---
title: "How users understand new products - The Intercom Blog"
description: "Users form different mental models of the same product based on their experiences and assumptions, as illustrated by the “draw toast” exercise where people depict the process in diverse ways. When a product’s system model—how it actually works—aligns with a user’s mental model, the interface feels intuitive; a mismatch causes confusion. To discover these mental models, product teams should talk to users, ask them to draw how they believe the product works, and listen to the nouns and verbs they use. Designers can bridge gaps by employing standard interface patterns (e.g., buttons that behave like buttons), using customers’ own language, and leveraging metaphors like Apple Wallet’s ticket-like appearance or Nest’s dial-based thermostat interface. When a product cannot mirror existing mental models, teams can educate users through tutorials and walkthroughs, similar to video game onboarding, helping customers learn new concepts and quickly grasp the product’s value."
---

# How users understand new products - The Intercom Blog

[Intercom](https://yomu.fyi/company/intercom) · Oct 8, 2026

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Users form different mental models of the same product based on their experiences and assumptions, as illustrated by the “draw toast” exercise where people depict the process in diverse ways. When a product’s system model—how it actually works—aligns with a user’s mental model, the interface feels intuitive; a mismatch causes confusion. To discover these mental models, product teams should talk to users, ask them to draw how they believe the product works, and listen to the nouns and verbs they use. Designers can bridge gaps by employing standard interface patterns (e.g., buttons that behave like buttons), using customers’ own language, and leveraging metaphors like Apple Wallet’s ticket-like appearance or Nest’s dial-based thermostat interface. When a product cannot mirror existing mental models, teams can educate users through tutorials and walkthroughs, similar to video game onboarding, helping customers learn new concepts and quickly grasp the product’s value.

## Context

Based on a talk delivered at the Inside Intercom World Tour in London.

## Approach / What changed

Identify users’ mental models through exercises like ‘draw toast’, then bridge gaps by using standard UI patterns, leveraging customers’ own nouns and verbs for features, applying familiar metaphors from physical products, and educating users via tutorials and walkthroughs.

## Takeaways

- Users’ mental models vary widely; understanding them through exercises like asking users to draw the process can reveal the features and terminology that matter most to them.
- Aligning the product’s interface and language with users’ existing mental models (e.g., using email-like inbox patterns or the metaphor of a physical wallet) reduces confusion and accelerates comprehension.
- When a product offers novel concepts that cannot map to existing models, guided tutorials and step-by-step walkthroughs (like video game first levels) help users build new mental models and learn the product’s value.

## FAQ

### How can I discover my customers' mental models?

Talk to users and ask them to draw how they believe your product works, similar to the 'draw toast' exercise. Then synthesize the drawings and listen to the nouns and verbs they use to describe the system.

### What should I do when my product doesn't match existing mental models?

You can educate customers through tutorials, walkthroughs (like video game onboarding), and by explaining new concepts and terms. Alternatively, design the product to mirror familiar models using standard patterns and metaphors.

### Why is using customer language important?

The nouns and verbs customers use reveal how they think your system works. Mirroring that language in your product's interface helps bridge the gap between their mental model and your system model.

**Tags:** [Design Principles](https://yomu.fyi/topic/design-principles), [Mental Models](https://yomu.fyi/topic/mental-models), [Product Design](https://yomu.fyi/topic/product-design)

- Source: [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/users-understand-new-products)
- Source URL: https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/users-understand-new-products
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-10-08T21:00:36.808Z

[Read original post](https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/users-understand-new-products)