Experience Crafting: 3M Model

I paused my writing about customer and employee experience design while working on my book "The Insightful Innovator." I wanted to focus on the initial phases of my design framework - sense-making and incubation. I believe in giving concepts, frameworks and models room to breathe and critically examining them. Now I'm ready to return to writing about experience design.

What is Experience Design

I personally define it as of today

Experience Design - is the crafting of interactions between the person and the touchpoints of their journey. This involves designing the experience in the Macro , Meso, and Micro and designing them from the actor's point of view" This takes into account their senses, space, story and situation in the goal of creating an emotive response and lasting memory

The reason experience design get some flack is because is because “everything and nothing” can be considered an experience. The key difference is in the detail of the thoughtful design that taking something from the ordinary to the extraordinary

Compare the below

• Ordering an iPad on apple’s online store, picking it up at the Apple Store the unboxing of it

vs

• Buying a generic tablet from a local tech website, grabbing it off the store shelf and unboxing it without.

Both achieve the same end result yet they feel dramatically different. Why? The details. One of the brands sees the above as an experience the other sees it as a process. A great experience will jolt you from the mundane day to day, it create a unique memories instead of blending into the background of day to day

Here another personal example

Not wanting a phone on my wrist anymore I switched from Apple Watch to join Whoop (I didn’t want on a phone on my wrist anymore) the apple experience from discovery to delivery was seamless, polished and memorable. This experience become my new bench mark of expectation.

Now when I compare that to my Whoop experience which was bought at a small tech shop, no hand holding no one checking my understanding of the subscription model and so on which is crazy and also left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Ultimately overtime I’ ll pay more for the whoop subscription than I will for an Apple Watch if there’s every a company that needs to drive experience design to turn their buyers from customers to a community of advocates its whoop.

These feeling aren’t random, great experience no matter if delightful, frustrating or horrific are all a result of intentional thoughtful design… or lack of it.

The 3M Model of Experience Design

At Knot, we understand that exceptional experiences are a result of deliberate design. Whether it’s shaping the way customers interact with your business or ensuring employees feel supported and engaged, our 3M Model simplifies the complexity of experience designing into three actionable layers: Macro, Meso, and Micro.

These layers apply to both customer and employee experiences. Designed with intent, human connection and compassion enabled by technology, each layer compounds and contributes to crafting a experience that resonates deeply.

Macro: Life-Changing Experiences

This level is all about them experience that are transformative, at a human level they leave a mark that cant be shifted or forgotten at human level this could be welcoming your first born into the world or even the passing of a loved one.

At a CX level it’s all about the big moment that drive loyalty and and builds the strong bonds between you and your customer think big milestone, unlocking a new achievement in life

• Buying your first car

• Owning your first house

• Hitting VIP status in your loyalty program

For employees, macro experiences could be:

• The first day on the job, which sets the tone for their career.

• Receiving a long-overdue promotion.

• Completing a significant project that aligns with their personal values.

• Meeting “that” boss who will guide your through thick and thin even when you move on

Macro moment stand out because they tap into something deeper, tapping into something on a personal and emotional level. Banks for example often overlook the loyalty building potential of milestone like a customer first mortgage retirement. Macro moment can also come unexpectedly making it crucial for business to recognise and respond to them thoughtfully

Meso: End-to-End Journeys

Meso experiences focus on the end to end journey, this connect all the dots and when done right elevates from a good experience to an amazing experience and pushes it to be a Macro experience.

For customers these Meso experience

• Might be the entire purchase process for a new car: exploring models, booking a test drive, finalising financing, and driving it home check out how Tesla have mastered this

• In employee experience, onboarding is a classic Meso journey, from pre-start communications to their first-month in the business.

Meso design ensures that every stage flows seamlessly, removing friction and building confidence, joy etc along the journey. When designed well, these journey signal expectation, guardrails, context that help build emotional momentum. You will know you have design a great Meso experience based on what I call chants and cheers which we will cover at a later date

Micro: Individual Moments of Impact

The micro level is all about the tiny details that create emotional moments often these are so detail that they can feel invisible. These moment, through small elevate the oral experience moving from functional to unforgettable here we focus on the Fours S’s sense, story, space, and situation

In customer experience, these could include:

• The smell of leather when sitting in a car for the first time.

• The carefully designed unboxing experience of a new tech gadget.

• A personalised thank-you email that feels genuine, not automated.

In employee experience, micro moments might be:

• A handwritten welcome note in a new hire’s onboarding kit.

• A surprise lunch to celebrate the completion of a tough project.

• The story an employee feels they’re part of when they see their contribution recognised publicly.

Micro moments show thoughtfulness it doesn’t need to be costly however it does need to feel genuine

Why the 3M Model works

By focusing on Macro event, Meso Journeys and Micro details we can create experience that exceed expectations and build loyalty and leave lasting impressions

At Knot, we believe that the best experiences aren’t just remembered—they’re shared. Whether it’s a customer telling their friends about your brand or an employee feeling proud to represent your organisation. It these moment that similar to throwing a stone in a lake the rippled or something that expand far and wide

So, as you design your next journey, ask yourself: How will this make someone feel? Because in the end, that’s what they’ll remember.

Want to design better for your customer or employee, want to move fast when it comes to designing product solutions that are human centric then The People Product OS digital deck is perfect for you. All my ticks and tricks I’ve picked up when designing product and experiences for the likes of Dyson, HSBC, GSK and many more