Retention charts look mysterious until you watch a real person use the product. Most leaks are not mysterious at all: unclear next steps, slow feedback, overloaded screens, and onboarding that asks for everything before offering value.

Mistakes we see again and again

• Onboarding walls that demand accounts before the “aha” moment
• Buttons that look tappable but do nothing — or take forever
• Forms that punish typos instead of helping
• Navigation that hides the primary job behind decoration
• Empty states that feel like dead ends instead of invitations

Design for the next action

Every screen should answer a simple question: what should I do next? We prototype flows, not just pretty frames. Loading, success, and error states are designed as carefully as the happy path — because that is where trust is won or lost.

Clarity beats cleverness

Clever microcopy and motion are wonderful after the experience is clear. Until then, hierarchy, contrast, and plain language do more for retention than any trendy gradient. We hand off specs and states so engineering can ship what was designed — including the awkward cases.

Better retention starts with respect for the user’s time.

If your app installs well but fades after day one, the interface is often whispering the wrong story. We can audit the journey and redesign the moments that matter.