The Product Delight Grid: Nesrine Changuel on Building Emotionally Sticky Products (With Templates You Can Use Today)

“Delight is not just solving a problem – it’s creating a positive emotional memory.”
— Nesrine Changuel, Product Leader at Google, Spotify & Author of Product Delight

Most products today work.

But how many make users smile?

How many get remembered — or better yet, missed?

We talk a lot about solving pain points. But when was the last time you asked if your product sparked joy? Trust? Connection?

To answer that, we brought in Nesrine Changuel — the brilliant mind behind the upcoming book Product Delight. She’s built experiences for Google Meet, Chrome, Spotify, Skype… and now she’s built something for the rest of us: a simple, powerful framework that shows teams how to go beyond function and create emotional connection.

In this post, you’ll learn:

• The 3 pillars of product delight (and why most teams forget 2 of them)
• Why delight is measurable (and worth the effort)
• How to design emotional product discovery with purpose
• The 5 survey templates Nesrine helped us create to get you started

TL;DR: What You’ll Learn

✅ How to design for delight that drives trust and retention
✅ What emotional signals to look for in product feedback
✅ How to segment users by motivations, not just jobs
✅ When and how to use all 5 Delight survey templates inside Usersnap
✅ Why emotional connection beats feature creep (and how to track it)

The Problem: Functional ≠ Memorable

“What makes me happy today may not surprise me tomorrow. You need continuity.” — Nesrine

Most teams stop at “did it work?”

But real product stickiness happens when you remove friction and add emotional value.

If your roadmap is full of performance and polish but no joy?
You might ship a tool that fades into the background.

So how do you bake delight into product discovery?

Meet the Product Delight Grid

Nesrine’s framework breaks down emotional connection into 3 practical ingredients:

1. Anticipation – Design for Needs Your Users Haven’t Even Voiced Yet with Delight Grid

Think: background blur in Google Meet. Pandemic hits. People work from messy kitchens. The team didn’t wait for requests — they just shipped privacy. Design for needs your users haven’t even voiced yet. By anticipating unspoken needs, teams create standout, lovable products that resonate emotionally with users.

2. Elevation – Elevate a moment of stress so elegantly, it feels magical

Think: Chrome’s password manager popping up just as you start panicking. Remove a moment of stress so elegantly, it feels magical—these moments elevate the overall user experience.

3. Connection – Go above expectation in a way that earns trust and creates an emotional bond

Think: Microsoft Edge automatically applying a discount at checkout.
A surprise win. No effort. You feel seen.

Why This Isn’t Fluff – It’s Strategy

Nesrine isn’t here to sprinkle glitter.

She’s here to close the gap between what users need and what makes them stay.

“Emotionally connected users are 2x more likely to buy, stay, and refer.”
— Based on studies from Capgemini, McKinsey, Harvard Business Review & Deloitte

Delight moves KPIs. Just not always overnight. That’s why you need a system to find emotional signals, validate what works, and double down on what matters.

Let’s show you how.

The 5 Templates Built from the Delight Model

Nesrine helped us craft five survey templates you can use inside Usersnap — each one tied to a specific signal of delight. Use them during research, delivery, onboarding, or iteration.

1. Delight Model Survey Template

Use during: Discovery
Measure: Anticipation, Elevation, Connection

Use this when you want to go beyond “does it work?” and ask “does it resonate?”

• Did anything make users say “oh wow”?
• Did it feel like it was built for someone like them?
• Would they miss you if you disappeared tomorrow?

This is the core framework in survey form.

👉 Try the Delight Model Survey Template

2. Functional Motivations Survey Template

Use during: Delivery
Measure: Efficiency, task success, friction

Before you earn delight, you have to earn trust.
This template helps you make sure your product actually does the job.

• What did they come to do?
• Did it work smoothly, or get messy?
• Was their time saved — or wasted?

👉 Try the Functional Motivations Survey Template

3. Emotional Motivations Survey Template

Use during: Research
Measure: Confidence, stress relief, personal drivers

This one uncovers why users are really here — emotionally.
Not the task. The need behind the task.

• Do they want to feel more in control?
• Are they trying to impress their team?
• Do they feel more confident after using your product?

👉 Use the Emotional Motivations Survey Template

4. First Impressions Survey Template

Use during: Iterate
Measure: Curiosity, clarity, confidence

What happens in the first 10 seconds matters.

• Did users know what to do right away?
• Was the experience polished or clunky?
• Did they feel curious — or confused?

Perfect for landing page testing, onboarding, or early betas.

👉 Try the First Impressions Template

5. Surprise & Delight Survey Template

Use during: Communicate
Measure: Unexpected joy, wow moments, emotional connection

You don’t just want good feedback.
You want users to light up.

• Did anything make them smile or say “nice touch”?
• What small detail stuck with them?
• Do they feel like your product gets them?

This one helps you capture moments worth turning into stories.

👉 Use the Surprise & Delight Template

Real Talk: When Delight Backfires

Nesrine also warns us: delight can go wrong.

Risk 1: Lack of inclusivity

One person’s joy can be another’s pain.
Example: a food app sent a fake “missed call from mom” notification on Mother’s Day.
Well-meaning. But for some users? Devastating.

Risk 2: One-and-done

Delight isn’t a launch moment. It’s a rhythm.
You can’t surprise users once and then ghost them for 2 years.
Emotional connection needs continuity.

Try the Full Delight Toolkit

All 5 templates are available in Usersnap. Click, launch, and collect real insights — fast.

👉 Explore the Delight Survey Templates Now

Watch the Full Interview with Nesrine Changuel

Get the full story, straight from Shannon and Nesrine.