UX A-Z

Question 1

Above/Below the Fold

Answer 1

“Above the fold” refers to content that is visible at the top of a website; the user doesn’t need to
scroll to see it. “Below the fold” refers to content further down the page which the user would
need to scroll in order to see. In UX, it’s important to put meaningful, important content above
the fold

Question 2

A/B Testing

Answer 2

UX design is all about finding what works best for your users. A/B testing is a method used to
test two different versions of a design to see which variation performs best. When running A/B
tests, you only want to vary one element or aspect of the design—this allows you to pin-point
exactly which feature influenced the result.

Question 3

Accessibility

Answer 3

Accessibility considers whether or not—and to what extent—a product or service can be used
by everybody. Designing for accessibility means factoring in the needs of people with
disabilities, as well as the various ways in which a person might interact with your product (for
example, using assistive technology).

Question 4

Adobe XD

Answer 4

Adobe XDis one ofthe most popularUX design tools. Part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite,
it’s a vector-based design tool used for creating wireframes, prototypes, animations, and UI
designs. We’ll explain all of these terms throughout our glossary.As of this writing in late
November 2023, Adobe XD is soon NOT to be supported by Adobe (it’s functionalities have, for
the good and the ill of it, been supplanted by Figma).

Question 5

Affinity Map (or Affinity Diagram)

Answer 5

An affinity map (or affinity diagram) is used by UX designers to organise their findings from
qualitative user research. This entails data that can’t be counted or measured, and therefore
requires thematic analysis. For example, if you interviewed five users, you might create an
affinity map to cluster similar themes and topics together.

Question 6

Affordances

Answer 6

An affordance refers to all the actions that are possible with a specific object or element,
depending on the user’s capabilities. For example, a cupboard has thepotentialto be opened
but only if you can reach the handle. A car has thepotentialto be driven but only if you are able
to open the car door, start the engine and so on. When designing digital products, the goal is to
create elements whose affordances (i.e. possible actions) match the user’s expectations. For
example, if you design a button, the user will likely expect to be able to click it.

Question 7

Agile UX

Answer 7

Agile UX is a practice that has evolved to integrate agile software development principles into
theUX design process. Agile UX is all about designers and developers working collaboratively
and iteratively to build and ship versions of a product in short cycles—improving and updating
the product along the way. This contrasts the traditional approach of first preparing and
researching at length before building anything.

Question 8

Animation Design

Answer 8

Animation design is the process of creating animated (or moving) graphics. In digital design,
motion and animation are used to provide feedback to the user after a certain action—for
example, an animation which conveys “loading” after a user clicks on a button. This clearly tells
the user that their action has been registered.

Question 9

(UX) Audit

Answer 9

A UX audit reviews an existing product (or an aspect of the product) to identify issues in the
overall user experience. You can think of a UX audit as a user experience health check,
providing you with useful data to inform future design decisions. UX audits are typically
conducted for quality assurance purposes after the release of a new product or a major
redesign, but companies may schedule them periodically just to keep a general pulse on the
product.

Question 10

Beta Testing

Answer 10

Beta testing is when you launch an unfinished product to a select group of users in order to see
how it performs in the real world. This allows you to identify bugs, pain points and areas of
improvement for your imperfect beta product before developing and releasing it fully.

Question 11

Brainstorming

Answer 11

A key aspect of working in UX is coming up with ideas for how to solve user problems.
Brainstorming is a popular ideation technique used by UX designers. It’s usually done in a
groupand essentially involves coming up with ideas and sharing them without too much
thought. You can also brainstorm alone and map your ideas out on paper.

Question 12

Brand Identity

Answer 12

Brand identity captures and conveys the essence of what a company is all about. It’s built on
company values and how you want people to feel when they interact with your product or
service. The user experience of a product plays a hand in shaping and reinforcing the brand
identity; so, as a UX designer, it’s important to factor it in.

Question 13

Breadcrumb

Answer 13

A breadcrumb is a navigation system which shows where a user is currently situated within a
website. For example, if you’re browsing the ASOS clothing website, you might see a trail of
links which shows where you are (and how you got there) as follows: Home > Men >
Sportswear > Shoes

Question 14

Card Sorting

Answer 14

Card sorting is a UX research methodwhich gives you insight into how users categorize
information. In a card sorting session, participants are given notecards with different labels or
topics written on them and asked to organize them in a way that feels logical. Card sorting helps
you to design the information architecture (IA) of a website or app in line with user expectations.

