Glossary
The UX Dictionary glossary
A living glossary of 56 terms across UX, UI, research and design systems — clear definitions for the words designers actually use. Pick a letter, or browse the full A–Z below.
A
- A/B TestingA/B testing is a way of testing that compares two versions of your design. It helps you to understand which version works best for your users.
- AccessibilityAccessibility is the a part of design where you make sure your design work is accessible for all people.
- AffordanceIn UX, the affordance of a design element is what the user thinks he can do with that element. It is based on what the user can perceive of the component.
- Atomic researchIn UX, atomic research is a form of research where you divide the user research into multiple smaller parts called 'atoms' or 'nuggets.'
B
- Banner BlindnessIn UX, users experience banner blindness when they subconsciously ignore website components they've seen too often.
- BootstrapBootstrap is a CSS framework used in web design to create responsive designs for multiple screen sizes.
- ButtonButtons are UI components that enable users to make an action, like navigating to a page, purchasing an item, and confirming settings by clicking on them.
C
- Call to actionA call to action, or CTA, is used to describe elements, usually buttons, that encourage a user to take action.
- CanvaCanva is a free-to-use design tool that you can use to create graphic design assets like presentations, social media posts, and business cards.
- Cognitive loadCognitive load is the amount of mental effort required to understand a user interface. As a UX designer, you must reduce cognitive load as much as possible.
- Cognitive walkthroughThe cognitive walkthrough is a method used to evaluate how easy to learn a product is. The accompanying unit of measure is called learnability.
- Competitive analysisIn UX, competitive analysis is a research method that helps you understand how the features and user flows of similar design solutions of your competitors work.
- Customer journeyThe customer journey is quite literally the journey someone takes to become your customer. In most cases, this journey includes a set number of steps.
D
- Dark patternsDark patterns are deceptive design patterns used to mislead users to make them do something they would not do on their own.
- Data analysisIn UX, data analysis transforms raw data obtained through research into information and insights. It allows designers to make informed design decisions.
- Data-Driven DesignData drive design is a type of design where you make design decisions based on a collection of both quantitative and qualitative data.
- Design systemDesign systems are groups of guidelines, design principles, and reusable components used by a company to create consistent branding and design choices at scale.
- Design thinkingDesign thinking is a framework used by many UX, UI, and product designers during large-scale projects.
- Desk researchDesk research, which is also known as secondary research, is a UX research method that consists of reviewing what others have done in similar situations.
- Double diamondThe double diamond methodology is a variation of design thinking used mainly by UI, UX, and product designers during projects.
F
G
H
- Hero sectionCommonly found on a landing page, the hero section is the first section the user sees when visiting your website.
- HeuristicsIn UX, heuristics are mental shortcuts that help users simplify their decision-making process.
- How might weHow might we (HMW) is an exercise commonly used during design thinking workshops. It helps workshop participants think creatively about solving challenges.
- Human-centered designWhen you design a product or service, you make every decision with a human being at the center of your design process.
I
J
K
L
- Landing pageA landing page is the first page a user visits on your website. It is where the user lands and is often used to promote a product or service.
- Lean UXLean UX (Lean User Experience) is a way of working that combines UX with the core ideas of Agile. It enables UX designers to perform better in Agile or Scrum.
- Lorem IpsumLorem Ipsum is placeholder text you can use in your designs until you have the final copy.
- Low-fidelityLow-fidelity is a used word to define a design with low levels of detail. In UX, low-fidelity is used in wireframes to create visualizations of your ideas.
M
- Material designMaterial Design is Google's design language and system. It is used in the Android OS and Google apps.
- Mental modelMental models represent a person's thought process for how an application or a website works. This influences their view on new apps and how to use them.
- MockupMockups are high-fidelity visuals of your final design. You can use mockups to highlight pixel-perfect details or as the featured image of a portfolio.
- Multivariate TestingIn UX, multivariate testing compares different versions of your design to find which of these versions performs best according to business KPIs.
P
- Paper PrototypingPaper prototyping is a UX design process that helps designers test rough ideas using paper sketches instead of complicated prototypes.
- PersonaA persona is a design deliverable that shows the traits, qualities, and pain points of your target users summarized in a fictional person.
- Product designerWhen you're a product designer, you're involved from start to finish in designing a product. That includes both UI and UX work.
- PrototypeIn UX, a prototype can be a clickable demo or a fully functioning demo of a design concept. It is used to gather user feedback to further finetune a design.
R
- Rapid prototypingIn UX, rapid prototyping is a way to quickly create new versions of a design prototype based on continuous feedback.
- Responsive designResponsive design is about creating websites whose designs automatically adjust for different screen sizes, from small smartphones to big desktop screens.
S
T
- T-shaped designerA T-Shaped designer is a designer who is very experienced in one specific topic of his field and has general knowledge of various design-related topics.
- The Design of Everyday ThingsThe Design of Everyday Things is a book by Donald Norman about real-life design principles. It is considered a must-read by many designers.
- TouchpointsA touchpoint is a moment within the customer journey where the user interacts with your service or product.
U
- Usability testingUsability testing refers to testing a product or service with real users. This is to learn how intuitive a design is and improve the design where necessary.
- User flowA user flow (or flowchart) is a visual representation of the path a user follows to accomplish a specific task.
- User pain pointsUser pain points are the specific problems and frustrations users face when using a product or service. Identifying and resolving them is the core of good UX.
- UserpeekUserPeek is a remote user testing platform for UX designers. It allows you to collect user insights from websites, apps, and digital products.
- UX EngineerA UX engineer is someone with skills in UX design and software development. In most cases, the UX engineer has experience in frontend development.
- UX researchUser experience (UX) research is a design discipline within UX that focuses on investigating the behavior of users and their needs.