Jakob Nielsen's 10 general principles for interaction design. They are called "heuristics" because they are broad rules of thumb for UX and not specific usability guidelines.
Empathy maps help UX teams visualize user attitudes and behaviors, building a shared understanding of end users while highlighting gaps in existing user data.
Modern day UX research methods answer a wide range of questions. To know when to use which method, each of 20 methods is mapped across 3 dimensions and over time within a typical product-development process.
User interviews have become a popular technique for getting user feedback, mainly because they are fast and easy. Use them to learn about users’ perceptions of your design, not about its usability.
User journeys and user flows both describe processes users go through in order to accomplish their goals, but they differ in scope, purpose, and format.
iOS 26’s visual language obscures content instead of letting it take the spotlight. New (but not always better) design patterns replace established conventions.
Elaborate usability tests are a waste of resources. The best results come from testing no more than 5 users and running as many small tests as you can afford.
In a card-sorting study, users organize topics into groups. Use this research method to create an information architecture that suits your users' expectations.
The only realistic design strategy is to cater to the actual people who use your product, instead of designing for an idealized super-user who knows more and is more motivated than the real audience.
Infinite scrolling can create great user experiences, but it also has weaknesses. Consider 3 alternative design patterns that may work better for your product: A load-more button, integrated pagination within a long scroll, and traditional pages.
Users perceive interface design elements that differentiate the foreground (figure) from the background (ground) as something to focus on or interact with.
In a startup company, the UX team can make two main contributions: identifying the customer problem to solve and polishing the UI so that people will use this solution.
Whether UX succeeds or fails comes down to whether other people in the organization trust the UX team, the UX process, and the UX findings and designs. Low trust = poor outcomes, no matter how good the work, so building trust is a priority.
UX design must make all elements of the interaction understandable and explicit. Mystifying things to entice more clicks from users will only result in dissatisfied customers.
Our Beijing-based user research team conducted a field study in automated restaurants that serve diners with no staff. Current designs have some advantages, but the UI is too complicated for customized ordering.
Content involves 4 phases: planning, creation, maintenance, and removal. Done right, this enhances the business value of digital content and its impact on the user experience.
A small share of all items produce most of the impact: a few features, a few usability problems, a few customers, and your key persona. Focusing design efforts on those high-impact areas leads to higher success rather than broadly (and thinly) distributed UX work.