Question 15

Case Study

Answer 15

Case studies are a crucial part of your UX portfolio. They outline the process you followed when
working on a design project, showcasing the problem you set out to solve, the users you were
solving it for, the methodology you used to reach the solution and the final design outcome.

Question 16

Clickstream Analysis

Answer 16

UX designers use clickstream analysis to gain a deeper understanding of user behavior.
Clickstream analysis records a user’s trail of activity as they interact with an app or website—i.e.
the sequence of clicks they make or the pages they visit.

Question 17

Cognitive Load

Answer 17

Cognitive load is a crucial factor to consider when designing products, services, and features.
Put simply, cognitive load is the amount of mental effort required to complete a certain task. As
a UX designer, you want to keep the user’s cognitive load to a minimum. This is all part of
designing easy, enjoyable, efficient experiences.

Question 18

Competitor Analysis

Answer 18

UX designers usually conduct competitor analysis during the research phase of a design project. With competitor analysis, you’re looking at competing products within your niche or
market space to see what they do well, where their weaknesses lie, and to get a feel for what
your end-users will expect from a similar product (i.e. the one you’re going to design).
Competitor analysis helps you to make informed design decisions.

Question 19

Consistency

Answer 19

Consistency is a key principle in UX design. It dictates that a user-friendly design always
provides a consistent experience—once the user is familiar with your product, they can use it
with ease; they don’t need to learn new ways of completing tasks or solving problems at every
turn. Essentially, consistency eliminates confusion!

Question 20

Contextual enquiry

Answer 20

Contextual enquiry is a user research method which involves observing and interviewing users
while they interact with your product in their “natural” environment. So, rather than asking them
questions about their experience of the productafterthey’ve used it, you watch them in action and ask questions directly at the source to fill in any gaps.

Question 21

Customer Experience (CX)

Answer 21

Customer experience, or CX, encompasses the entire experience a customer has when they
engage with a product, service or brand.UX and CX are two distinct areasbut, as a UX
designer, it’s important to be aware of the concept and understand how UX contributes to the
overall CX.

Question 22

Dark UX

Answer 22

Dark UX isnota term you ever want to be associated with as a UX designer. It’s the practice of
deliberately designing in a way that tricks the user or subtly pushes them towards an action they
probably don’t want to take. A classic example of dark UX is making it confusing for users to
cancel their subscription.

Question 23

Decision Matrix

Answer 23

A decision matrix – sometimes referred to as a prioritisation matrix – is a framework used to
evaluate and prioritise ideas based on a set of predetermined criteria. In UX, it can help you to
weigh up different design options and make informed decisions that balance available time and
resources against the needs of the user.

Question 24

Design Debt

Answer 24

Design debt (or UX debt) is the result of taking shortcuts in the design process in order to
quickly reach a solution or produce a deliverable. This can lead to problems down the line and
can ultimately result in a negative user experience. You might accumulate design debt if you
skip user research or user testing, if you ignore style guidelines or neglect to keep adequate
documentation.

Question 25

Design Deliverables

Answer 25

Design deliverables are the tangible “things” or artefacts a UX designer produces throughout the design process. UX deliverables include things like personas, user journey maps, wireframes and prototypes.

Question 26

Design Patterns

Answer 26

UX and UI design patterns are repeatable, reusable design components used to solve usability issues that users commonly experience. For example, the breadcrumb navigation system (number 13 in our UX glossary) is a design pattern used to show the user their pathway from the homepage to the page that they’re currently viewing.

Question 27

Design Sprint

Answer 27

Invented by Jake Knapp, the design sprint is an increasingly popular practice which condenses and accelerates the product design process. The idea is to rapidly build and test a prototype in just five days, encouraging design teams to quickly move from problem to solution. Lego, N26, Uber and Google are just some of the major brands who advocate for the design sprint methodology.

Question 28

Design System

Answer 28

A design system is a universal source of truth for the design team—a collection of design assets, guidelines, constraints and best practices to adhere to when embarking on a new design project.

