Accessibility: Designing digital products so they are usable by people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.
Affordance: The quality of an object that suggests how it should be used, such as a button that looks clickable.
A/B Testing: A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to determine which performs better based on user interactions.
Affinity Diagram: A tool used to organize and group ideas or data points based on their natural relationships, helping to identify patterns and insights.
Breadcrumbs: A navigation aid that shows users their current position within a website’s hierarchy and allows them to navigate back to previous pages.
Behavioral Design: Design strategies aimed at influencing user actions and decisions through behavioral cues and design elements.
Best Practices: Widely accepted guidelines and techniques that lead to effective design solutions and improved user experiences.
Card Sorting: A UX research method where users organize information into categories to help design or evaluate information architecture.
Contextual Inquiry: A user research method involving observations and interviews in the user's environment to gain insights into their needs and behaviors.
Customer Journey Map: A visual representation of the steps and interactions a user goes through to achieve a specific goal with a product or service.
Design Thinking: A human-centered approach to innovation and problem-solving that involves empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing.
Drop-Down Menu: A UI element that reveals a list of options when clicked, allowing users to select from multiple choices.
Dynamic Content: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Empathy Map: A tool used to understand and visualize users’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to gain deeper insights into their experiences.
Eye Tracking: A technique for measuring where users look on a screen to understand visual attention and interaction patterns.
Exploratory Testing: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Facial Coding: A human-centered approach to innovation and problem-solving that involves empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing.
Feature Creep: The gradual addition of unnecessary features to a product, which can lead to increased complexity and potential usability issues.
Friction: Any element of a design that hinders or slows down the user’s ability to complete a task efficiently.
Gamification: The application of game design elements in non-game contexts to engage and motivate users, such as using points or badges for completing tasks.
Gestalt Principles: Principles that describe how people perceive and organize visual elements into groups or wholes, including concepts like proximity, similarity, and continuity.
Grid System: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Heuristic Evaluation: A usability inspection method where experts evaluate a product based on established usability principles to identify potential issues.
High-Fidelity Prototype: A detailed and interactive prototype that closely resembles the final design, used for user testing and feedback.
Hover State: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Information Architecture (IA): The organization and structuring of content within a product to facilitate easy navigation and retrieval of information.
Interaction Design (IxD): The design of interactions between users and a product, focusing on how users engage with the system and how it responds.
Interface: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Journey Mapping: A visual representation of the user’s complete experience with a product, showing touchpoints, interactions, and emotions throughout the process.
Journey Mapping: A design approach where features or elements are developed as needed rather than upfront, allowing for iterative development based on user feedback.
Jargon: Specialized terms used within the UX field that may not be familiar to those outside the industry.
Design Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Metrics used to evaluate the success of UX design and measure performance against objectives, such as user engagement and conversion rates.
Knowledge Base: A centralized repository of information and resources about a product or service, used to assist users in finding answers and resolving issues.
Layout: The arrangement of visual elements on a page or screen, including how content is organized and presented to enhance usability and readability.
Low-Fidelity Prototype: A simple, often rough prototype used to explore design concepts and gather early feedback, usually created with sketches or wireframes.
Lean UX: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Microinteractions: Small, subtle design elements or animations that provide feedback, guide users, or enhance the overall user experience, such as button animations. Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
A version of a product with just enough features to meet the basic needs of early users and gather feedback for further development.
Mood Board: A visual collage of images, colors, and design elements used to convey the desired aesthetic and feel of a product or brand.
Navigation: The system that allows users to move through and interact with a website or application, including menus, links, and other navigational tools.
Needs Analysis: The process of identifying and understanding user needs and requirements to inform the design and development of a product.
Nudge: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Onboarding: The process of introducing new users to a product or service, often through tutorials, tooltips, or guided tours, to help them get started effectively.
Open Card Sorting: A method where users categorize information into groups they define themselves, providing insights into how they naturally organize content.
Overlays: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Persona: A semi-fictional character representing a segment of the target user base, created based on user research to guide design decisions and prioritize features.
Prototyping: The process of creating early models or versions of a product to test ideas, gather feedback, and refine designs before full-scale development.
Progressive Disclosure: A design technique that involves revealing information progressively to avoid overwhelming users and to present only what is necessary at each stage.
Qualitative Research: Research methods focused on understanding users’ behaviors, attitudes, and motivations through techniques such as interviews and observations.
Questionnaire: A tool used to collect information from users through a series of questions, often used in surveys and research studies to gather feedback.
Quick Wins: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Responsive Design: A design approach that ensures a website or application adapts to different devices and screen sizes, providing a consistent user experience.
Retention Rate: The percentage of users who continue to use a product or service over time, often used to measure user satisfaction and engagement.
Rapid Prototyping: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Scenarios: Narratives that describe how users interact with a product in specific contexts, helping designers understand user needs and design appropriate solutions.
Sitemap: A visual or textual representation of the structure and hierarchy of a website or application, used to plan navigation and content organization.
Storyboarding: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Task Analysis: The process of examining the steps and actions required to complete a specific task, helping to design interfaces that support user goals effectively.
Typography: The design and arrangement of text within a product, including font selection, size, line spacing, and alignment, to enhance readability and visual appeal.
Testing: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Usability: The ease with which users can interact with a product and achieve their goals effectively. Key aspects include learnability, efficiency, and satisfaction.
User Flow: A visual representation of the steps a user takes to complete a specific task within a product, illustrating the sequence of actions and decisions.
User Interface (UI): Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Visual Hierarchy: The arrangement of elements in a design to guide users’ attention and emphasize important information, often through size, color, and placement.
Viewpports: The visible area of a web page or application on a user's screen. Design must ensure content is accessible and usable across different viewport sizes and devices.
Validation: The process of confirming that a design or feature meets user needs and requirements. This often involves testing with real users and obtaining feedback to ensure the design functions as intended.
Value Proposition: A statement or feature that explains the benefits and unique value a product or service offers to users, helping to differentiate it from competitors.
Wireframe: A low-fidelity visual representation of a web page or application layout, used to outline the basic structure and functionality without detailed design elements.
Workflow: The sequence of steps or processes that users follow to complete tasks or achieve goals within a product. Understanding workflows helps streamline interactions and improve efficiency.
White Space: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
XML Sitemap: A file that lists all the pages of a website in XML format, helping search engines index the site efficiently and ensuring that all pages are discoverable.
X-Factor: The unique quality or feature of a design that sets it apart from competitors and adds exceptional value or appeal to users.
Yield Rate: In UX research, the yield rate refers to the proportion of users who complete a particular action or conversion goal relative to the number of users who started the process. It helps measure the effectiveness of design elements in achieving desired outcomes.
Yearly Trends: Analysis of UX metrics and user behavior data over the course of a year. Identifying yearly trends helps understand long-term changes in user preferences, behavior, and engagement, guiding strategic design decisions.
Yield Maximization: Content that changes based on user interactions, preferences, or other contextual factors.
Zero State: The initial or empty state of a product or page when there is no data or content to display, often used to guide users on the next steps or actions.
Zoom: The percentage of users who continue to use a product or service over time, often used to measure user satisfaction and engagement.
Zen Mode: A design approach or feature that minimizes visual clutter and distractions to help users concentrate on a single task or goal, often used in content creation or reading applications.