A psychological theory proposed by Abraham Maslow that outlines a five-tier model of human needs, ranging from basic physiological needs to self-actualization. Crucial for designing products and services that address various levels of user needs.
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a method used to transform customer needs into engineering characteristics for a product or service. Essential for ensuring that customer requirements are systematically incorporated into the design and development process.
A dark pattern where questions are worded in a way that tricks the user into giving an answer they didn't intend. Recognizing the harm of this practice is important to maintain clarity and honesty in user interactions.
The tendency for people to overestimate their ability to control events. Important for understanding user behavior and designing experiences that manage expectations.
The process of working together with others to generate creative ideas and solutions, leveraging diverse perspectives and skills. Essential for producing innovative and well-rounded design solutions.
A visual representation of the user or customer journey, highlighting key interactions, emotions, and pain points. Essential for identifying opportunities to improve user or customer experiences.
A cognitive bias where individuals underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions while overestimating the benefits. Important for realistic project planning and setting achievable goals for designers.
The study of the principles and practices that inform and guide the design process. Essential for understanding the foundational concepts that underpin effective design.
The perseverance and passion for long-term goals, often seen as a key trait for success. Important for understanding and fostering resilience and persistence in design and product development.
A reading pattern where users quickly scan for specific markers or keywords within the content. Important for optimizing content for quick search and retrieval.
A situation in which an individual is unable to make a decision due to the overwhelming number of options available. Important for designing interfaces that streamline decision-making processes for users.
The tendency for people to value products more highly if they have put effort into assembling them. Important for understanding user satisfaction and product attachment.
Methods and techniques used to overcome mental blocks that hinder creative thinking and problem-solving. Crucial for maintaining productivity and fostering innovation in design.
A usability testing method where users interact with a system they believe to be autonomous, but which is actually operated by a human. Essential for testing concepts and interactions before full development.
A principle stating that users spend most of their time on other websites and prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know. Crucial for designing user-friendly and familiar interfaces.
A cohesive system of visual and interaction design principles and guidelines that ensure consistency and coherence across a product or brand's interfaces and experiences. Essential for creating a unified and recognizable user experience, ensuring consistency, usability, and brand identity across all platforms and touchpoints.
A set of fundamental principles and guidelines that inform and shape marketing practices. Crucial for maintaining consistency and ensuring high-quality marketing outcomes.
A framework for assessing and improving an organization's ethical practices in the development and deployment of AI. Important for ensuring that AI systems are developed responsibly and ethically.
The process of triggering particular aspects of a person's identity to influence their behavior or decisions. Important for designing personalized and effective user experiences.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM) is a metric used in advertising to denote the cost of 1,000 impressions or views of an advertisement. This metric is crucial for measuring and optimizing advertising spend and reach.
Interaction Design (IxD) focuses on creating engaging interfaces with well-thought-out behaviors. Crucial for ensuring intuitive and effective user interactions.
The tendency for images to be more easily remembered than words, highlighting the power of visual communication. Crucial for designing effective visual content that enhances memory retention and user engagement.
A set of fundamental principles and guidelines that inform and shape design practices. Crucial for maintaining design consistency and ensuring high-quality outcomes.
The study of architectural concepts, including the principles and methodologies used in the design and construction of buildings and structures. Useful for understanding spatial design and applying architectural principles to digital interfaces.
The study of dynamic systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, leading to unpredictable behavior. Important for recognizing and managing unpredictable elements in design and development processes.
A cognitive bias where individuals or organizations continue to invest in a failing project or decision due to the amount of resources already committed. Important for designers to recognize and mitigate their own risks of continuing unsuccessful initiatives.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a program developed by W3C to improve web accessibility. Essential for creating guidelines and resources to help make the web accessible to people with disabilities.
A theory suggesting that information processed at a deeper, more meaningful level is better remembered than information processed at a shallow level. Crucial for designing educational and informational content that enhances retention and understanding.
The tendency to forget information that can be easily found online, also known as digital amnesia. Important for understanding how access to information impacts memory and designing experiences accordingly.
The attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities, often used in design to make interfaces more relatable and engaging. Important for creating relatable and engaging designs that resonate with users.
A medium through which a product or service is delivered to a customer, including physical and digital channels. Crucial for understanding how products and services reach end users.
The practice of leveraging current events or news stories to promote one's brand or product. Crucial for increasing brand visibility and engagement.
Voice User Interface (VUI) is a system that allows users to interact with a device or software using voice commands. Essential for creating hands-free, intuitive user experiences.
Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of interconnected physical devices embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, enabling them to collect and exchange data. Essential for creating smart, responsive environments and improving efficiency across various industries by enabling real-time monitoring, analysis, and automation.
The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view. Important for designing user experiences that are intuitive and empathetic.
A learning phenomenon where information is better retained when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed in a short period. Crucial for designing educational tools and content that optimize long-term retention.
A phenomenon where users fail to notice significant changes in their visual field. Important for understanding and designing around potential user perception issues.
A method used in AI and machine learning to ensure prompts and inputs are designed to produce the desired outcomes. Essential for improving the accuracy and relevance of AI responses.
A cognitive bias where people ascribe more value to things merely because they own them. Useful for understanding user attachment and designing persuasive experiences.
A theory that emphasizes the role of emotions in risk perception and decision-making, where feelings about risk often diverge from cognitive assessments. Important for designing systems that account for emotional responses to risk and improve decision-making.
A cognitive phenomenon where people are more likely to pursue goals or change behavior following a temporal landmark (e.g., new year, birthday). Useful for designing interventions and features that leverage these moments to encourage positive behavior.
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology in which simple geometrical objects are recognized independent of rotation, translation, and scale. Crucial for understanding how users perceive and recognize patterns in design.