When Pretty Design Fails: Lessons from Gojek for Every Product Team
Picture this: You wake up craving your favorite nasi goreng. You open your trusty Gojek app to order food, but suddenly… where’s the food delivery button?
This wasn’t a glitch. This was Gojek’s 2020 redesign that left millions of users scratching their heads.
The Great Disappearing Act
Gojek decided to give their app a makeover. The result? A stunning, minimalist interface with plenty of white space and a gorgeous new color scheme. It looked like something straight out of a design award ceremony.
But here’s where things went sideways: To achieve this clean look, they tucked away the most used features—ride booking, food delivery, payments behind a hidden sidebar menu.
Imagine if your favorite restaurant suddenly moved the entrance to the back alley without telling anyone. That’s exactly how users felt.
The Aftermath Was Brutal
- App store ratings plummeted
- User reviews turned into digital pitchforks
- Long-time users felt abandoned and confused
- Customer support was flooded with “Where did everything go?” complaints
One user review perfectly captured the frustration: “I’ve been using this app for years. Now I feel like a tourist in my own neighborhood.”
What Went Wrong? 🤔
The Psychology Behind the Disaster
1. They Broke the User’s Mental GPS. We all have mental maps of how our favorite apps work. Gojek essentially rearranged the entire city without updating the GPS. Users’ muscle memory became useless overnight.
2. Zero Hand-Holding When Apple moves a button, they show you exactly where it went. Gojek? Radio silence. No tutorial, no “Hey, look here now!” messages. Users were left to figure it out alone.
3. Pretty Over Practical The design team fell in love with their creation, but forgot to ask: “Will grandma still be able to order her groceries easily?”
The Million-Dollar Lessons 💡
Stop, Research, Then Design: Before changing anything, talk to your users. Watch them navigate your current app. Their habits are gold mines of insight.
Don’t Break What Works: That “ugly” but functional button your users love? Think twice before hiding it. Sometimes ugly works better than beautiful.
Guide the Journey: When you do make changes, be the tour guide. Show users around their new digital home with friendly tutorials and clear signposts.
Test Before You Leap: Roll out changes to small groups first. Let them be your canaries in the coal mine.
Remember: Form Follows Function A beautiful app that nobody can use is just expensive digital art.
The Real Kicker 🤯
Gojek’s story isn’t unique. It’s actually part of a terrifying pattern that keeps repeating across the tech industry. Even today, major companies are making the exact same mistakes, and the consequences are getting worse.
Here’s proof that we’re still not learning:
Sonos (2024): The $500 Million Disaster: Sonos launched a redesigned app that removed basic features like volume control and alarm settings. The backlash was so severe that their stock dropped 25% and wiped nearly $500 million from the company’s market value. The disaster was so bad that the CEO was fired in January 2025. Users couldn’t control their own speakers—imagine buying a car where the steering wheel is optional.
Apple Photos (2024): When Even Apple Gets It Wrong: Apple’s iOS 18 Photos redesign was deemed “probably a little too bold and potentially confusing” by industry experts, forcing Apple to walk back changes after users revolted. Social media exploded with complaints, with one user posting, “iOS 18 has ruined the Photos app”. If Apple, the kings of user experience, can mess this up, nobody’s safe.
The Pattern is Clear: These disasters created such user backlash that alternative apps started appearing to replace the redesigned versions. The message is crystal clear: Your users aren’t just customers—they’re creatures of habit. Respect the habit, improve the experience—or watch your market value evaporate.
The Ultimate Lesson 📌
These aren’t just design fails; they’re reminders that,
Behind every app are real people with real habits. Break those habits carelessly, and you’ll break trust. Respect them, improve gradually, and you’ll build loyalty that lasts.
The bottom line: Users won’t thank you for a beautiful interface if it wastes their time. The real victory is when they barely notice your design, because it just works. That’s when your product earns loyalty and trust. In the world of app design, user comfort beats designer comfort every single time. Make it pretty, but make it usable first.
Sources:
- Inspired by: Filbert Mangundap’s UX Analysis
- Sonos disaster: CMSWire, MacRumors, Roger Wong
- Apple Photos backlash: iMore, BGR
