I came across this excellent presentation:
‘Happiness as your business model’,
by Tara Hunt (founder of Citizen Agency, author of HorsePigCow)

The concept of providing users with an experience which makes them happy is something which the magazine business is very adept at, where readers perceive purchasing their favourite magazine as a ‘treat’ and its consumption as a pleasure.

This got me thinking about the way we translate magazine brands to web, and how the concept of branding is frequently interpreted as applying the logo and colour scheme to a web proposition, rather than applying the ‘Brand Experience’, i.e. how you’d like your users to feel when they visit your website (and I’m guessing happiness would be a big factor here?!)

But how might we do this?

Eliminating confusion and frustration by implementing good usability is one aspect, keeping things simple, by having a clear proposition in a simple format (such as a blog) is another, delighting and engaging users with valuable content another, and so on.

But as a starting point, addressing the ‘pillars of happiness’ and eliminating the ‘contributors to fear’ when looking to create the magazine brand experience online, should provide a solid approach to delivering a genuinely pleasurable user experience.

Check it out & let me know what you think!