Ends. Why they are critical to improving consumption. How many services have you started, designed, launched and built a customer base for? Do you have the same passion about ending them appropriately? Does it matter? Most experiences in life are punctuated by a closure experience - an ending. In the past these were profound; however, over generations we have distanced ourselves from meaningful endings thanks to our lifestyles increasing in comfort, the church weakening and medicine advancing. The impact of this has been particularly acute in our consumer society, where as providers and consumers we are happy to overlook endings; excited to move on to the next product or service experience. This has created a cultural oversight in our personal responsibility and a vulnerability in our businesses. We witness this at scale in some of the services’ industries biggest problems - mis-selling of financial services is now common place. PPI in the UK alone accounts for £35bn according to the FT. 1 in 4 UK pensions are going missing according to the charity Age Concern. Lost in decades of mis-management, mergers and acquisitions and the normal changes over a person’s life. A surprising amount of old people are getting their first tattoo, fearful someone will bring them back to life after the Do Not Resuscitate agreement fails. Paying off mortgages, the biggest personal debts in our lives, should be a celebration. Instead all the thanks we get is often a cold letter to say it’s finished. Well designed and thoughtful endings help us reflect, take responsibility and move on coherently, but sadly the service industry is awash with bad endings. Joe Macleod introduces the theme of his Ends book at the SDN 2017 conference. He makes a compelling case that demonstrates how, over centuries, our changing relationship with death has led to the loss of our relationship with endings. Giving rise to guilt-free consumers, an overly-blamed business sector and a society which finds itself at a loss when it needs to grapple with responsibility. Drawing on a plethora of sources in history, sociology, psychology and industry, he argues that we are taking the wrong approach to challenging the impacts of consumption and that we need to create coherent endings in our product, service and digital experiences to rebalance this.

1. Ends.When we're finished with products and services.
Joe Macleod
Designer-Founder-Leader; Author of Ends

2. Ends.
Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod @ClosureExp
closureexperiences.com
When we're finished with
products and services.
SDN Global 2017

3. 1. 2. 3.
Any consumer experience can be
broken down into 3 stages
On-Boarding Off-BoardingUsage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

4. On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

5. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

6. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

7. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

8. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
T&Cs
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

9. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
T&Cs
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

10. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
T&Cs
Emotionless death
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

11. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
T&Cs
Emotionless death
Lingers forever
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

12. Fuelled by commerce Fuelled by society
Language of self actualisation Language of safety and security
The start of the relationship. It is the conclusion of the relationship.
engagement
time
Advertising
Marketing
Packaging
T&Cs
Emotionless death
Lingers forever
Denial
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
On-Boarding Off-Boarding
Usage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

13. A brief history of
endings

14. Life was hard
El Ángelus. Jean-François Millet. CCEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

15. Death was familiar
Ars Moriendi. Meister E.S.Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.comEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

16. Heaven a reward
Belshazzar’s Feast. John MartinEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

17. Funerals meaningful
A Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet. CCEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

18. Plague arrived
Michelangelo [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

19. Meaningless death
Scène de la peste de 1720 à la Tourette by Michel SerreEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

20. Mis-managed
Raphael's Portrait of Leo X with cardinals Giulio de' MediciEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

21. Protestant uprising
Julius Hübner [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

22. Fasting
Christ in the Desert. Ivan Kramskoi. 1872Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

23. Jobs
Eisenwalzwerk. Adolph von Menzel [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

24. Investment
Peder Severin Krøyer [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

25. By Lion, Flora [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Work less? Buy more?
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

26. Medicine & science
manages death
By Thomas Eakins,American, 1844 - 1916 (1844 - 1916) – Details of artist on Google Art Project [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

27. We hid it away
Gross Clinic on display at the Army Post Hospital. See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

28. Consume Heaven on
Earth without end
American Abundance for allVintage ad Wheaties sweepstakes 1958Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

29. Endings had
value and a
vocabulary
Endings are hidden,
overlooked and
unwanted
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

30. Modern endings
hidden, overlooked and unwanted

31. Hidden ending.
Printer Ink Cartridge
On-Boarding Off-BoardingUsage
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

32. Consumer Electronics
Some packaging
avoids the real end.
Starting experiences wrapped
up as long term responsibility
Closure experience overlooked
as important or actionable
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

33. Revenge porn
The un-ending
nature of digital
assets expose us.
One in ten young women
have been threatened
with public posting of
explicit images in US.
Data Society and the Centre for Innovative Public Health Research
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

34. services
products
digital
…the consequences
we see in

35. Why do
emotional
endings?

36. “Closure in narratives attempts to
preserve the moral and social order
which would be threatened by endlessly
erring narratives.”
Elizabeth MacArthur. Extravagant Narratives
Raiders of the Lost ArkEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

