It happened during a totally normal night of channel surfing.
An ad came on for a martial arts streaming app called Hi-YAH! All caps, all energy. I laughed. Then looked at my husband. He looked back with that yup, I saw that too face.
Turns out, he’d seen the same ad earlier that week while zoning out at the dentist. Same reaction. A chuckle. Then a pause.
We weren’t offended. But we weren’t sure why we reacted either.
Days later, I searched it. Watched their actual commercial. Visited their Instagram. And honestly? I didn’t find anything problematic. No stereotypes, no cheap shots. Just a brand that clearly loves martial arts movies and wants to spotlight the genre.
So why did we flinch?
Here’s where things got interesting: when I looked beyond my initial reaction and did a little research, I found that public complaints weren’t really about the name or visuals at all.
They were about clunky navigation. Confusing menus. A UI that didn’t live up to the brand’s energy.
In short, the actual user experience didn’t quite match the emotional enthusiasm promised by the branding.
That contrast, that emotional high followed by functional friction, is a UX red flag. Because even if your branding is clever and your message is well-intentioned, usability still matters.
Delight and dignity don’t mean much if your platform is hard to use.
And while I was unpacking the UX, I also dug into the branding itself. I wondered: was the name Hi-YAH! bordering on cultural appropriation?
Turns out, “hi-yah” isn’t just a cartoonish sound effect. It’s a kiai, a real vocal expression used in Japanese martial arts. It’s not inherently disrespectful, but branding doesn’t live in a vacuum.
Even when something is technically accurate, the way it’s packaged and presented, especially in a Western commercial context, can blur the line between homage and stereotype.
In this case, after seeing the brand’s full presence, it felt more like celebration than exploitation. Still, that pause I had? That flinch? It was valid. Because how something lands matters just as much as how it was intended.
That pause, that uncertain, gut-level moment, is part of UX too.
UX isn’t just about screens and flows. It’s about the emotional contract we enter when we engage with something. And that starts long before the user journey begins. Sometimes, it’s shaped by tone. Sometimes, by visuals. Sometimes, by a history we carry with us that the brand may not even know exists.
So no, this post isn’t about whether Hi-YAH! got it right or wrong. It’s about what that pause can teach us.
1. First Impressions Aren’t Just Aesthetic. They’re Emotional
Your homepage, your headline, your name? These are not neutral. They are charged with meaning, associations, expectations. We don’t always get to control how they’re received. But we do get to question what they convey.
2. Intention and Perception Are Not Always Aligned
You can love a genre deeply and still land wrong with your audience. Not because you did something malicious, but because context got lost. The visual shorthand you used triggered something unintentional.
3. If You Spark a Pause, Lean Into Curiosity. Not Defensiveness
When users hesitate, ask why. Not to edit your voice away, but to understand its impact. Sometimes that pause is about them. Sometimes, about you. Often, it’s about the space in between, and that’s where thoughtful UX lives.
We live in a culture that sometimes equates reflection with overreaction.
“Everyone’s too sensitive.”
“You can’t say anything anymore.”
And maybe sometimes, people are overreading. But often, the ones saying “you’re too sensitive” have never had to question whether a message was meant for them, about them, or at their expense.
As someone who has felt that sting, I’ll tell you: sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it’s funny. But it always deserves a little thought.
Hi-YAH! made me laugh. And then it made me pause. And that pause didn’t mean it was wrong. It meant something deeper was happening.
Clearly, my husband and I weren’t the target audience. We were focusing on the wrong thing. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe it says more about our own hang-ups. Maybe it speaks to something that those not “in the know” just don’t know.
Either way, intentional is how I want to design. And intentional is how I want to move through the world.
As for you? If you’re into martial arts movies...go check out Hi-YAH!
