Tools & Ideas
UX Glossary

UX GLOSSARY

This UX Glossary, created by Akendi, is a valuable resource designed to demystify the terminology, methodologies, and principles commonly used in the UX industry.

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A/B Testing

Data-driven method to optimize web design, content, and marketing by comparing two or more variants to improve user experience, conversions, and engagement.

Accessibility

Designing websites or products that are inclusive and usable by all, including people with disabilities, through elements such as proper color contrast, keyboard accessibility, and alternative text for images.

Accessibility Guidelines

Standards and recommendations that help designers and developers create (digital) products that can be used by people with certain disabilities and limitations.

Adaptive Design

A UX design approach that creates tailored versions of a digital product for specific devices or screen sizes, optimizing layout, content, and functionality.

Aesthetic Usability Effect

The aesthetic-usability effect suggests that users are more likely to perceive a design as usable if they find it visually appealing.

Aesthetics

The visual appeal and emotional response elicited by the design of a product or service.

Affect Heuristic

The affect heuristic is a mental shortcut where people make judgments and decisions based on their emotional reactions to a situation, rather than relying on a more rational analysis.

Affordance

Refers to the inherent qualities or properties of an object or environment that suggest or enable its use or interaction by users, based on its design or functionality.

Agile UX

An iterative and collaborative approach to user experience design that integrates UX principles and practices into Agile development methodologies for efficient and user-centric product development.

Analytics

The collection and analysis of data to gain insights, inform decisions, and optimize user experience and business outcomes.

Anchoring

A cognitive bias where people rely heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions, even if it's unrelated or arbitrary.

Application Programming Interface

A set of protocols, routines, and tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other.

ARIA

A set of attributes that define ways to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities.

Attitudinal Data

Measures and analyzes people's opinions, beliefs, and emotions. It informs decision-making and strategy development.

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Baileys Human Performance Model (HPM)

A systematic approach to understanding and improving human performance in complex tasks through analysis, training, and feedback

Banner Blindness

Users ignore or overlook banner ads due to habituation or perceived lack of relevance. Can impact digital advertising effectiveness.

Behavioral Design

An approach that applies insights from psychology and behavioral economics to create user experiences that align with how people think and behave.

Behavioural Economics

Self proclaimed grouping of psychology research studies relating to psychology and economics. Aim is to understand how human behavior affects economic decisions, exploring cognitive, emotional, and social factors and biases.

Behavioural Research

Study of human behavior, actions, and decision-making. Provides insights into user behavior, preferences, and interactions.

Benchmarking

Comparing and evaluating a product or service design against established standards or competitors

Berry Picking

Refers to a user's iterative and non-linear process of navigating through information or interfaces to find desired information.

Brand Experience

Encompassing all interactions and touchpoints a customer has with a brand, shaping their perceptions and feelings about it.

Brand Guideline

Brand guidelines provide instructions on logo usage, color palette, typography, imagery, tone of voice, and messaging to maintain brand consistency.

Breadcrumbs

A navigational aid that helps users understand their location within a website or application by displaying the path taken to reach the current page.

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Call to Action (CTA)

A Call to Action (CTA) is a prompt, often in the form of a button or text, that encourages users to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up

Card Sorting

A UX research method where participants organize content or concepts into categories, providing insights into how users perceive and organize information for improved design decisions.

Chatbots

AI-powered tools that simulate human conversation, providing users with instant responses and assistance through text or voice interactions.

Center-Stage Effect

The center-stage effect is the tendency to remember information or objects placed in the center of one's field of vision more vividly.

Chunking

The process of grouping pieces of information into more manageable and meaningful units or 'chunks'

Clickability

The characteristics of an element, such as a button or link, that indicates it can be interacted with or clicked/tapped to perform an action.

Cognitive Biases

Mental shortcuts or tendencies that influence decision-making and perception, sometimes leading to subjective judgments and irrational behavior.

Cognitive Load

The amount of mental effort being used in the working memory. In UX design, it's important to minimize cognitive load to enhance user experience.

Cognitive Walkthrough

A usability evaluation method that involves stepping through a task from the user's perspective to identify potential usability issues and areas for improvement.

Color Theory

Color theory explores the interaction, perception, and emotional impact of colors, guiding their selection and use in design, art, and psychology.

Confirmatory Research

A type of research methodology that seeks to test specific hypotheses or predetermined research questions using structured data collection and statistical analysis for validation or rejection.

Consistency

The uniformity and coherence of design elements and interactions within a product or service.

Content Audit

A systematic review of all digital content to evaluate performance, quality, and relevance, and make data-driven decisions for content optimization and improvement.

Content Inventory

Comprehensive list of all digital content assets, such as articles, images, videos, and media, for evaluation, optimization, and management purposes.

Content Strategy

The planning, creation, and management of content within a (web) product or service.

Context of Use

The physical, social, and environmental factors that influence how users interact with a product or service.

Context Patterns

Reusable solutions to common design problems that arise in specific contexts of use.

Contextual Design

Designing products or services that are tailored to the specific context of use and meet users' needs in that context.

Contextual Help

Providing relevant assistance or guidance based on users' context and needs.