37. Richard Neupert. The End, Narration and Closure in Film
“Solid closure in conventional narratives
and histories satisfies individual and social
desire for moral authority, a purposeful
interpretation of life, and genuine stability”
Raging BullEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

38. The narratives of
consumer endings are…
“endlessly erring narratives”
Don’t Look NowEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

39. Endings add moral and
social order to narratives.
Do we need this in our
consumer society ?
ShaneEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

40. The Consumer
Experience.
Dividing beginning from end.

41. Waste and
Closure
Waste and closure were
actionable and attached
to consumption.
15th century
A simple world view.
Consumer
experiences
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

42. Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

43. Industrial
Revolution
Eisenwalzwerk. Adolph MenzelEnds. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

44. Quickening Distancing&
A tethering
of identity
of wasteof consumption
A fading of
emotional
endings
++
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

45. 15th century
Waste and
Closure
Consumer
experiences
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

46. 21st century
Waste and
Closure
Consumer
experiences
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

47. Waste and
Closure
Consumer
experiences
Consumer
Self Civil Self
This imbalance in the customer lifecycle has developed a
psychosis that is represented in all of us by 2 selfs.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

48. Criticises
consumptions ills
Enjoys consumer
experiences
Consumer
Self
Civil Self
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

49. The
Psychological
Impact of
Closure

50. Role Exit
Helen Rose Ebaugh
“doubts are often ignited from
organisational changes, personal
burnout, a change in relationships,
or the effect of some event. These
doubts are then reflected to peers
or friends as cuing behaviour.”
Becoming an Ex
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

51. Role Exit
First doubts
cuing
behaviour
• Organisational changes
• Burnout
• Changes in relationships
• Events
assess following
situations
seeking out individuals
who will reinforce doubts
re-evaluation of the situation
and temporary halting of the
doubting process
negative interpretation
of subsequent events
agreement
of others
reinforcement of
doubts
Seek
alternatives
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

52. The End is started with a doubt
Role Exit
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

53. Ernest Becker
“most human action is
taken to ignore or avoid
the inevitability of death”
Denial of Death
Terror
Management
Theory
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

54. Terror Management Theory
Kasser and Sheldon
2000
Researchers attempted to
connect consumption to
Terror Management Theory
Liberation. M.C. Escher 1955Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

55. Terror Management Theory
Kasser and Sheldon
2000
“suggested that concerns
about mortality, although sub-
conscious, strongly influence
our behaviour and aspirations
about material goods and
economic status”
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

56. Terror Management Theory
Kasser and Sheldon
2000
“suggested that concerns
about mortality, although sub-
conscious, strongly influence
our behaviour and aspirations
about material goods and
economic status”
this impacts our relationship
with consumption
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

57. Financial
Services

58. Historically.
Bank account.
Average usage 26 years. pre 2008.
Life expectancy 73.Retire at 65Adult at 18 years Employment 45+ years
Mortgage. 20-30 years.
Pension. Entire working life.
Ends were rare in Financial Services.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

59. Pensions
Pensions need to connect
a Starting experience and
a Closure experience over
decades.
1 in 4 of these pension
pots goes missing through
lack of contact.
Age Concern
Average of 11 employers in
our lifetime.
Department for Work and
Pensions UK
20s 65s40 years of v i s i b i l i t y
lifespan
Joe Macleod. Closure Experiences.Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

60. Thad Zajdowicz. CC
Credit cards
US household debt as of Q1
2016, is $132,086
www.nerdwallet.com
Credit cards US average $15,310
Consumer rewarded for more debt.
Never rewarded for paying back.
Gaming debt.
Not celebrating
good debt payers.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

61. 7 day switch
Current Account Switch Service will let
consumers safely and reliably switch their
accounts between banks in 7 days. Sept 2013
Financial Services industry
Big industry finds it hard to create endings.
So watchdogs have to do it for them.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

62. And we are LIVE!
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

63. And we are DEAD!
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

64. Now.
Bank account.
Engagement driven
through apps / tech
Mortgage.
Remortgage market
Pensions. 11 on average
Ends now common in
Financial Services.
Life expectancy 73.Retire at 65Adult at 18 years Employment 45+ years
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

65. Health

66. Traffic lights
To varying degrees countries are
implementing similar traffic light
systems.
These indicate the ultimate conclusion
to eating these items - what you are
putting in your body will impact your
health.
Consumer provided
with actionable,
timely information.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

