Comfort
Product Development

Zap's the way to view it!

How new web browser Arc lets you "create your own internet" with its Boosts feature

Overcoming the Status Quo in our everyday lives is hard. We naturally stick to what's familiar and, even if there might well be a better option out there, we have a innate reluctance to take the risk.

The world of internet browsers is no exception.

All of our saved passwords, bookmarks, keyboard shortcuts are in there, creating a suite of barriers that prevent us from trying out something new...something better maybe?

In order to overcome all of this, there has to be something groundbreaking that a new browser can offer.

Something that makes such a meaningful impact to the daily browsing experience that it's worth taking on these costs...

Introducing Arc

Arc is a new browser built off of the open source Chromium codebase, managed by Google.

Image showing Arc hero marketing

Overcoming Default aversion

When launched for the first time, browsers are quick to have you choose them as your new Default. However, at this point, there is the least loyalty or cognitive investment that warrants such a switch.

Arc does something smart with this prompt, making the request small and time-bound.

This timeframe of a week is a Foot-in-the-Door request, feeling reassuringly temporary yet with enough time to see what all the fuss is about.

Along with piquing your Curiosity, it's a less risky choice than to be aggressively asked to set and (probably) forget, as shown below for Chrome.

But beyond navigating initial switching costs, Arc aims to reimagine one's web experience with bold new ideas around Self-Expression.

Their browser is full of them, but the most interesting from a behavioural perspective is called Boosts.

Boosts

Imagine a browsing experience where all your favourite sites are tailored to your needs.

Where, with a single click, you can "zap" any distracting sections that you never use and they're gone from view for good.

Never use that Twitter sidebar? Zap it. Gone.

Not a fan of those Shorts videos on Youtube? Zap. Gone.

Tired of that sponsored section on Facebook? Zap. Gone.

These zaps allow users a browsing experience that is truly their own.

Beyond "Zapping"

Whilst the key value of Boosts lies in the Zap feature to reduce Analysis Paralysis by allowing us to remove on-screen noise and avoid Reactance by hiding all-too-prominent upgrade panes, Boosts also offer other forms of site-specific Self-Expression.

Font styles and sizes can be tweaked along with the ability to change the primary and secondary colours of each site, dramatically affecting the site look and feel.

And sure, in the wrong hands, such tools can make for truly eye-watering, Myspace-esque creations that will make brands cry.

However, used well, they allow people to truly feel at home with their everyday sites that more accurately speak to their functional needs and expressive preferences.

Boosts can be seen as a sort of Chrome Extension creator for the layperson, where they can be quickly made and shared with others through the Boost Library, further enhancing the sense of Self-Expression felt.

The speed and ease of this end-to-end customisation process only enhances its effectiveness and potential for growth.

Closing thoughts

Boosts are just one of the many ways that Arc uses Self-Expression to create a sense of ownership in its product to bring down barriers to switching.

Sure, they have other hurdles to overcome, but allowing users to "make the internet their own" is a powerful tool to help people let go of past attachments to try something new that maybe, just maybe, would be better than the Status Quo...

...as long as you don't use Comic Sans in blue on an orange background.

Comfort
Product Development

Zap's the way to view it!

How new web browser Arc lets you "create your own internet" with its Boosts feature

Overcoming the Status Quo in our everyday lives is hard. We naturally stick to what's familiar and, even if there might well be a better option out there, we have a innate reluctance to take the risk.

The world of internet browsers is no exception.

All of our saved passwords, bookmarks, keyboard shortcuts are in there, creating a suite of barriers that prevent us from trying out something new...something better maybe?

In order to overcome all of this, there has to be something groundbreaking that a new browser can offer.

Something that makes such a meaningful impact to the daily browsing experience that it's worth taking on these costs...

Introducing Arc

Arc is a new browser built off of the open source Chromium codebase, managed by Google.

Image showing Arc hero marketing

Overcoming Default aversion

When launched for the first time, browsers are quick to have you choose them as your new Default. However, at this point, there is the least loyalty or cognitive investment that warrants such a switch.

Arc does something smart with this prompt, making the request small and time-bound.

This timeframe of a week is a Foot-in-the-Door request, feeling reassuringly temporary yet with enough time to see what all the fuss is about.

Along with piquing your Curiosity, it's a less risky choice than to be aggressively asked to set and (probably) forget, as shown below for Chrome.

But beyond navigating initial switching costs, Arc aims to reimagine one's web experience with bold new ideas around Self-Expression.

Their browser is full of them, but the most interesting from a behavioural perspective is called Boosts.

Boosts

Imagine a browsing experience where all your favourite sites are tailored to your needs.

Where, with a single click, you can "zap" any distracting sections that you never use and they're gone from view for good.

Never use that Twitter sidebar? Zap it. Gone.

Not a fan of those Shorts videos on Youtube? Zap. Gone.

