“Move to Heaven”, One of My Inspirations in Understanding Users’ Valuable Experience

Just yesterday I watched a Korean drama entitled “Move to Heaven”. The Korean drama, which was released on May 14, 2021, tells the story of a family business called Move to Heaven. The family business service is tasked with cleaning the residence of the deceased.

Maybe if it just ends there, I will not make this Korean drama one of my inspirations. Instead of just receiving client calls and cleaning the residences of the dead, Geu-ru – as one of the main players in this drama – tries to find out as well as help the bereaved family to reveal something experienced or wanted to be conveyed by the person who has died.

Some of the things below I also apply when making microcopy writing.

Helping

Just like Geu-ru’s actions in the Korean drama, as people who work in the UX field, we must be able to assist with a problem that is felt by the user or a goal that the user wants to achieve when surfing a web page or application.

Suppressing Fear

Geu-ru is a special child, he has a mild disability, namely Asperger’s syndrome. Geu-ru has difficulty communicating and interacting, her voice is flat like a robot, often fears & blames herself, is repetitive, and doesn’t like changes in his social environment. Luckily, there is his neighbor and best friend, Na-mu, and his uncle, Sang-gu, who can calm his back down.

From this Korean drama, I was able to align with the UX needs of today’s era. When users feel scared/confused while surfing a web page or application, we must be someone who can make them – the users – feel safe, and calm, and don’t have to worry.

For example, when users want to fill in their data then it turns out that there is a condition that must make them cancel the filling. Headline: “Are you sure you want to leave?”; subheadline: “All your data will be saved as a draft and you can continue to fill it out again.”; and CTA (call-to-action). However, not all product design process flows can be the same, which will be saved as drafts. Can be mixed and matched with other contexts.

As another example, when users are presented with several steps to fill in a matter relating to the security of personal data, at the beginning we can give them confidence and convenience by using microcopy headlines such as, “Your Privacy, Your Choices” or “All Your Data is Safe”, then added a microcopy subheadline such as, “Your data is very important and meaningful. We always guarantee the security of your data. Do not share personal data information with others.”

Motivating

It doesn’t stop at helping users, it would be nice if we could present something meaningful and valuable. There are several microcopies that I have inserted into sentences that inspire enthusiasm, and ambition, and inspire users who read them. Examples are below.

POV of Tutors; closing on the guide to the use of learning management systems; “Thank you for being a great study buddy for students. You have become an even better driver of change today!”.

POV of Student; closing on the guide to the users of learning management systems; “May your guidance process run smoothly and continue to be ambitious to achieve all your dreams!”.

Closing greetings on WhatsApp broadcast messages for user interview invitations; “Warm regards, The Study Abroad Academy Schoters team – supporters of the fighting spirit of your dreams”.

Empathy

I remember the last episode of the Korean drama “Move to Heaven”. On the way home after Geu-ru had given up his late father’s ashes to be buried, he was talking to herself, suddenly his father was beside him and said, “When you want to get their feelings and thoughts, you can imagine yourself being in their shoes.”

We can position ourselves as what the users will feel, but we cannot be the thoughts and feelings of the users. All subjective and all things feel that they feel and experience while surfing the web page or application are valid. We – through a product ecosystem – only need to feel empathy and be human-friendly.

What do you think about my article this time? Let’s discuss this further in the comments column!

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