You know that instant gut-check moment when a site, a product, or even a brand hits, right? That's no accident; it's design that does more than look good. It's orchestrating an emotional response. Today's most innovative designers are not asking "What do users do?" but "How do users feel when they do it?"
Welcome to the world of Vibe Designing, where design is more than utility; it's your moat, as the CEO of Morning Brew put it.
What users expect from products now
Traditional design focuses on how fast you can accomplish a task. Vibe design taps into how a product makes people feel, particularly during their initial interaction. In a noisy, choice-saturated world, users are relying more on intuition and vibes to decide which product is "for them."
Take Lovable as an example. Users aren't just completing tasks; they're exploring.
The experience is emotionally playful, curiosity-driven, and built for mood-first engagement. Instead of being ushered through a cold conversion funnel, users feel invited to co-create, to wander, and to reflect.
The Psychology of the Right Vibe Feeling
At the heart of a Vibe is a truth that design and psychology folks have always known: people make emotional decisions first, rational ones second. Vibe-first design is effective because it resonates with the emotional side of our brain, called the limbic system, before logic takes over, allowing it to connect with the audience on an emotional level. AI tools now help measure sentiment, predict resonance, and automate creative testing to build brands that feel right from the start.
Experiences that feel right aren't just pretty; they're psychologically designed to resonate. One of the foundational voices in this field, Donald Norman, proposed a hierarchy of emotions in design.
These three layers are always at the core of digital products, as they combine emotion and cognition to shape our experience of a product.
Visceral is the instant, gut-level reaction you have at first glance.
Behavioral relates to how smoothly you can use the product.
Reflective is the most significant layer, and it's the meaning we assign to it after the experience.
This model explains why even frictionless design can fail if it doesn't feel right and why users sometimes stick with tools that are less "rationally efficient" but feel more aligned emotionally or culturally because it allows them to dictate their path versus one pre-decided by us.
Build for Vibes, Not Just Function
We're entering a new era where success hinges less on faster task completion and more on how consistently your product can deliver cohesive, magnetic energy across every touchpoint. Whether it's on your app directly, a social media share, or the embedded version of your product. Products that master "vibe consistency" will win loyalty without needing to shout.
In short, people don't just use products; they feel them. And the brands that design across all three emotional layers—visceral, behavioral, and reflective—earn not just attention but also loyalty.
About the Author
Formerly known as Sven.
Co-founder of a venture studio called Studio.init(), where I partner with startups by trading design, development, and marketing expertise for equity. After honing my craft at Google, Coinbase, and Milkroad, I combine my HCI background and creative training to help people design and adapt to new technologies through psychology-driven methods. Follow me on LinkedIn or email me at [email protected]!
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