Bear's self-paced onboarding

Writing is visual: it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain. That's why the way your words look can be as important as what they say. This is what makes Bear an attractive writing app for everything from quick notes to in-depth essays.

But as the word processing space is competitive and the user cost of switching software—in terms of effort and time— is expensive, Bear has to find ways to differentiate itself to lure users away from their go-to tools. It does this by being aesthetically pleasing, unobtrusive and easy-to-learn.

Why this is really good UX:

• Visual appeal is a key ingredient of a successful product. When a user finds something attractive, they will want to try it and will have more patience when learning how to use it. Bear achieves this here with a minimal and elegant user interface.
• Bear lets its users onboard at their own pace and in their own time. This has a number of benefits: it avoids frustrating users by forcing them to do something they may not want to do; it lets them digest the content at their own speed to improve memory performance; and, like a good waiter, helpful information is always on hand but never gets in the way of the experience.
• The onboarding is chunked into three sections: Welcome to Bear, Organize and Publish, and Bear Pro. When content is broken down into smaller chunks like this, it helps users process, understand and remember it better.
• The app differentiates itself from its competitors with its branding and, in particular, its tone and voice. The copy is clear, friendly and infused with emoticons. This adds personality to make the app more enjoyable and memorable.