Stigma makes people look away
Cues that a health issue carries stigma make people avoid information about it.
Earl, Nisson & Albarracín, 2015In noomaNotifications say “9pm check-in”. Never the medicine.
Our own product · HealthMost reminders get muted. We built one people keep.
Getting the download is easy. Getting someone back tomorrow, on a bad day, is the whole game. nooma is a pill reminder built on habit psychology: a tiny pet who heads off on an adventure every time you take your meds, and never punishes a bad day.
Downloads3,200+
PlatformiPhone and Android
Built byJack and Simonas
BriefMake it stick
The problem
Reminders don't lose people on day one. They lose them on the bad day.
People know they should take their meds. Missed doses aren't a memory problem, they're a feelings problem. And most apps make the feelings worse.
The pill reminds you you're unwell
Every time you take it, it says "something's wrong with you". The brain learns to dodge that feeling, and the habit goes with it.
One missed day becomes quitting
Miss a day, lose the streak, and the app turns into a record of failure. Psychologists call it the "what the hell" effect: once the rule is broken, people drop it altogether. That's the day the app gets deleted.
The reward is a tick
The same checkmark, every day. The brain stops noticing it fast, so there's nothing pulling you back on the days you don't feel like it.
What's out there
Every other reminder is built like an alarm clock.
We went through every pill reminder we could find. Same pattern every time. Red warnings, checklists and streaks that punish you for having a bad week. They're designed to be obeyed, not to be wanted.
So we started from the psychology instead.
Red warningsA checklist for being illStreaks that punish a bad day
The science
Six findings we built the app on.
Every feature in nooma traces back to research on habits, motivation and how people treat themselves when they slip.
Pair the should with a want
People went to the gym far more often when their favourite audiobook was only available there.
Milkman, Minson & Volpp, 2014In noomaTaking your meds is the only way to send her exploring.
Curiosity is an itch
A small gap in what we know creates a pull to close it. Not knowing beats knowing.
Loewenstein, 1994In noomaYou never know what she'll bring back.
Kindness keeps people going
After a setback, people encouraged to go easy on themselves kept trying for longer than people given a pep talk.
Breines & Chen, 2012In noomaMiss a day and she isn't cross with you.
One miss doesn't break a habit
New habits took around 66 days to form, and missing a single day made no real difference to the outcome.
Lally et al., 2010In noomaTwo patches cover missed days, so one bad day never resets the run.
We value what we've built
People value things more when they've put their own effort into them. It's called the IKEA effect.
Norton, Mochon & Ariely, 2012In noomaYou name her, and her world fills up with your finds.
The loop
Design the bad day, not just the good one.
Every habit has a nudge, an action and a payoff. Reminder apps get all three wrong, and then they get the bad day wrong too. We redesigned all four.
1. The nudge2. The action3. The payoff4. The bad dayBeforeAn alarm that names your medsFive taps and a confirmThe same tickStreak lostnoomaA quiet check-inOne tapA surprise findA patch covers it
1. The nudge · Stigma cues
A check-in, not an alarm.
A reminder that shouts the name of your medication on the lock screen is a daily signal that something's wrong. Ours says “9pm check-in” and nothing else. Once, softly, privately. The fewer bad feelings around the moment, the less people avoid it.
AlarmLoud. Repeats until you give in. Names the drug on your lock screen.
noomaOnce. Soft. “9pm check-in”. Nobody glancing at your phone knows a thing.
2. The action · Friction
One tap. Every extra step is a reason to stop.
Logging your meds is a single tap. No forms, no confirm screen. On a low day the bar has to be as low as it goes, because that's the day that decides whether the habit survives.
Other apps · 5 steps
Open→Find pill→Tick→Confirm→Streak check
nooma · 1 step
Tap→done
3. The payoff · Curiosity
A surprise, every time.
Every time you take your meds she heads off somewhere: the river, the meadow, the library, the ruins. She comes home with something to keep. A pressed flower, a paper crane, an old coin. A tick is the same every day. Not knowing what she'll find is what brings people back, and the pill comes along for the ride.
Other apps · the same tick every time
nooma · something new every time
Predictable rewards get boring. Surprises keep people curious.pressed flowerpaper craneold coinsnail shellfour-leaf clover?
4. The bad day · Self-compassion
A streak that forgives.
A run of days is motivating, so we kept the streak. We took out the punishment. She keeps two patches, and a missed day spends one automatically. No button, no guilt, the run carries on. A patch grows back every seven days. Going through something? Pause it and she keeps your spot warm.
It counts days you came by, not doses, so people on weekly or every-other-day meds never lose a run to their own prescription. And the milestones are handmade gifts, a froggy hat at day 7 and a poncho at day 14. Money doesn't buy them. Only showing up does.
Other apps · miss day 48
47 day streakStreak lost · 0
nooma · miss day 4848 days in a rowa patch covered yesterday · 1 left
One bad day shouldn't cost you seven weeks. With nooma, it doesn't.48 days in a rowa patch covered yesterday · 1 left5. Her world · The IKEA effect
Something that's yours.
You can rename her, and most people do. Every find goes into her home, the map fills in as she explores, and a widget keeps her on your home screen even when the app is closed. The more you've put in, the less you want to walk away.
Have a go
Go on. Take one.
Nudge, tap, payoff. That's the whole loop. Tap the button and see what she brings back.
Vitamin D1 tablet · 8:00 am
The results
Built to be opened every day.
3,200+downloads on iPhone and Android.
What we did
Behaviour researchRetention designCharacter and brandiOS appAndroid appLaunch and growth
48%come back the next day
31%still taking their meds with her at day 7
19%still with her at day 30
We never charge for the medicine.
Reminders, multiple meds and refill tracking are free, for good. Nooma Plus sells hats, outfits and scenes for her. People pay because they love her, not to get their reminders back. That trust is part of why they stay.
People skip tools that feel bad to use.
Retention isn't something you bolt on after launch. We design it in, for your customers and your team.