What kind of Spirit animates your Product?
You might think you’re just designing a thing – an inanimate object. But you’re wrong.
If you want to make something customers care about, you need to design its spirit too.
As humans, we project spirit onto things all the time. Kids do it when they talk to their toys. Early civilisations did it when they worshiped weather gods.
And you do it every time you thump your laptop because it’s let you down at a critical moment. (You’re treating it like a naughty spirit, not a thing made of of code and wires).
Choose Your Spirit Guides: Animals, Elements or Archetypes.
What if your digital product was animated by the spirit of an animal, element or archetypal character?
“Animals were man’s first teachers,” said Joseph Campbell. Neolithic cave painters obsessed about animals, and modern marketers love a strong animal brand. If your product was inspired by the spirit of a faithful labrador, how would that shape the way it worked?
The ancient Greeks thought the world was made up of four Elements, fire, air, earth and water. Nowadays, Tinder sparks a certain kind of fire, Airbnb lets you float free and Basecamp puts your project management on solid ground.
Archetypes are relatable characters we meet – or become – as we go through life. Everyone knows a Ruler and a Rebel, a Lover and a Warrior. If your product speaks with an Archetypal voice, how might it guide your customer on their journey?
Start Designing Spirit
Use this template to start thinking about the spirit within the thing you’re making:
“My product is animated by the spirit of [animal / element / archetype]”
- What powers does this spirit give my product?
- What connection does it make to my customer?
- How would this spirit shape my product’s UI?
- What would this spirit tell me NOT to do?
Which Archetype are You?
If you’d like to go deeper into the rich world or Archetypes, answer the quiz questions and gain an insight into the strongest archetypal voice shaping your personal and professional life.
Get your colleagues to do the same. What happens when you realise that a Caregiver is trying to manage an Explorer and a Jester on the same project?
Or, answer the questions as if you’re speaking on behalf of your product/service to find your strongest brand voice.
Click here to get started on the Quiz.
Get your own set of Archetypes cards here.
“Stop Demanding Features and Benefits. Start Designing Spirit.”
Watch my Keynote from the World Usability Day 2026 conference in Estonia.
Video will appear here as soon as it’s online.
Check out my other Keynotes at WUD events here.
Start a Spirited Conversation
Come and find me on LinkedIn, or email me directly at steverawling@gmail.com
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