Question 29

Design Thinking

Answer 29

Design thinking has become something of a buzzword in the industry, so it’s a term worth getting to grips with. The design thinking process comprises five phases: Empathise (with the user), Define (the problem), Ideate (potential solutions), Prototype, and Test. Design thinking is used to address particularly tricky UX problems.

Question 30

Diary Study

Answer 30

A diary study is a UX research method used to gain insight into how users behave in real-world situations and everyday contexts. When conducting a diary study, you’ll ask participants to keep a diary of their activities, thoughts and feelings over a set period of time in relation to a specific problem or scenario. For example, if you were designing a grocery delivery app, you might ask participants to keep a diary about how they currently approach the task of ordering groceries online.

Question 31

(UX) Documentation

Answer 31

UX documentation captures all the steps you follow throughout a given design project. It allows you to keep track of the project and create a source of truth for all stakeholders to refer back to. UX documentation can include anything from the design problem and the project timeline to a summary of user research findings, early concepts and sketches, and results from usability tests.

Question 32

Empathy

Answer 32

Empathy is the ability to metaphorically put yourself in someone else’s shoes—and it’s the very foundation of good UX design. Empathy enables you to understand your user’s needs and pain- points, and to design solutions accordingly.

Question 33

Empathy Map

Answer 33

An empathy map is a visualisation tool used by designers to depict and summarise what they know about a user (or group of users). It consists of four quadrants: “Says”, “Thinks”, “Does” and “Feels” which capture notes on what the user has said (for e.g. during an interview), what they think about a product or experience, the actions they take in a given context and how they feel during the process. As the name suggests, an empathy map helps you to build empathy for your end users.

Question 34

End User

Answer 34

It’s impossible to talk about UX (or work in the field) without referring to the “end user”. The end user is, quite simply, the person you’re designing for. It’s the person who will use your product or service and it’s the person whose pain-points you want to understand and solve.

Question 35

Ethical Design

Answer 35

You can think of ethical design as the process of “designing for good.” Ultimately, it’s about designing with the user’s wellbeing in mind. For example, an ethically designed social media app might contain features that encourage users to develop a healthy relationship with the app—such as a “time spent scrolling” warning to remind users to take a break.

Question 36

Eye-Tracking

Answer 36

Eye-tracking is a method used to track users’ eye movements as they look at a website. For UX designers, this provides valuable insight into which areas and elements of the design attract the most attention.

Question 37

Fidelity

Answer 37

Fidelity is used to describe the quality of wireframes and prototypes—in other words, how closely the wireframe or prototype resembles what the live product will look like. Low-fidelity wireframes are bare-bones outlines, whereas high-fidelity prototypes include visuals and interactive properties, closely mimicking the look, feel and behaviour of a live website or app.

Question 38

Figma

Answer 38

Figma is another popular UX design tool used for wireframing, building out design systems, collaborating, running workshops and more. It’s not a UX term per se, but it is fast becoming one of the most-used tools in the industry, so it’s worth knowing about.

Question 39

Flat Design

Answer 39

Flat design is a design style or language which favours simple, 2D elements and bright colours. While skeuomorphic design is all about creating a 3D, life-like feel, flat design keeps things plain and simple. Flat design originally came about to aid responsive design

Question 40

Focus Group

Answer 40

Another UX research method, focus groups bring together a handful of users to discuss issues and concerns about the features of a product. Focus groups are moderated by the researcher, but for the participants, they feel unstructured and free-flowing. This can give way to very candid insights, and allows you to gather a variety of perspectives.

Question 41

Full-stack designer

Answer 41

A full-stack designer is a designer who has the skills and know-how to take on all the “stacks” (or layers) of the product design and development process. While most designers will specialize in just one area, such as UX design or UI design, full-stack designers can take on UX design, UI design, interaction design and frontend development.

Question 42

Gestalt Principles

Answer 42

The Gestalt principles come from the field of psychology, and they’re essentially a set of laws that describe how our minds organize and interpret visual data. The Gestalt principles can be used to inform design decisions and shape the user experience. For example, the law of proximity states that elements which are positioned close together appear to be more related than elements which are spaced further apart. If you were designing a website based on the law of proximity, you’d group related elements closer together.

