Not all teams build products in highly uncertain environments or try to create cutting-edge new features. Many incrementally improve existing products and try to do so in a way that doesn’t alienate large existing user bases. Neither of these tasks is particularly easy, and they often require very d
The most important tasks found in the upper-left quadrant of your prioritization matrix are those which most users will spend the majority of their time performing. At a minimum, these are the ones that need a full flow design to show how (and with what logic) the user will transition from screen to
Congratulations! You have finished the longest chapter in the book, which describes the full hierarchy of design pattern layers from simple components up to the master diagrams of UX Architecture alternatives. As noted in the book, the multi-level pattern framework is best taught from the bottom
You may well have seen the “Rule of Thirds” plenty of times at work in a photograph or image on a website and not even realized it; it’s a well-known (and well-applied!) photography technique that’s been making pictures more captivating for a long time—including making websites have more harmonious
Project Brief Review the full project brief for MatchDog again. You may draw ideas during this step from the examples in the book regarding MatchDog conceptual model options. The book intentionally scaffolds this project step with examples and discussion of various options. Two finished possibil
Project Brief Review the full project brief for MatchDog. You may draw ideas from the examples in the book regarding various MatchDog conceptual model options. The book intentionally scaffolds this project with examples and discussion within the framework layer chapters. However, you are the desig
Welcome to UX Magic’s supplemental exercise sequence on the Interaction Design Foundation website. UX Magic is a breakthrough book introducing the power of the Semantic IxD approach, but no one ever became a great designer by reading books alone. Hands-on application of both the theory and practices
Designers who master AI aren’t just faster. You'll make better decisions, explore more ideas, and spend more time on the rewarding work that requires your human creativity. Here are five key insights from the AI for Designers course that you can use to take your design process to new levels and acce
Nearly every designer working with type has a strong opinion on the right way to combine letterforms and pair fonts. Like most things in visual communication, the best solutions are both subjectively and objectively formed, pairing what we prefer with what is most appropriate for any given use or co
Welcome to the project brief for MatchDog. In this brief, you’ll get all the information you need to start on the Build Your Portfolio exercises hosted here on the Interaction Design Foundation website. Goal Create a complete UX Design for the MatchDog Non-profit spanning a web and mobile experi
We conducted research with hundreds of people working on agile teams about their experiences in order to understand some of the biggest design problems they encounter. Designers who work in sprints of one or two weeks can be under pressure to deliver fast, skip research and cut corners, which can pr
The sensory, short-term, and long-term components of memory come from the well-established multi-store model of memory, first proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in the late 1960s (see below for the original paper). While not without its detractors, it is still the most commonly accepted description o
Sensory memory isn’t a “true” type of memory because it doesn’t involve the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain where most conscious memory is stored. However, we’d be a bit lost without sensory memory since, without it, we wouldn’t be able to use our senses in a meaningful way.For example,
Our focus here will be on how human memory is organized, along with a brief look at how it works. Our main goal is that you come away with a better understanding of how memory functions and some of its limitations so that we can be more effective as designers.The main topics are:Sensory memoryPercep
One in three consumers (32%) will abandon a brand they love after a single poor experience—yes, all it takes is just one bad experience. It’s a statistic that drives home the point that designers can’t afford to gamble against user feedback. What users think is a reality that’s total for you as a de
Micro-interactions are small but crucial elements that enhance user experience (UX). They offer intuitive cues and turn routine tasks into enjoyable moments. Learn about their significance in modern UX design through examples and best practices. Understand how these subtle interactions contribute to
If you’ve got an interview invitation for the role of UX (user experience) researcher at the organization you want to get into, well done! Your UX portfolio—one major part of why they’re interested in you—may have done the trick, but what about the UX research interview questions the hirers are goin
It’s important to know the terminology of service design so we can fully understand what it is, and so we are able to talk about it in an effective way. Here we’ll hear from different service designers about how they define service design and why a theater is such a fitting metaphor for staging a se
Although the terms sensation and perception are often used interchangeably, they have quite specific meanings. Sensations are the raw data from our senses, while perception is how the brain interprets them. If we understand how perception works, and how it can sometimes fool us, we can make better d
Data analysis is one of those terms that “is what it sounds like,” although there’s more to it than may meet the eye. In any case, it’s a valuable skill for making better decisions—a skill that you can bring to bear on both your professional and personal life, from personal budgeting to analyzing cu
