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.
Even when you want to test a specific feature, start with broader tasks to capture natural user behavior and observe what participants would do on their own. If they fail, follow up with directed tasks.
Each component of a UX strategy plays an important role in helping teams work toward a better future state of the experience by aligning user needs with business priorities.
Things that move in synch are perceived as belonging to the same group and being different than other screen elements that stay put or move differently.
Ecommerce user experience can benefit from community features. Our user research in China finds that shoppers often view such content as more credible and useful than brand content.
Antipersonas represent people who could misuse your product in ways that negatively impact target users and the business. Formalizing a description of the 8 aspects of an antipersonas can help a design team mitigate such risks.
UX designers and engineering teams are often too quick to propose solutions, without understanding the problem (or even if there is a problem at all). Ask questions first, before jumping to a solution.
Infinite scrolling through long lists of homogeneous items can lower interaction costs, but is less suited to support specific tasks such as finding a particular item.
User interfaces can definitely be too hard to use, but can they be too easy? No, users never complain about an easy design, even if they would have been able to use something more difficult.
Visual design elements that are connected (for example, by a line) are seen as belonging together. This principle is strong enough to overrule small differences between the items.
