Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology (Rockport Universal)

When, where, why, and how we access content needs to be considered well before we actually start designing anything, because when it comes to designing for multiple devices, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. When a system is designed for context of use rather than screen size, there is a higher chance that the interface will be more appropria

Well-annotated wireframes will answer every potential question to any audience, anywhere, at any time without the need to involve the UX designer. A developer on the other side of the world. A client in a different time zone. It also helps ensure all functionality is accounted for and allows us to refer back to our thinking weeks or months later. I

However, there is a way to make filling out forms fun. The One Shared House 2030 project we did in collaboration with SPACE10 and IKEA about the future of communal living is basically a form disguised as a game. We hid twenty-one questions behind colorless shapes that would reveal the question on click or tap, kind of like an advent calendar. As so

For pretty much everything that is built, only a small amount of pages and functionality will receive the majority of visits and user time. And though we may have a hunch about what is most important, it’s helpful to look at the actual time spent on pages to ensure we’re not basing our decisions on assumptions. But analytics alone will not tell the

When I was working at Fantasy Interactive in the 2000s, the founder always used to say that users have three battery cells when it comes to making decisions. They’re willing to make one decision and then another, but don’t make them choose again after a third option or they’re likely to just give up.

Besides all standard good practices that also apply to print—like proper kerning (the spacing between letters) and leading (the space between multiple lines of type)—readability, scannability, and legibility are the most important considerations when working with type for a screen, as it leads to more accessible design. That’s why it’s better to er

Besides reading through any existing documentation (see Principle 56), we start each project by interviewing business stakeholders and potential end-users. During these interviews, which are about thirty minutes each, we ask open-ended questions to encourage interviewees to share their thoughts in greater detail.

Let’s start with the first moment. Much like preventative medicine, it’s helpful to imagine ahead of time what could possibly and potentially go wrong with the project. What are some of the risks involved? Can we imagine where there might be roadblocks along the way? Can we stress test our project plan against extreme delays? Do we have a plan B fo

Every moment that we’re in public, especially when we’re in new surroundings or in a different country, is a great opportunity to learn about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to navigation. And most of those things apply directly to designing a navigation system for interfaces as well (see Principle 67).

This 80/20 rule is mathematically described by a power law distribution (known as the Pareto distribution) and is a sort of universal law that can be applied to just about anything.