🧠 Monday: A Crazy 8 Sparks a Real-World Idea
It began with a Crazy 8s sketching session—our go-to method for rapid ideation. Improving extension visibility on the logged-in homepage was the straightforward brief. One particular sketch caught our attention: Our mascot Quilly is kneeling and requesting...
| “Will you install me?”
Yes, it was playful, but it was also timely. Given that Valentine's Day is just a few days away, our users found the idea immediately relatable: professionals writing emails, students finishing assignments, and everyone immersed in the emotional frenzy of February 14th.
We saw an opportunity to participate in a global event and do a promotion in a friendly, approachable, and humane manner.
✍️ Tuesday: From Concept to UI
From concept to high-fidelity mockups, we made rapid progress. Among the important design choices were:
Prominent placement of the extension CTA above the fold
Emotionally resonant copy that felt tied to the season, not gimmicky
A warm, illustrated pose of Quilly, conveying a gentle, respectful ask—not a hard sell
To make sure this felt like a moment of connection rather than a diversion, we worked together across design, marketing, and product.
To make sure this felt like a moment of connection rather than a diversion, we worked together across design, marketing, and product.
We inferenced Jakob's Law and Aesthetic-Usability.
Friction was decreased by the emotionally charged illustration, sparse copy, and amiable tone. People stayed because it was helpful and clicked because it appeared warm.
🔍 Wednesday: Usability Testing & Copy Refinement
We conducted guerrilla tests with folks from other teams to test the copy and design in the middle of the week. Key observations:
A feature that is placed during a happy cultural event is more memorable than one that is added at random.
Both professional and student users responded favorably to the emotional tone.
While many users stayed for the feature, some clicked purely out of curiosity.
Emotionally significant events are remembered by people.
Quilly's pose was adjusted for balance and clarity, the copy was tightened, and the variant was locked for development.
⚙️ Thursday: Build Fast, Launch Right on Time
Just in time for the Valentine's weekend traffic spike, the final implementation went live on Thursday.
💥 The Outcome: Engagement Shot Through the Roof
Throughout February, we conducted the campaign and observed:
Extension clicked link increased by 200% in month of Feb 2025
Extension installed; CTR increased by 158%
People who bought premium via this journey also increased by 69.5%
Increased re-engagement from users who were previously inactive
Positive word-of-mouth was also generated by the campaign among our devoted user base. It felt more like a considerate, seasonal prod to improve their writing than a gimmick.
💡 Takeaway: Don’t Be Afraid to Ride the Moment
No amount of UX polish alone can produce the emotional relevance that comes from designing for real-world occasions, such as Valentine's Day, back-to-school, or exam season.
Thus, when an opportunity comes around again, consider this: What is going on in the lives of our users at the moment, and how can we make a significant impact?
That’s not just growth design. That’s human-centered design.
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