67. Starting Experience
= 98% Closure Experience
= 2%
Starting Experience
= 90%
Closure Experience
= 10%
Starting Experience
= 40%
Closure Experience
= 60%
Starting Experience
= 0%
Closure Experience
= 100%
Starts to have
emotional meaning
1972
1995
2006
2012
30% on front,
90% on back
All brand elements
removed - colour,
typography, logo.
Positive emotional
message gone
Emotions can be
triggered to
recognise closure
Plain Cigarette
Packs
Research shown plain packaging makes
the packets less appealing and helps
reinforce health messages. BBC
Darker colours - olive green is proposed
- are favoured ahead of white, as they
are perceived to signify more harm.”
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

68. Increase in health apps
Growth in the time spent on mobile apps
•Music stands at 79%
•health and fitness 51%
•social networking 49%
- travel 28%, entertainment 22%, sports 16%, games 15%,
and news at 14%.
business2community.com
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

69. Health exposed
Privacy policies of Diabetes apps and sharing info.
Most of the 211 apps (81%) did not have privacy
policies.
Of the 41 apps (19%) with privacy policies, not all of the
provisions actually protected privacy
(eg, 80.5% collected user data and 48.8% shared data)
Sarah R. Blenner, JD, MPH,
Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law,
On revisiting original sources
- 143 of the 211 original apps were still available.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

70. Apps endings
By Anonymous (http://www.wittgenstein.org.uk/gallery.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Nuffield Health app launched 2012 Nuffield Health app died in 2016
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

71. Zombie App is an app that
doesn’t appear in the top
three hundred of any of
Apple’s twenty three different
genres lists.
Adjust
Over 80 percent of Apps on
App Store are Zombies
Joe Macleod. Closure Experiences.
Increase in zombies
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

72. Emotional endings
By Anonymous (http://www.wittgenstein.org.uk/gallery.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The results: those who saw a plaintive
care specialist stopped chemotherapy
sooner, entered hospice earlier,
experienced less suffering at the end of
their lives-and they lived 25% longer.
Massachusetts General Hospital 2010
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

73. A good
Closure Experience
will be…

74. A good Closure Experience will be…
Consciously Connected to the
rest of the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

75. Consciously Connected
Consciously Connected to the
rest of the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

76. CCO by Ryan Stone
Epson’s PaperLab
Visible ending and rebirth.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

77. Emotional Triggers
Consciously Connected to the
rest of the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

78. Spotify Goodbye.
Emotional and meaningful
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

79. Marie Kondo Tidying Technique
New York Times
An emotional goodbye brings reflection.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

80. Actionable
Consciously Connected to the
rest of the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.

81. Trov Insurance
On demand
insurance.
Challenging the blanket
time based insurance
commitments
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

82. Timely
Consciously Connected to the
rest of the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.

83. Automatic Delay Repay
Automatic repayment empowers
users at the end of bad rail journeys.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

84. A planned death in 7 years,
brings opportunities for Kia.
CCO by Ryan Stone
Kia
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

85. What can you do?

86. Think about it.
!
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

87. Talk about it
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

88. Do you have
a conscious
ending?
Who is
empowered
from the
moment of
transaction?
How does the
service/
product
descend to
the end?
What type
of ending
do you
have?
How do you
dismantle
the service/
product?
Do you have
an Aftermath
Target?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Audit
Ask yourself some questions.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

89. engagement
time
Starting Experiences Closure Experiences
Reflection
Commitment
Last use
Map it
Break up
First use
Projection
Primary narrator
Messages and symbols
Actors and actions
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

90. 90
5 x 55% of your project time
5 years out
To reveal your products
off-boarding needs…
Plan it
When developing new products and services
don't forget to plan the end in.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

91. 91
Design it
Consciously Connected to the rest of
the experience through
Emotional Triggers that are
Actionable by the user in a
Timely manner.
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

92. 92
Rebirth Reflection Rest
Released to take part in
another experience
Look back at a
wonderful experience
Provides an
opportunity to rest, a
moment of peace
Resentment
I could have made more
of that opportunity
Regret
I feel cheated, and its
someones fault.
Desirable Avoidable
On-Boarding
Usage Off-Boarding
Aftermath
Ends. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod closureexperiences.com

93. Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod. @ClosureExp www.closureexperiences.com
End.

94. Ends.
Get the book on
Amazon.
Get the ebook on
Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords
Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod. @ClosureExp www.closureexperiences.com

95. http://bit.ly/Ends_SDN
Get the book on
Amazon.
Get the Ebook on
Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords
Joe Macleod. @mrmacleod. @ClosureExp www.closureexperiences.com
Ends. Chapter1.

96. @mrmacleod @ClosureExp
www.closureexperiences.com
Joe Macleod
Designer-Founder-Leader; Author of Ends
Ends. Closure Experiences
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