Question 43

Gestalt Principles - Proximity

Question 44

Gestalt Principles - Chunking

Question 45

Gestalt Principles - Similarity

Question 46

Gestalt Principles - Symmetry

Question 47

Gestalt Principles - Continuation

Question 48

Gestalt Principles - Closure

Question 49

Grid System

Answer 49

When designing, say, a page on a website, designers can follow grid systems to help them organize the various elements on the page. A grid system is essentially a series of rows and columns which gives you visibly marked-out areas (similar to a map) in which to place different elements. This makes it easier to design consistently across different pages.

Question 50

Heatmap

Answer 50

A heatmap is a data visualization which literally maps out in different colors how and where users have spent time on your website. Red areas of the heatmap indicate popular sections of the website, while blue areas are those which received less attention. Heatmaps are another tool used by UX designers to understand how users behave and to design accordingly.

Question 51

Heuristics

Answer 51

Another term from the field of psychology, a heuristic is a mental shortcut which enables people to solve problems and make decisions quickly, based on what they’ve learned from previous experiences. In UX, we use heuristic evaluation to assess the usability of a digital interface.

Question 52

Hick's Law

Answer 52

According to Hick’s law, the more options or choices a user has, the longer it will take them to make a decision or choose a course of action. In UX, the goal is to keep the number of options available to the user to a minimum, making it quicker and easier for them to navigate through the experience without feeling overwhelmed.

Question 53

How Might We (HMW Statement)

Answer 53

If you’re in the process of solving a UX problem and trying to come up with ideas, you might frame the problem as a “How might we?” question. For example, if your problem statement is something like “Users struggle to fill out the application form and often fill it out wrong”, you could turn this into the following HMW: “How might we improve the application form to make it easier for users to fill it out correctly?” How Might We questions are a great way to progress from problem to solution while keeping the user at the forefront.

Question 54

Ideation

Answer 54

Ideation is all about generating as many ideas and potential solutions as possible, without considering or judging their feasibility. In the ideation phase, the focus is on quantity of ideas rather than on quality. Some popular ideation techniques include brainstorming, bodystorming and the SCAMPER method.

Question 55

Inclusive Design

Answer 55

The Nielsen Norman Group describes inclusive design as a set of methodologies “to create products that understand and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities. It may address accessibility, age, economic situation, geographic location, language, race and more.” Ultimately, inclusive design is about designing experiences which include and benefit everyone.

Question 56

Information Architecture

Answer 56

In UX design, information architecture considers how the information and content is organised within and across a product. If you’re designing a website, you’ll consider the positioning of each piece of content the user encounters, thinking about where it sits on the page and where it’s located in terms of the overall structure of the website. Good information architecture is crucial to good UX.

Question 57

Interaction Design (IxD)

Answer 57

Interaction design (or IxD) is a subset of UX. Very simply, interaction design considers the interaction between users and products (whereas UX considers the entire user experience, not just the moment of interaction). There are five dimensions of interaction design: words, visual representations, physical objects or space, time and behaviour.

Question 58

Intuitive Design

Answer 58

“Intuitive” is a word that you’ll hear time and time again in the UX world. Intuitive design is what UX professionals strive for; it’s design that the user can instantly understand and use without needing any kind of tutorial or instruction.

Question 59

InVision Studio

Answer 59

InVision Studio is another powerful tool that all designers should be familiar with. It includes features and functions for drawing, wireframing, prototyping and animating—pretty much everything you need to bring your designs to life. It counts as one of the best UI design tools, but is equally loved and used by UX designers too.

Question 60

Iterative Design

Answer 60

Iterative design is the practice of continuously improving, refining and updating your product. An iteration of a design is essentially a new, updated version and designing iteratively enables you to keep improving the user experience on a regular and ongoing basis (rather than launching one version and never updating it again, regardless of how it’s received by users).

Question 61

Lean UX

Answer 61

Lean UX goes hand-in-hand with agile UX (number 7 in our glossary). It’s a collaborative approach to the UX design process which focuses on getting feedback as early as possible in order to make quick design decisions. While traditional UX focuses more heavily on first setting out product requirements and then producing deliverables, lean UX seeks to deliver and improve the product in ongoing, iterative cycles.

