Users decide to stay or delete within the first few minutes.
A consumer app has to win on a phone screen that is already full. Sinh Vũ gives your app a memorable icon, a smooth first minute and a consistent face through every update.
Three things: an icon that stands out on a crowded screen, a first minute that leads straight to value, and a consistent interface. Users have no reason yet to be patient, so all three have to be right from the first launch.
Legible at small sizes on the home screen, and distinct among dozens of icons around it.
The welcome screen, sign-up and opening animation are as short as possible, so users see what the app does for them.
The same buttons, colors and type on every screen and platform, so users never have to relearn.
All of them are apps on a phone, but users come back for different reasons, so the brand has to do different work.
Their customersUsers who need the job done fast, and compare a few other apps right on the screen.
Brand challengeCreate a feeling of trust and familiarity: one glance shows where to tap, and the brand is present in the real world too, through vehicles, uniforms and packaging.
Their customersYoung users who open the app because they want to, and can switch elsewhere very easily.
Brand challengeHave a personality distinct enough that users feel this place is theirs, while the interface stays simple enough to use at once.
Their customersUsers who do many things in one app, with new services being added all the time.
Brand challengeKeep one shared face while each service has its own team, so features can be added without the app getting cluttered.
These are the places where apps tend to lose users, even when the features are useful.
A circle in a familiar color, hard to spot on the home screen; the interface is easily copied by other apps.
A distinct mark drawn from the product's story, tested at the smallest size before it is final, paired with a color and motion only this app has.
Start from this problemA long welcome screen that forces sign-up before showing anything, and users close the app.
Shorten the path to the first value, use short explanatory motion in place of text, and ask for information only when it is needed.
Start from this problemThe screenshots are raw interface and the description lists features; viewers scroll past.
The first three or four images tell one continuous story, one benefit per image, in the same voice as the welcome screen.
Start from this problemEach service is built by a different team, so buttons, colors and navigation differ within one app.
A digital design system with a shared component library that each new service draws from instead of building its own.
Start from this problemAt the Trial stage, the first few minutes after download. Users aren't used to the app, don't trust it yet, and have a whole list of other apps to switch to. A confusing first minute is a lost user.
Touchpoints are the places where users look at and touch the app. You don't need to do everything at once. These five decide most of the impression in the first few minutes.
What users see every day on the home screen, and see first in the app store.
The first greeting, which decides whether users go on or close the app.
Helps users understand how to use the app without reading, and gives the app its own rhythm.
Many people decide whether to download right here, from the first few images.
The moments when the app speaks to users first: say it well and they come back, say it too often and they switch it off.
Listed in the order to do them. A newly launched app stops at step two or three; a multi-service app goes all the way.
Name, icon, color and type: the base for every screen that follows.
A component library and interface rules the development team can use directly.
Opening motion and guiding motion for the first minutes.
A shared voice for notifications, the welcome screen and the app store page.
When the app updates regularly: monthly support so the interface doesn't drift.
Sinh Vũ has not published a ride-hailing or food delivery app project. The four below are closest: two music apps, a multi-screen platform and an app for children.
Keeng is Viettel's music service for young Vietnamese, stepping into a crowded market. Sinh Vũ shaped the name, the interface and the promotional system so Keeng could ring out clearly…
A minimal interface with the play button and the song placed first; web, iOS and Android share one rhythm so users who switch devices still feel at home.
imuzik is Metfone's music and ringback service, launched into a market already crowded with music apps…
The path to listening cut to its shortest: open the app to see charts and suggestions, tap to play.
2017Homedy is a real-estate marketplace running in parallel on app and web. Sinh Vũ built the strategy, identity and a shared digital design system…
When the app and the web go separate ways, the brand speaks in two voices; bringing them into one system lets the platform grow without drifting.
Sinh Vũ brought the owl Babi to every corner of Babilala, from the English learning screen to objects children aged 3 to 8 can hold, trustworthy enough to put parents at ease.
An app with two people to win over, the child and the parent; one character and two voices for the two audiences.
The principles behind it
Simple enough to read at a few dozen pixels, with one distinct detail drawn from the product's story, and tested beside other apps on a real screen before it is final. Avoid familiar shapes that many apps share.
As few as possible: keep only the steps that help users see the first value. Defer the rest until they really need it, including sign-up and permissions.
The first three or four images matter most. Each one should tell a single benefit with a short line, instead of showing raw interface, and the first image should show the app's main value.
Use one shared digital design system: interface components, color and motion that every service reuses. Each service gets a few details of its own, and the rest stays the same.
In a few places, yes: when changing screens, when reporting a result and in the first minute. Motion used in the right place helps users understand; too much of it slows the app down.
It can, if done step by step. Keep what users already know, such as the name and main color, change the icon and interface over successive updates, and give loyal users advance notice.
A few lines about the app, its users and where they are leaving is enough. Sinh Vũ reads it and replies within one working day.