Content-First Design
An approach to design where content is prioritized and designed before other elements like layout and visual design. Crucial for ensuring that the design supports and enhances the content.
An approach to design where content is prioritized and designed before other elements like layout and visual design. Crucial for ensuring that the design supports and enhances the content.
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.
The process of testing and evaluating a design to ensure it meets user needs and business goals before final implementation. Crucial for ensuring that designs are effective and meet intended objectives.
An approach to design that relies on data and analytics to inform decisions and measure success. Crucial for making informed design decisions that are backed by evidence.
Short, exploratory design activities or exercises that encourage creative thinking and experimentation. Important for fostering creativity and innovation in the design process.
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.
An iterative design process that focuses on the users and their needs at every phase of the design process. Crucial for creating products that are effective, efficient, and satisfying for the end users.
A time-constrained, intensive process that helps teams quickly design, prototype, and test ideas. Important for rapidly developing and validating design solutions.
A professional responsible for the creation and development of products, ensuring they meet user needs and are visually appealing and functional. Important for translating user needs and business goals into tangible product solutions.
An experimental design where different groups of participants are exposed to different conditions, allowing for comparison between groups. Important for understanding and applying different experimental designs in user research.
Designing products that leverage behavioral science to influence user behavior in positive ways. Crucial for creating products that are effective in shaping user behavior and improving engagement.
The process of creating and developing new products, focusing on form, function, usability, and aesthetics to meet user needs. Crucial for developing products that are both functional and appealing to users.
The enhancement or diminishment of perception, cognition, or related performance as a result of exposure to a stimulus of greater or lesser value in the same dimension. Useful for designing interfaces that leverage contrasting elements to guide user attention and behavior.
A design approach that uses data, algorithms, and predictive analytics to anticipate user needs and behaviors, creating more personalized and effective experiences. Crucial for enhancing user experience through anticipation and personalization.
A design philosophy that considers the diverse needs and abilities of all users, aiming to create products that are accessible to everyone. Crucial for ensuring that products are usable and accessible by the widest possible audience.
The tendency for people to pay more attention to items placed in the center of a visual field. Crucial for designing layouts that maximize visibility and impact of key elements.
A phenomenon where vivid mental images can interfere with actual perception, causing individuals to mistake imagined experiences for real ones. Important for ensuring that marketing and product design set realistic user expectations to avoid disappointment and maintain brand integrity.
The practice of presenting information in a way that is clear, accessible, and useful to the user. Essential for creating effective and user-friendly interfaces and communications.
The practice of designing applications specifically for a particular operating system or platform, leveraging its unique features and capabilities. Important for delivering high-performance and responsive user experiences.
A cognitive bias where bizarre or unusual information is better remembered than common information. Useful for designers to create memorable and engaging user experiences by incorporating unique elements.
The perceived heaviness or importance of an element in a design, influenced by factors such as size, color, and contrast. Crucial for creating balanced and visually appealing designs.
A model by Don Norman outlining the cognitive steps users take when interacting with a system: goal formation, planning, specifying, performing, perceiving, interpreting, and comparing. Important for designing user-friendly and effective products by understanding and supporting user behavior at each stage.
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.
Elements in a design that draw the viewer's attention and create a visual hierarchy. Essential for guiding user attention and improving the effectiveness of visual communication.
A technique used to assess the visual hierarchy of a design by squinting to see which elements stand out the most. Essential for evaluating the effectiveness of a design's layout and emphasis.
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.
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.
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.
Responsive Web Design (RWD) is an approach to web design that makes web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes. Essential for creating flexible, adaptive web experiences that maintain functionality and aesthetics across different platforms and devices.
A design philosophy that views constraints as opportunities for creativity and innovation, rather than limitations. Crucial for fostering a mindset that turns limitations into design strengths.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The study of how the brain perceives and responds to art and design, exploring the neural basis for aesthetic experiences. Important for understanding the neurological underpinnings of aesthetic preferences and enhancing design impact.
A type of usability testing conducted during the design process to identify issues and improve the design iteratively. Crucial for refining designs and ensuring usability before final release.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The first interaction or touchpoint a user has with a product or service, crucial for making a strong first impression. Crucial for designing engaging and intuitive initial user experiences.
The ease with which visual information can be processed and understood by the viewer. Important for creating intuitive and accessible interfaces.
The study of how humans interact with systems and products, focusing on improving usability and performance. Crucial for designing user-friendly systems and products.
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.
A collection of reusable UI components that can be used to build applications. Helps in maintaining consistency and efficiency in the design and development process.
The area within which a user can interact with an element, designed to be large enough for easy tapping. Essential for creating accessible and user-friendly touch interfaces.
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.
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.
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.
A Gestalt principle that describes the tendency of the human visual system to perceive lines or patterns that follow a smooth, continuous path rather than a disjointed or abrupt one. Essential for creating designs that guide the user's eye smoothly and logically.
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.
The visual images, symbols, or modes of representation collectively associated with a subject, often used in design to communicate ideas quickly and effectively. Important for creating cohesive and meaningful visual systems.
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.
The parts of a service or product that are visible to and interact with the user, as opposed to the backstage operations. Important for designing user experiences that are engaging and effective.
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.