Question 62

Material Design

Answer 62

Material Design is a design language for Android which was developed by Google in 2014. It’s an adaptable system of guidelines, components, and tools which designers and developers can use to build digital products quickly and collaboratively.

Question 63

Mental Model

Answer 63

A mental model represents what we believe about how things work in the world around us. Mental models provide us with a collection of frameworks to help us solve problems and approach different situations. In UX, mental models relate to how our users expect a particular product or experience to work, based on their experience with similar products. It’s important to design with the user’s mental models in mind so as not to throw the user.

Question 64

Microcopy

Answer 64

As you navigate a website or app, you’ll encounter all kinds of messaging: the text on a button, error messages, the “Welcome” note as you log in… that’s all microcopy. Microcopy is the text which guides a user throughout a digital product.

Question 65

Mockup

Answer 65

A mockup is a visual representation of what a product will look like once it’s developed. While wireframes tend to capture the bare-bones layout and structure, a mockup fills in detail such as colour and typography. It’s important to note that, unlike interactive prototypes, mockups are static.

Question 66

Modal

Answer 66

A modal, or modal window, is a box that pops up outside of the main screen when the user clicks something on the current screen. Modals are used to draw the user’s attention and to get them to focus on one specific thing. To close the modal, the user must complete a certain action or actively click to exit out of it. An example of a modal could be the window that pops up when you’re reading a blog, asking you to subscribe to their newsletter.

Question 67

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Answer 67

MVP stands for “minimum viable product.” It’s the most minimal version of a product you can launch which has enough functionality for people to use, but will need further development. Launching an MVP allows you to see how the initial product idea is received before investing too much time and money.

Question 68

Navigation

Answer 68

Navigation is all about how a user navigates, or moves through, your product. As a designer, it’s important to think carefully about navigation to ensure that users don’t get lost, confused and frustrated. Simplicity, consistency, good information architecture, labels and menus are all key to user-friendly navigation.

Question 69

Onboarding

Answer 69

Onboarding, or user onboarding, is the process of getting new users familiar with your product. Designing an effective, enjoyable onboarding experience is a crucial aspect of designing a good user experience overall—and it’s especially important as it only happens once. That means you only have one shot at making a good impression and turning new users into long-term customers.

Question 70

Pain-points

Answer 70

Pain-points are any issues, problems, frustrations or hiccups a user encounters during a given experience or interaction. As a UX designer, it’s your job to conduct research in order to uncover user pain-points and to design experiences which seek to solve them.

Question 71

Paradox of Specificity

Answer 71

The paradox of specificity states that when we design with a very specific user group in mind, we actually create products that appeal to a mass audience beyond that target group.

Question 72

Persona

Answer 72

A persona is a fictional character which represents the goals, needs and characteristics of your target user(s). UX designers create personas based on their user research and refer back to them throughout the design process to ensure they’re keeping the user in mind.

Question 73

Portfolio

Answer 73

A UX portfolio is a collection of your best design work. It demonstrates your skills and abilities as a UX designer and shows employers and clients how you work. A UX portfolio is a staple for anyone looking to land a job in the field.

Question 74

Problem Statement

Answer 74

UX is all about solving user problems. A problem statement is, quite simply, a statement which summarizes and defines the problem that needs to be solved.

Question 75

Product Roadmap

Answer 75

A product roadmap maps out the vision and strategy for a particular product and sets goals and priorities for the development of the product. UX design is a key part of the product development process, so it’s important to be familiar with the product roadmap.

Question 76

Prototype

Answer 76

A prototype is a simulation or model of what the final product will (or could) look like. UX designers create prototypes to gather feedback and improve their designs before pushing them through to development.

Question 77

Qualitative Research

Answer 77

User research is a crucial part of the UX process and it can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative user research provides insight into your users’ thoughts, motivations and behaviours. It gathers qualitative data—data which cannot be measured or counted but is extremely valuable nonetheless. An example of a qualitative user research method is a user interview, where your data comprises what the user said during the interview.

Question 78

Quantitative Research

Answer 78

UX designers and researchers conduct quantitative research to gather objective, measurable data about their users. An example of quantitative user data could be the number of people who visit a website in a given time frame or what percentage of users drop out of the checkout process at the last stage.

