Ends.: Why we overlook endings for humans, products, services and digital. And why we shouldn't. - Paperback

by Joe MacLeod (Author)

"A compelling case for why we need to design better endings." - WIRED

ONBOARDING RECEIVES 99% OF DESIGN BUDGETS. WHAT ABOUT THE EXIT?

As businesses and consumers, we are obsessed with beginnings. We invest heavily in seamless onboarding, frictionless sales funnels, and instant sign-ups. Yet, we completely ignore how digital products, physical goods, and customer relationships end.

In Ends., consumer experience pioneer Joe Macleod (ex-Head of Design at Ustwo) reveals how our cultural avoidance of closure has created an invisible crisis: digital clutter, un-deletable data, "Roach Motel" cancellation traps, and environmental waste.

"Joe Macleod has spent years advocating for better product off-boarding." - FAST COMPANY

Inside this foundational book, you will discover:

• The Psychology of Off-boarding: Why bad endings destroy customer trust and long-term brand equity.
• The Digital Debt Crisis: How overlooked digital exits expose companies to privacy violations and regulatory scrutiny under GDPR, CCPA, and EU "Right to Leave" mandates.
• Historical & Societal Drivers: How consumerism lost its endings and how we can rebuild them.
• The Business Case for Closure: Why building clean, deliberate departures drives customer retention and advocacy.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

Essential reading for UX Designers, Product Leaders, SaaS Executives, Service Designers, and Sustainability Strategists ready to address the complete customer lifecycle.

"Ends should be on every experience designer's must-read list." - Customer Review

Author Biography

Joe Macleod has been working on the issue of appropriate endings and closure experiences for fifteen years. Through his work in design, technology and services, he has detected a common pattern of denial at the end of the customer lifecycle. In the last couple of years this interest has led him to establish a research project based on sharing this insight and new approach with people via conferences, articles, teaching, projects and now a book. His 20-year professional career has been in web, telecoms and carrier companies, where he led teams and built a variety of successful products. Most recently as Head of Design at the award-winning digital product studio Ustwo, he built a globally recognised team, working with the world's favourite brands on the most pioneering of products. A regular speaker and commentator of design and design education as well as the founder of the IncludeDesign campaign that brought the UK's leading designers together to defend creative education. He now works on the Closure Experiences project; researching, talking, consulting and writing about this important yet overlooked issue.