace.
THE MIDDLE
The middle of the tour was the collection of all visitors in a big auditorium, slideshow, and speaker. It had lots of smiling students, soaring music, a voiceover about opportunity and community, and a scripted monologue. It checked all the boxes, but it was a little too long and a little too polished. It was strange- nothing was wrong- it just did not feel authentic.
THE END AND WHERE IT ALL UNRAVELED
We had packets, sessions, tours, t-shirts, and swag. There was a lot of thought and intentionality put into the visit experience. But at the end, we were invited to meet with financial aid and get any lingering questions answered. My son wanted to go (so I took the cue and was like “of course!”). We stepped into the Admissions building, were greeted, and my son asked his thoughtful, basic questions about typical aid packages, average costs after assistance, and scholarship options.
The financial aid counselor did not know. She frantically asked for his goodie bag of college swag and info from the school and pulled out the catalog. She fumbled through the pages. She told us we could look online. At one point, we were so lost in the exchange that we gently asked if she was the financial aid counselor we were supposed to be meeting with and she was.
Don’t Forget the Bow
My friend Jay McChord has a phrase I love: “Put a bow on it.” It means to close the loop. Tie the story together so people leave feeling complete. We like closure. This wonderful school forgot the bow, and we walked away uncertain and deflated.
The Trader Joe’s Lesson
When I think of a business that knows how to finish strong, I think of Trader Joe’s. If you have not been to a Trader Joe’s (has there been anyone that has not been to a Trader Joe’s?), it is a chain of small neighborhood grocery stores. In addition to customer favorites like Mandarin Chicken, It is about human connection. It is an experience.
As you finish shopping and head to the checkout, you will be greeted by a TJ crew member. The crew member will step toward you and meet you at the check out counter and pull in your buggy or basket. The person will talk to you, have eye contact, and ask questions. Sometimes the conversations end in hugs and tears because the crew member asked compassionate questions. Maybe the crew member will even go get you flowers because it has been a really hard day. Or maybe you they will give your child a mile of quirky stickers that will then be all over the windows of your car (placed by your child). The ending does not fall flat. It is an intentional moment of closure.
Design the First and Last Mile
Our brains are amazing, complex, beautiful, and efficient. However, as Susan M. Weinschenk explains in her book 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People that our memory is easily disrupted and that our recall of experiences is the strongest in the beginning and end. This is due to the primacy and recency effects.
Whenever I think about this, I picture the old Charlie Brown cartoons, when the teacher or an adult would speak and all the kids would hear was that muffled “wah-wah, wah-wah” sound. The important parts bookended the moment; everything in the middle dissolved into background noise.
A strong beginning builds trust.
A clear, confident ending builds loyalty and connection.
A Special Call out to Last Impressions
Endings do a lot of heavy lifting.
The Peak–End Rule in UX says that the most intense moments of a user’s journey and the end will be the most remembered and have the most impact on how you recall the experience. When the final moment is clear, gracious, and conclusive, people feel taken care of.
Even something as small as how a progress bar finishes can change how long a process feels. When that process bar starts to speed up at the end, we feel encouraged and think that the wait was not too bad. When you receive a confirmation email that your request has gone through you reduce anxiety. When you leave a grocery store with flowers that were given to you in compassion, you feel heard.
And when you leave a college tour with your questions answered you feel encouraged and empowered.
The last moments frame the story we carry away. “Last impressions are lasting impressions.” says Lexie Kane in The Peak–End Rule: How Impressions Become Memories.
Closing Thought
Good design doesn’t just inform; it connects.
It welcomes us in, guides us through, and sends us off with clarity and care.
The beginning says, “You belong here.”
The ending says, “You were seen.”
Let’s remember both. Let’s design with intention, from first impression to final goodbye.
Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash
Let’s Put a Bow on It
Every design tells a story, from the moment someone arrives to the moment they leave.
At Swayze Design Studio, we help businesses design with intention, crafting beginnings that invite and endings that resonate. Because when people feel seen and cared for, they remember.
We build experiences that guide with empathy, connect with authenticity, and close with clarity.
Let’s design stories that start strong AND finish beautifully.
Let’s put a bow on it.
Resources for You
Susan M. Weinschenk’s book 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (2nd Edition, New Riders, June 25, 2020) offers evidence-based insights on human psychology that every designer should keep close at hand.
Lexie Kane’s Nielsen Norman Group article, “The Peak–End Rule: How Impressions Become Memories” provides a great explanation and case studies of examples of the Peak-End Rule.