Question 79

Responsive Design

Answer 79

Responsive design ensures that your designs display accurately on different screen sizes. A website that’s been designed responsively will look great whether it’s viewed on a desktop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone.

Question 80

Sitemap

Answer 80

A sitemap gives a bird’s-eye view of the overall structure of a website. Very simply put, it’s a diagram which shows how pages are prioritized, linked, and labelled.

Question 81

Sketch

Answer 81

Sketch is an industry-standard, all-in-one digital design tool. It includes tools for collaborative design, prototyping and developer handoff. As of this writing in late November of 2023, Sketch is being largely supplanted across our industry and in the academic programs that support it by Figma and some emerging AI streams.

Question 82

Stakeholder Interviews

Answer 82

Stakeholders are the people within a company or organisation who are invested in the success of the product you’re designing, and who can offer insights and input to inform the design process. Just as UX designers conduct user research to find out what the end user needs from the product, they might also conduct stakeholder interviews in order to understand the business goals that the product (and the product design process) should serve.

Question 83

Storyboards

Answer 83

In UX, a storyboard is a visual depiction of a user’s experience with a product. It’s a bit like a comic strip, allowing the designer to envision all the steps in the user’s journey and to gain a deeper understanding of how the user will relate to and experience the product.

Question 84

Style Guide

Answer 84

A style guide is a document created by UX designers to set out the standards, conventions and guidelines which should be followed throughout the design process. The goal of a style guide is to ensure consistency. This is especially useful when you have lots of different stakeholders involved in the product design and development process.

Question 85

Surveys

Answer 85

Surveys are another popular user research method. You can gather both qualitative and quantitative data through user surveys, depending on how you frame the questions. Surveys offer a relatively low-cost and not-too-time-consuming way to obtain large volumes of user data.

Question 86

Task Analysis

Answer 86

UX designers use task analysis to study and understand how users perform a series of tasks in order to complete their goal. The output of a task analysis is simply a list of all the steps a user will go through to complete their task. Task analysis typically takes place early on in the design process.

Question 87

Tree Testing

Answer 87

Tree testing is a UX research method that provides insight into how easily people can find information on your website or app and where they get lost. Tree testing is useful for evaluating how user-friendly your site structure is.

Question 88

Typography

Answer 88

Typography refers to how text is arranged and styled. It’s more of a UI design term than a UX one (you can read about the difference between UX and UI here), but it certainly plays a part in the overall user experience. Designers must choose typography that is easily legible and visually appealing for the user.

Question 89

Usability

Answer 89

When we talk about usability, we’re looking at how easy a product is to use. Ultimately, is it easy for the user to complete their desired tasks? Usability is absolutely critical to providing a good user experience!

Question 90

Usability Testing

Answer 90

Usability testing is the process of testing your designs or product on a sample of people who represent your target users. During a usability test, you’ll ask participants to complete certain tasks, observing them as they do so. This allows you to identify any usability issues which are hampering the user experience.

Question 91

User-centred design

Answer 91

User-centred design (UCD) places the end user front and centre throughout the product design and development process. It’s based on a set of principles which prioritize the end user, such as involving users from the very beginning of the process (i.e. through user research), getting real user feedback along the way and designing iteratively to keep improving the user experience.

Question 92

User Flow

Answer 92

A user flow is a chart or diagram which shows the path a user will take to complete a certain task. UX designers create user flows in order to understand how a user will move through the product and to design the product in a way that facilitates this movement.

Question 93

User interface (UI)

Answer 93

A user interface (a UI) is the point of interaction between humans and computers. It contains all the features a user needs to interact with a digital product: input controls which enable a user to input information, navigational elements which allow the user to move from one point to the next, informational components which provide the user with valuable information and containers which group the content into meaningful sections. Designers are responsible for creating interfaces that are user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.

Question 94

User Interface Design

Answer 94

UI design is the process of designing user interfaces. A user interface is the point of interaction between humans and computers (see number 87 in our UX glossary). User interface design takes care of how digital products look, feel and behave for the end user. Good UI is part of creating a delightful user experience and UX and UI designers work closely together.

