Aesthetic-Usability Effect
The phenomenon where users perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable, regardless of the actual usability. Important for designers to understand the impact of aesthetics on user perception and usability.
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“design understanding”
Backstage
Elements of a service or product that are not visible to the user but are essential for delivering the front-stage experience. Crucial for understanding and designing the full user experience, including behind-the-scenes elements.
Trigger
A prompt or cue that initiates a behavior or response, often used in behavior design to encourage specific actions. Crucial for designing systems that effectively prompt desired user behaviors.
Persona
A fictional character created to represent a user type that might use a site, brand, or product in a similar way, guiding design decisions. Essential for user-centered design, ensuring that products meet the needs of target users.
Needfinding
A research process used to identify and understand the underlying needs of users to inform the design of products and services. Essential for creating user-centered designs that address real user needs.
Similarity
A Gestalt principle that states that objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as being more related than objects that are dissimilar. Essential for creating visually cohesive and intuitive designs.
Forced Action
A dark pattern where the user is required to do something in order to access certain functionality or information. Designers must avoid compulsory actions and provide optional choices to respect user autonomy.
User Centric Mindset
An approach that places the user's needs, preferences, and behaviors at the forefront of all design and development activities. Important for fostering a design culture that prioritizes user satisfaction and engagement.
Focal Point
A Gestalt principle stating that elements with a distinct visual feature (e.g., a unique color, size, or shape) capture attention and are perceived as a focal point. Crucial for designing interfaces that direct attention toward visual elements that signal and enable forward progress.
Uniform Connectedness
A Gestalt principle stating that elements that are visually connected are perceived as more related than elements with no connection. Essential for creating designs that effectively group related elements.
Misdirection
A dark pattern where the design focuses the user's attention on one thing to distract them from another. Designers should avoid this deceptive tactic and ensure user attention is not unfairly diverted.
Proximity
A Gestalt principle that states objects that are close to each other tend to be perceived as a group. Crucial for creating intuitive and organized visual designs that align with natural perceptual tendencies.
Interface Interference
A dark pattern where the user interface is manipulated in a way that prioritizes certain actions over others to benefit the company. It's crucial to avoid this tactic and design fair interfaces without manipulating user actions.
Perceptual Set
The tendency to perceive and interpret information based on prior experiences and expectations, influencing how different users perceive design differently. Important for designing interfaces that meet user expectations, improving usability and intuitive navigation.
Vertical Rhythm
The consistent spacing of text and elements in a design to create a harmonious and readable layout. Crucial for improving readability and visual appeal in design.
Emergence
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology where complex patterns arise out of relatively simple interactions. Crucial for understanding how users perceive complex designs and patterns.
Halo Effect
A cognitive bias where the perception of one positive trait influences the perception of other unrelated traits. Important for designers to manage and utilize this bias effectively in user experience design.
User Interviews
A qualitative research method involving direct conversations with users to gather insights into their needs, behaviors, and experiences. Essential for gaining deep insights into user perspectives and informing design decisions.
Tesler’s Law
The principle stating that there is a limit to the amount of complexity that users can handle, and if designers don't manage complexity, users will. Crucial for designing user-friendly systems that manage complexity effectively.
Assumed Similarity Bias
A cognitive bias where people assume others share the same beliefs, values, or preferences as themselves. Important for helping designers avoid projecting their own biases and assumptions onto users during research and design.
Visual Depiction Effect
A phenomenon where people better understand and remember information when it is presented visually. Crucial for designing effective and engaging visual content.
Screen Physical Width
The actual width of a screen, typically measured in inches or millimeters, impacting the layout and design of user interfaces. Important for designing interfaces that fit different screen sizes.
Principle of Contrast
A design principle that states that contrasting elements (such as color, shape, size) can be used to draw attention and create visual interest. Important for creating visually engaging and accessible designs that guide user attention effectively.
The User Is Drunk
A usability testing approach where designers assume that users are easily confused and distracted, focusing on simplicity and clarity in design. Crucial for ensuring that interfaces are intuitive and easy to use under various conditions.
Fitts’s Law
A predictive model of human movement that describes the time required to move to a target area, used to design user interfaces that enhance usability. Important for designing efficient and user-friendly interfaces.
Illusion of Transparency
A cognitive bias where individuals overestimate how well their thoughts, feelings, and emotions are understood by others. Crucial for designing communication and user interfaces that account for and mitigate this bias.
Scrolljacking
A design technique that overrides the default scrolling behavior, often to create a more controlled or immersive experience. Controversial; can enhance or hinder user experience depending on implementation.
Functional Fixedness
A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. Important for designers to foster creative problem-solving and innovation.
Bait and Switch
A dark pattern where users think they are going to take one action, but a different, undesirable action happens instead. Designers must avoid this deceptive practice and be aware of its impact to ensure transparent user interactions.