Tired of that sponsored section on Facebook? Zap. Gone.

These zaps allow users a browsing experience that is truly their own.

Beyond "Zapping"

Whilst the key value of Boosts lies in the Zap feature to reduce Analysis Paralysis by allowing us to remove on-screen noise and avoid Reactance by hiding all-too-prominent upgrade panes, Boosts also offer other forms of site-specific Self-Expression.

Font styles and sizes can be tweaked along with the ability to change the primary and secondary colours of each site, dramatically affecting the site look and feel.

And sure, in the wrong hands, such tools can make for truly eye-watering, Myspace-esque creations that will make brands cry.

However, used well, they allow people to truly feel at home with their everyday sites that more accurately speak to their functional needs and expressive preferences.

Boosts can be seen as a sort of Chrome Extension creator for the layperson, where they can be quickly made and shared with others through the Boost Library, further enhancing the sense of Self-Expression felt.

The speed and ease of this end-to-end customisation process only enhances its effectiveness and potential for growth.

Closing thoughts

Boosts are just one of the many ways that Arc uses Self-Expression to create a sense of ownership in its product to bring down barriers to switching.

Sure, they have other hurdles to overcome, but allowing users to "make the internet their own" is a powerful tool to help people let go of past attachments to try something new that maybe, just maybe, would be better than the Status Quo...

...as long as you don't use Comic Sans in blue on an orange background.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows y

ou to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Comfort
Product Development

Zap's the way to view it!

How new web browser Arc lets you "create your own internet" with its Boosts feature

Overcoming the Status Quo in our everyday lives is hard. We naturally stick to what's familiar and, even if there might well be a better option out there, we have a innate reluctance to take the risk.

The world of internet browsers is no exception.

All of our saved passwords, bookmarks, keyboard shortcuts are in there, creating a suite of barriers that prevent us from trying out something new...something better maybe?

In order to overcome all of this, there has to be something groundbreaking that a new browser can offer.

Something that makes such a meaningful impact to the daily browsing experience that it's worth taking on these costs...

Introducing Arc

Arc is a new browser built off of the open source Chromium codebase, managed by Google.

Image showing Arc hero marketing

Overcoming Default aversion

When launched for the first time, browsers are quick to have you choose them as your new Default. However, at this point, there is the least loyalty or cognitive investment that warrants such a switch.

Arc does something smart with this prompt, making the request small and time-bound.

This timeframe of a week is a Foot-in-the-Door request, feeling reassuringly temporary yet with enough time to see what all the fuss is about.

Along with piquing your Curiosity, it's a less risky choice than to be aggressively asked to set and (probably) forget, as shown below for Chrome.

But beyond navigating initial switching costs, Arc aims to reimagine one's web experience with bold new ideas around Self-Expression.

Their browser is full of them, but the most interesting from a behavioural perspective is called Boosts.

Boosts

Imagine a browsing experience where all your favourite sites are tailored to your needs.

Where, with a single click, you can "zap" any distracting sections that you never use and they're gone from view for good.

Never use that Twitter sidebar? Zap it. Gone.

Not a fan of those Shorts videos on Youtube? Zap. Gone.

Tired of that sponsored section on Facebook? Zap. Gone.

These zaps allow users a browsing experience that is truly their own.

Beyond "Zapping"

Whilst the key value of Boosts lies in the Zap feature to reduce Analysis Paralysis by allowing us to remove on-screen noise and avoid Reactance by hiding all-too-prominent upgrade panes, Boosts also offer other forms of site-specific Self-Expression.

Font styles and sizes can be tweaked along with the ability to change the primary and secondary colours of each site, dramatically affecting the site look and feel.

And sure, in the wrong hands, such tools can make for truly eye-watering, Myspace-esque creations that will make brands cry.

However, used well, they allow people to truly feel at home with their everyday sites that more accurately speak to their functional needs and expressive preferences.

Boosts can be seen as a sort of Chrome Extension creator for the layperson, where they can be quickly made and shared with others through the Boost Library, further enhancing the sense of Self-Expression felt.

The speed and ease of this end-to-end customisation process only enhances its effectiveness and potential for growth.

Closing thoughts

Boosts are just one of the many ways that Arc uses Self-Expression to create a sense of ownership in its product to bring down barriers to switching.

Sure, they have other hurdles to overcome, but allowing users to "make the internet their own" is a powerful tool to help people let go of past attachments to try something new that maybe, just maybe, would be better than the Status Quo...

...as long as you don't use Comic Sans in blue on an orange background.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows y

ou to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Hungry for more?