Question 95

UI Elements

Answer 95

UI elements are the building blocks used in the design of apps and websites. When you use a website or app, you encounter buttons, forms, menus, drop-down lists, image carousels and more. These are all examples of UI elements.

Question 96

User Interview

Answer 96

A user interview is a common UX research method, and it pretty much does what it says on the tin: you ask your user (or representative user) questions in order to gain insight into their thoughts, expectations, goals and pain-points in relation to a particular problem, product or experience. User interviews are a type of qualitative research (refer to terms 77 and 78 in our UX glossary to learn about the difference between qualitative and quantitative user research).

Question 97

User Journey Map

Answer 97

A user journey map is a visualisation which depicts all the touchpoints between a user and a product across a given time period. It also contains information about the channels a person uses to interact with the product. User journey maps are useful as they allow designers to visualise and understand how the user experiences a product. It’s important to note that user journey maps are different to user flows.

Question 98

User Research

Answer 98

The goal of UX design is to solve real user problems. The only way to do this is to start by understanding your target users and the problems they face. To uncover such insights, UX designers conduct user research. User/UX research takes place early on in the process (in fact, it’s usually the very first step a designer will go through) and is absolutely critical to your work as a designer.

Question 99

User stories

Answer 99

A user story is a brief, simple statement which defines the purpose (or one of the purposes) of creating a product. Writing user stories allows you to consider and capture what the user wants to achieve when they interact with your product. User stories are based on the following structure: As a [type of user], I need/want to [action] in order to achieve [goal or outcome].

Question 100

User Testing

Answer 100

User testing is when you test your product, new feature or prototype on real users in order to gain feedback and inform future iterations of the product. It sounds similar to usability testing (number 84 in our glossary) but there’s a difference: User testing is often used to determine if there’s a need for your proposed solution among your user group, while usability testing specifically looks at how easy a design or product is to use.

Question 101

UX Design

Answer 101

You’re probably already familiar with this one but we couldn’t have a UX glossary without defining UX itself. UX, or user experience, relates to how a user feels whenever they use or interact with a product or service. It captures how easy and enjoyable the product is to use overall. UX design is the process of creating these experiences, with a focus on solving a specific problem or pain-point for the user.

Question 102

UX Strategy

Answer 102

UX strategy ties the day-to-day work of the design team to the overarching business goals. It defines a vision for the product or service—that is, what the product looks like in its final state and the value it brings. It sets out goals and milestones which should be achieved along the way in order to reach the ultimate vision, as well as measures for success. Finally, a UX strategy defines a plan of action for how these goals will be met.

Question 103

UX writing

Answer 103

UX writing is a fast-growing field within UX. It’s the process of planning and writing all the text found on a digital product interface, with the goal of guiding the user through the experience. UX writing includes the creation of microcopy; things like error messages, welcome text and menu labels (see number 58 in our glossary). It’s important to note that UX writing is not the same as copywriting.

Question 104

Visual Design

Answer 104

Visual design considers the aesthetics of an app or website. In the context of UX, the goal of visual design is to use text, images, color and typography to enhance and aid the overall user experience. There is heavy overlap between visual design and UI design but one distinction commonly made is that visual designers consider the overall visual brand and identity rather than focusing on individual designs.

Question 105

Whiteboard challenge

Answer 105

If you’re aiming to become a UX designer, or to switch jobs in the field, you must be familiar with the whiteboard challenge. The whiteboard challenge is a common part of the UX interview process, requiring candidates to solve a design challenge in real-time, in front of the interview panel. When completing a whiteboard challenge, you’ll be asked to sketch out your thought process on a whiteboard.

Question 106

White space

Answer 106

White space is the empty space around and between different elements in your design. White space helps to create elegant, clutter-free designs and to direct the user’s attention to certain components. Note that white space doesn’t have to be white; the name just refers to any blank space on the page.

Question 107

Wireframe

Answer 107

A wireframe depicts the bare-bones layout of a website or app, showing how each screen will be structured and where different elements will sit on the page. Wireframing is an important part of the UX process as it allows you to test and validate initial concepts before developing them into high-fidelity designs and, ultimately, live products. Wireframes eventually evolve into prototypes, which are more life-like representations of how the product will look and behave. Learn more in our guide to the best wireframing tools.