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Delight is not a luxury but a strategic differentiator that creates emotional connections with users. Nasreen Shengal believes that the most successful products serve both functional and emotional needs simultaneously, creating experiences where emotion is at the heart of the solution.

The foundation of product delight comes from understanding that users connect with products at different levels—sometimes for functionality, sometimes for emotional fulfillment. This connection happens when products satisfy three key pillars: removing friction at moments of high stress, anticipating needs before users articulate them, and exceeding expectations by delivering more than requested.

Contrary to common misconceptions, delight isn't about superficial "confetti effects" or aesthetic flourishes that lack substance. True delight emerges when solutions blend functional utility with emotional resonance. As Nasreen explains, "Sometimes people think about delight as the confetti... but that's not the delight I talk about. The delight is actually this ability to create products that serve both emotional need and functional need."

For product teams, this means categorizing potential features into three types: surface delight (purely emotional), low delight (purely functional), and deep delight (addressing both emotional and functional needs). The recommended balance is 50% low delight, 40% deep delight, and only 10% surface delight—a framework Nasreen calls the "50-40-10 model."

When advocating for delight within an organization, don't try to convince skeptical leaders directly. Instead, understand what they value and demonstrate how delight aligns with their goals. For example, one founder initially rejected delight concepts until realizing that making users proud of the product could drive word-of-mouth growth—suddenly making delight a strategic priority.

The most practical implementation comes through Nasreen's four-step Delight Model:

1. Identify users' functional and emotional motivators
2. Convert these motivators into product opportunities
3. Develop solutions that address these motivators, categorizing them in the Delight Grade matrix
4. Validate ideas through a checklist that ensures business impact, feasibility, and inclusivity

For product teams, this approach offers a systematic way to create experiences that not only work well but also forge emotional connections that drive retention, loyalty, and growth. As markets become increasingly crowded, these emotional connections become powerful differentiators that help products stand out—regardless of whether they serve B2C or B2B audiences.