Why we overlook endings. And why we shouldn’t. | Joe Macleod | TEDxStockholm
Humanity has developed a systemic cultural blind spot that celebrates the beginning of everything while entirely avoiding the conclusion. This landmark TEDx talk exposes the psychological biases that drive our obsession with onboarding and makes the vital case for designing the exit.
Every Startup Needs to Prepare for Its Downfall | Wired
Startups pour immense energy into scaling up, yet rarely build a blueprint for how their product ecosystem can gracefully wind down. This article outlines why establishing an intentional end-of-life framework is a vital strategic buffer against operational, legal, and digital vulnerabilities.
Meet the 'Endineer' who helps companies design the end of life for products | Fast Company
Brands spend billions on onboarding, but walk away when a product reaches the end of its life cycle. Joe Macleod explains how designing better off-boarding experiences eliminates consumer guilt and creates a sustainable circular economy.
‘Endineering’ solves a missing link for the circular economy | Trellis
Circular supply chains are completely broken because we expect consumers to act responsibly without giving them the tools to do so. This piece demonstrates how Endineering builds the missing human infrastructure needed to achieve genuine ESG compliance and waste reduction.
In search of an ending | Creative Review
The obsession with creating seamless, frictionless onboarding experiences has left a massive blind spot at the end of the consumer journey. Joe Macleod breaks down why businesses must learn to design deliberate, meaningful endings.
Endings Matter: Joe Macleod on Offboarding, Brand Value & Responsibility | Next Conference
Leaving a product's final chapter unmanaged is a high-stakes gamble with your brand's reputation and compliance track record. This video interview maps out why full-lifecycle responsibility is a non-negotiable requirement for modern product management teams.
Warmth of the Setting Sun: Belief and Identity in Digital Life | Next Conference
As our lives move entirely online, deleting an account or leaving a platform shifts from a minor tech hurdle to a profound identity crisis. This high-profile keynote explores how digital product endings must respect user agency, human belief systems, and personal legacies.
If I Only Had a Story | Andy Ruben & Joe Macleod | Circularity 2025
Physical supply chains and digital platforms are deeply broken because they fail to tell the true human story of a product's conclusion. This collaborative keynote maps out how creating transparent end-of-life narratives protects brand equity while actively tackling the growth of data and physical waste.
Closure Experiences - Why a simple goodbye could help climate change | Interaction 16. IXDA
Our planet's climate crisis is fundamentally fueled by a consumer model that makes buying effortless and disposal completely invisible. This landmark international session demonstrates how designing explicit, behavioral product endings is the missing key to unlocking true sustainable consumption.
The Importance of Offboarding - Joe Macleod | UX on Coffee
Customer experience strategies are heavily weighted toward acquisition, leaving a massive operational gap at the point of departure. This episode maps out why the exit is the most critical touchpoint for protecting your hard-won brand equity and building resilient customer lifecycles.
Closure Experiences by Joe Macleod | Big Radical
A simple onboarding sequence welcomes a user into an ecosystem, but the absence of a structured goodbye leaves them trapped in product limbo. This feature outlines the core mechanics of closure experiences and explains why designing a clear farewell is a foundational requirement for modern service design.
Ends. Why bother? | Creative Mornings Gothenberg
Leaving a product's final chapter up to chance exposes a business to severe operational and legal vulnerabilities. This tactical presentation provides executive leaders with an actionable blueprint on how to align internal corporate culture with structured offboarding.
DIF Conference. ellen macarthur foundation | Ends.
True environmental sustainability and circular logistics fail when businesses treat offboarding as a dry regulatory checklist. This interview shows how bringing user experience to the end of the lifecycle directly limits physical asset waste and digital pollution.
Designing Great End Experiences Across Product Sectors | UX London 2019
For decades, the design industry has trained its talent to focus exclusively on product creation and user acquisition. This feature challenges the global design community to take responsibility for the entire lifecycle, showing why true innovation requires designing the exit.
Start-ups! The Future is a Good Ending - Joe Macleod | DigitalK 2018
Startups pour immense energy into scaling up, yet rarely build a blueprint for how their product ecosystem can gracefully wind down. This keynote outlines why establishing an intentional end-of-life framework is a vital strategic buffer against operational, legal, and digital vulnerabilities.
Ends. Why They’re Critical | UX Riga 2019
Human memory heavily weights overall brand satisfaction based on the emotional tone of the final interaction. This presentation breaks down the psychological frameworks that explain why an intentional ending cements a positive legacy in the mind of the consumer.