Gutenberg Diagram
A design principle that suggests a pattern for how people read a webpage, dividing it into four quadrants and emphasizing the importance of the top-left and bottom-right areas. Essential for creating effective layouts that align with natural reading patterns.
Human Factors
The study of how humans interact with systems and products, focusing on improving usability and performance. Crucial for designing user-friendly systems and products.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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.
Information Ecology
The study of the relationships between people, practices, values, and technologies within an information environment. Helps in understanding and designing systems that are sustainable and adaptive to human and environmental changes.
Hostile Attribution Bias
A cognitive bias where individuals interpret others' behaviors as having hostile intent, even when the behavior is ambiguous or benign. Important for understanding user interactions and designing experiences that mitigate negative interpretations.
Flexible Ratio
A dynamic aspect ratio that adjusts based on the container or screen size. Important for responsive design, ensuring elements remain proportional across devices.
User Advocacy
The practice of promoting and representing the needs, interests, and rights of users in the design and development process. Important for ensuring that user needs and perspectives are prioritized in product design and development.
Common Fate
A Gestalt principle stating that elements moving in the same direction are perceived as a group or a single entity. Crucial for creating visual designs that effectively convey movement and relationships.
Sneak Into Basket
A dark pattern where a product sneaks an additional item into the user's shopping cart, often through a pre-selected checkbox. Designers should avoid this practice and ensure users have full control over their purchases to maintain trust.
Principle of Scale
A design principle that involves using relative size to indicate the importance of elements, creating visual hierarchy and focus. Crucial for guiding user attention and creating effective visual communication.
Reification
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology describing the mind's ability to fill in gaps to create a whole object from incomplete elements. Crucial for designing creative and engaging visuals that are both pleasing to the eye and cleverly satisfying to the mind.
UX
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience of a person using a product, system, or service, encompassing all aspects of the end-user's interaction. Crucial for creating products that are not only functional but also enjoyable, efficient, and satisfying to use.
Forced Enrollment
A dark pattern where users are forced to sign up for an account to complete a basic task. Designers should avoid this practice and provide optional account creation to respect user preferences.
Shallow Processing
A cognitive approach where information is processed at a surface level, focusing on basic features rather than deeper meaning, often leading to poorer memory retention. Important for designing educational and informational content that encourages deeper processing and understanding.
Theming
The process of applying a consistent style, motif, or brand identity across a piece of work, design, or user experience to create coherence and enhance the overall aesthetic. Essential for ensuring visual consistency, reinforcing brand identity, and providing users with a unified and engaging experience.
Fogg Behavior Model
A model that explains behavior change through the interaction of three elements: motivation, ability, and triggers. Crucial for designing interventions and experiences that effectively change user behavior.
Difference Threshold
The minimum difference in stimulus intensity that a person can detect, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND). Crucial for designing user interfaces that are sensitive to changes in user input and feedback.
Spotted Pattern
A reading pattern where users focus on individual elements or "spots" of interest on a page, rather than following a linear path. Crucial for designing engaging and attention-grabbing content layouts.
Mood-Congruent Memory Bias
The tendency for individuals to recall information that is consistent with their current mood. Important for understanding how mood affects memory and designing experiences that account for emotional states.
Creative Confidence
The belief in one's ability to create change through creativity, often leading to more innovative and effective problem-solving. Essential for fostering a mindset of innovation and creativity in design.
Visual Fluency
The ease with which visual information can be processed and understood by the viewer. Important for creating intuitive and accessible interfaces.
Analogous Inspiration
The practice of drawing inspiration from sources outside of one's field to generate creative ideas. Useful for fostering creativity and innovation in design and product development.
F Pattern
A common pattern of eye movement where users scan web content in an "F" shape, focusing on the top and left side of the page. Crucial for designing web content that aligns with natural reading patterns to improve engagement.
Instrumental Value
The worth of something based on its ability to help achieve a desired end or goal. Useful for understanding and prioritizing design elements that contribute to user goals.
Multimodal Theory
A theory that explains how information is processed through different sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, and tactile. Important for designing user experiences that engage multiple senses for better interaction and understanding.
Mapping
The process of creating visual representations of data or information to enhance understanding and decision-making. Essential for organizing information and making complex data accessible.
Graceful Degradation
A design principle that ensures a system continues to function at a reduced level rather than completely failing when some part of it goes wrong. Crucial for enhancing system reliability and user experience in adverse conditions.
Card Sorting
A user research technique where participants organize information into categories to inform information architecture and design. Essential for creating intuitive information architectures and improving user experience.
Common Region
A Gestalt principle where elements that are located within the same closed region are perceived as being grouped together. Essential for creating designs that are easily understood and visually organized.
Film Theory
The study of the nature, functions, and effects of cinema, exploring how films communicate and create meaning. Useful for understanding narrative and visual techniques that can be applied in multimedia design.
Product Architecture
The structural design of a product, defining its components, their relationships, and how they interact to fulfill the product's purpose. Important for ensuring that a product is well-organized, scalable, and maintainable.