Design for AWE

Summer’s drawing to a close, and as the mornings are crisp and dimmer, I’ve been reflecting on the events I’ve attended, people I’ve met and incredible work we’ve delivered.

In a meta-moment, Christina Hug’s talk at CMX stands out.

Christina spoke about designing for AWE.

She wasn’t talking about splashy confetti moments. She spoke about awe as something practical and actionable.

What I enjoyed about her short talk was how it felt so applicable to designing websites, running events, hosting dinner parties or just holding space in a meeting.

She framed the ideas into three sections: Anchor, Wonder, Connection.

Anchor

Anchor isn’t just a hook—it’s the emotional spark people clutch on to. The template she used still applies:

(This thing) for (these people) to (achieve this outcome).

But for memberships, it needs to speak to identity and belonging, not just practicalities.

Take a professional body, perhaps for designers. A “membership for career growth” feels flat. But reworking it with the "why does it matter?" test, “a space for designers to challenge themselves, support one another, and find belonging beyond job titles”.

Now this feels like something I want to be a part of.

Wonder

Once your membership has that anchor, it’s no longer an admin checklist.

Memberships don’t have to feel like a list of processes and checklists. Not every member has a straight, direct line from interest to advocate.

How can you design for wonder? Perhaps it’s a surprise waiting for them next time they log in, or your next monthly meet-up has a twist - a punctuation moment.

For me, punctuation moments are how I distinguish between the last handful of Christmas days, or even the last 10 summers. As with life, it’s easy to fall into routine - in fact, I love routine, but routine needs punctuating with wonder.

Connection

Membership organisers love to talk about who’s in the room.

But what’s in the room matters more. Christina shared a workshop idea; “Five Things”. You share five objects from your life, and the other person asks questions. Somebody talked about their favourite pen and their Vitamix, and that unlocked real connection.

In membership, it’s important our members are going deeper rather than wider in their relationships.

Multiple studies confirm a direct link between how engaged members feel and their likelihood of renewing. In fact, 51% of associations equate lack of engagement with why members fail to renew.

It’s clear that members with deeper relationships with each other, have a stronger affinity to the membership body, and are less likely to churn.