Contextual Inquiry

Conducting research by observing users in their natural environment to understand their needs and behaviors.

Continuation

Creating flow through elements to guide the viewer's eye smoothly. Enhances visual harmony and coherence.

Controlled Vocabulary

A structured and organized list of predefined terms used to categorize, tag, or classify content, improving consistency and accuracy in information retrieval and user experience.

Conversation Design

The design of interactions and dialogues between users and systems, focusing on creating natural and effective communication.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Optimizing the design and content of a product or service to increase the percentage of users who complete a desired action or goal.

Creeping Featurism

The gradual accumulation of excessive and often unnecessary features in a product, leading to complexity, decreased usability, and potential user dissatisfaction.

Customer Experience (CX)

Encompasses all interactions and perceptions a customer has with a brand, product, or service, impacting satisfaction, loyalty, and overall business success.

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Dark Patterns

Design features that manipulate users into specific actions, often prioritizing the company/business needs over the user's.

Defaults

Predetermined settings or options that are automatically applied to a user interface, providing a baseline experience until users make specific choices or modifications according to their preferences.

Design Patterns

Reusable solutions to common design problems, providing established ways for consistent, efficient, and user-friendly designs.

Design Principles

Design principles are fundamental guidelines that inform decision-making in design, providing a framework for creating effective and user-centered solutions while achieving specific design goals.

Design Psychology

Applies psychological principles to create user-centered designs that optimize engagement, satisfaction, and outcomes.

Design System

A comprehensive set of guidelines, components, patterns, and standards that define the visual and functional elements of a product or brand. It provides a centralized resource for designers, developers, and stakeholders, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and scalability in design and development efforts.

Design Thinking

A human-centered approach to problem solving and innovation that emphasizes empathy, experimentation, and iterative design to create meaningful and effective solutions.

Diary Study

A research method where participants record experiences in a personal diary. Provides qualitative data for UX research, capturing real-world behaviors and insights in users' own words.

Diversity

Diversity in design refers to the inclusion of different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences in the design process, ensuring that products and services are accessible and relevant to a wide range of users.

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Ecosystem Mapping

A visual representation of the various elements and interactions within a user experience ecosystem, helping to identify touchpoints, stakeholders, and opportunities for improvement.

Emotional Design

The intentional design of emotional experiences for users through the use of visuals, interactions, and content.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings and perspectives of others, leading to a deeper connection and understanding.

Empathy Map

Visual tool for capturing user thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and needs. Aids in building empathy and informing user-centered design.

Error Handling

How user interfaces communicate problems to users and guide them toward resolution.

Error Prevention and Recovery

Designing systems and interfaces to minimize errors and provide ways to recover from them.

Ethical Design

Design practices that prioritize user well-being, inclusivity, and social responsibility.

Ethnographic Study

Observational research in natural settings to understand culture, behavior, and experiences. Immersive study of human behavior in real-world contexts.

Experience Ecosystem

The interconnected system of user experiences across touchpoints, channels, and interactions, aiming to create a cohesive and meaningful journey for users.

Experience Map

Visualizes user touchpoints, emotions, and interactions to understand the holistic user journey, identify pain points, and improve the overall user experience

Exploratory Research

An open-ended and flexible approach to gain insights, generate ideas, and form initial hypotheses about a topic.

Eye-tracking

Use of specialized equipment to measure and analyze users' eye movements and gaze patterns for understanding visual perception and interaction with designs

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Universal Design

Universal design is an approach to design that aims to create products and environments that are accessible and usable by all people, regardless of their age, ability, or status.

Usability

Usability in UX design refers to the ease of use and efficiency of a product or service, ensuring that users can achieve their goals effectively and satisfactorily.

Usability Testing

Usability testing is a method used to evaluate a product or service by testing it with real users, observing their interactions, and gathering feedback to identify areas for improvement.

User Activation

User activation refers to the process of encouraging users to engage with a product or service, often through onboarding experiences, tutorials, or personalized content.

User-Centered Design

User-centered design is an approach to product development that prioritizes the needs, preferences, and behaviors of end users throughout the design process.

User Engagement

User engagement refers to the level of interaction and involvement a user has with a product or service, often measured through metrics such as time spent, frequency of use, and user feedback.

User Experience

User experience (UX) encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products.

User Flow

User flow refers to the path taken by a user to complete a task within a product or service, encompassing all interactions and touchpoints.

User Interface Design

The process of designing the visual and interactive elements of a product or service to enhance user experience.

User Patterns

Recurring behaviors observed in user interactions that help inform design decisions, optimize user experience, and enable personalization.

User Research

The approach and activities to understand users' needs, behaviors, attitudes and preferences.

User Retention

User retention refers to the ability of a company or product to keep its users engaged over time, often measured by the percentage of users who continue to use the product after a certain period.

User Stories

Concise descriptions of user needs, written from the user's perspective, to guide product development efforts and prioritize features.

User Testing

A method used to evaluate a product or service by testing it with real users, observing their interactions, and gathering feedback to identify areas for improvement.

UX Writing

The practice of writing and designing the text that appears within user interfaces, focusing on clarity, consistency, and user needs.

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