Go Wild with the case studies

Other "Wilds"

Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Avoiding Danger

If you can see it, you can feel it

How Experian uses salience to create a sense of safety during a time of panic with its CreditLock feature

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Conversion

Reframing fees as benefits

How clothing marketplace Vinted neatly reassure and motivate buyers to use their platform.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Pricing

Tipping in the age of convenience

How Deliveroo uses positive, reciprocal feedback and round pricing to increase generosity.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Branding

Mooving with the times

How Flora’s marketing campaign cleverly prompts individuals to reject conformity by opting for a new, unherd-of butter.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Experience

Extra-purrestrial exploration

What do you get if you cross a spaceship, a cat, and a set of instructions? A whole lot of unexpected adventure, that's what.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Loyalty

From Mini-Cheddars to iPhone Mini: The surprise and delight of "Super Substitutes"

Unsuspecting customers of UK Supermarket Tesco are met with a mysterious, expected item in their weekly shop. What's going on?

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Pricing

Using price locks to create reassuring certainty

How supermarket Co-op are highlighting that the cost of your groceries aren't increasing, during a time when everything else appears to be.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Communication

Making statistics hit hard

By making abstract facts more relatable and personal, we create a powerful opportunity to change perceptions and behaviour. This campaign is a great example.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Avoiding Danger

Wait, and you shall be rewarded

Money and short-term thinking are a match made in hell, leading to spontaneous decisions that can cause great harm. With their Vault, Coinbase have a solution to this problem, slowing down decision-making with a few extra steps...

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Experience

Out of sight, out of mind

Surfacing quantifiable data can be a powerful driver of behaviour, but it can also cause stress, comparison and feelings of inadequacy. Instagram understand this and now offer a way to avoid such discomfort. Just how does it work at a behavioural level?

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Task Completion

To complete the matching pair, helpful feedback you must share

How bed company Button & Sprung use socks (!) to create a strong, playful form of post-sales reciprocity

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Donations

Turning a 'should I?' into a 'which one?'

How Tate Modern makes donations quick, easy and of high value with an expertly-designed digital request box

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Environment

Green, clean and designed to be seen

How a small, status-laden addition to the license plates of electric cars will lead to a green revolution in the UK

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Product Development

Bringing self-expression to 3 billion people

Google's "Material You" design framework enables device personalisation at a depth and scale never seen before.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Product Development

Power is nothing without (a cute, customised) control

XBox Design Lab lets takes your IKEA Effect to the max by giving you the ability to build your own bespoke gamepad for its new console.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Environment

Ghent, wee have a problem...

How a historic Belgian city reduced rates of public urination step by step with a creative use of behavioural science...and a lot of yellow spray paint

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Loyalty

Scarcity well done

Offering a positive, brand-enriching experience that's far-removed from conventional misuse, UK-based Honest Burgers show us how to 'do scarcity' well

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Offboarding

Turning a Bye into a Goodbye

‍How streaming service Spotify have navigated the pain of subscription cancellations by offboarding customers with speed, ease and unexpected delight.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Branding

From receiving the booze to joining in the cheers

In celebrating that moment when our past losses becomes eventual gains, Budweiser's clever self-expression strategy can't help but bring us closer emotionally during times of physical distance...

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Product Development

Your introduction to Nuggets In The Wild

A new part of Coglode where you can read stories about how combinations of behavioural insights are used to make new and better experiences in the real world.

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Business Models

Using curiosity to redesign travel and bring out our inner explorer

How Dutch firm srprs.me have artfully navigated that difficult balance between too little information and too much…

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration
Nuggets In The Wild

Related "Wilds"

Experience

Offsetting painful loss with reassuring certainty

How UK supermarket Tesco provide a little extra information on sold out products to turn the dread of losing out into a reassuring future event we look forward to

Read more
Nugget In The Wild Illustration

What's Cooking?

New Pairing

A Monzo case study on saving refunds by default
A Monzo case study on saving refunds by default
This week

New Nugget

Refund Effect (2024)
Refund Effect (2024)
This week

Improvement

New Nugget 2.0 schematic
New Nugget 2.0 schematic
This week

New Nugget In The Wild

How Experian's CreditLock creates calm with well-designed control
How Experian's CreditLock creates calm with well-designed control
This week

New Cheat Sheet

New "Overcoming Status Quo" Cheat Sheet
New "Overcoming Status Quo" Cheat Sheet
This week

Improvement

Simplified navigation
Simplified navigation
This week

Improvement

After ten years, just who is behind Coglode?
After ten years, just who is behind Coglode?
This week

Feature

Interactive Defaults Tool released
Interactive Defaults Tool released
This week

Coglode Live

Defaults Live video and deck now available
Defaults Live video and deck now available
This week

Cure

Cancelling Amazon Prime - An interactive, behavioural remedy
Cancelling Amazon Prime - An interactive, behavioural remedy
This week

New Nugget In The Wild

How new browser Arc overcomes Status Quo bias with Boosts and Zaps
How new browser Arc overcomes Status Quo bias with Boosts and Zaps
This week

New Cheat Sheet

New "Overcoming Risk Aversion" Cheat Sheet
New "Overcoming Risk Aversion" Cheat Sheet
This week