101 UX Principles

101 UX Principles

by Will Grant
Released August 2018
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781788837361

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Book description

Publisher's note: This edition from 2018 is outdated and doesn't make use of the most recent UX best-practices. A new 2nd edition, updated for latest use cases and examples, has now been published.

Book Description

We want our UX to be brilliant. We want to create stunning user experiences. We want our UX to drive the success of our business with useful and usable software products. This book draws on the wisdom and training of Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman to help you get your UX right - in 101 ways!

101 UX Principles shows you the 101 most important things you need to know about usability and design. A practical reference for UX professionals, and a shortcut to greatness for anyone who needs a clear and wise selection of principles to guide their UX success. Learn the key principles that drive brilliant UX design.

Enjoy 101 Principles including 'Good UX has a Beginning, a Middle, and an End', 'Make Your Links Look Like Links', 'Don't Use Obsolete Icons', 'Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible', 'Test with Real Users', 'Making the most of fonts', 'Good UX for search results', and 'Show your user - don't tell your user!'

"Good to read from beginning to end, and a nice dip-in-and-out text, the chapter titles reminded me of principles I don't even think about explicitly when I likely should. The book inspired me to start more explicitly articulating some of the principles I just take for granted."

- Elizabeth Churchill, Director of User Experience at Google

"This is a great practical read. It is convenient to use as a reference when solving real UX problems. I would definitely recommend it as an introduction to UX, but also as a good reminder of best practices for more experienced designers."

- Anne-Marie Leger, Designer at Shopify

Some more of the 101 UX Principles featured in this book:

Work with user expectations not against them

How to build upon established metaphors

How to arrange navigation elements

How to introduce new ideas to your user

Matching pagination and content structure

When invention is not good for UX

Striving for simplicity

Reducing user tasks

What to make clickable

Making the most of fonts

Making your links look like links

Picking the right control for the job

Data input and what users care about

How to handle destructive user actions

When color should not convey information

Tappable areas and the size of fingers

Getting payment details the right way

Use the standard e-commerce pattern

If you really must use a flat design

When to use progress bars or spinners

Dropdowns the right and wrong way

Handling just-off-screen content

How to do Hamburger menus right

When to hide Advanced Settings

Good UX for Notifications

Publisher resources

View/Submit Errata

Table of contents

  1. 101 UX Principles
    1. Table of Contents
    2. 101 UX Principles
      1. Why subscribe?
      2. PacktPub.com
    4. Contributors
      1. About the author
      2. About the reviewer
      3. Packt is Searching for Authors Like You
    5. Preface
    6. #1. Anyone Can Be a User Experience (UX) Professional
      1. Learning points
    7. #2. Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces
      1. Learning points
    8. #3. Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them
      1. Learning points
    9. #4. USE TYPE SIZE TO DEPICT INFORMATION HIERARCHY
      1. Headline that tells you something
      2. Learning points
    10. #5. Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
      1. Learning points
    11. #6. Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step
      1. Learning points
    12. #7. Make Your Buttons Look Like Buttons
      1. Learning points
    13. #8. Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function
      1. Learning points
    14. #9. Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text
      1. Learning points
    15. #10. Don't Invent New, Arbitrary Controls
      1. Learning points
    16. #11. Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"
      1. Learning points
    17. #12. Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values
      1. Learning points
    18. #13. Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
      1. Learning points
    19. #14. Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
      1. Learning points:
    20. #15. Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
      1. Learning points
    21. #16. Think About What's Just off the Screen
      1. Learning points
    22. #17. Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed–Style Content Only
      1. Learning points
    23. #18. If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle, and End, Use Pagination
      1. Learning points
    24. #19. If You Must Use Infinite Scroll, Store the User's Position and Return to It
      1. Learning points
    25. #20. Make "Blank Slates" More Than Just Empty Views
      1. Learning points
    26. #21. Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable
      1. Learning points
    27. #22. When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
      1. Learning points
    28. #23. Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu
      1. Learning points
    29. #24. Make Your Links Look Like Links
      1. Learning points
    30. #25. Split Menu Items Down into Subsections, so Users Don't Have to Remember Large Lists
      1. Learning points
    31. #26. Hide "Advanced" Settings From Most Users
      1. Learning points
    32. #27. Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
      1. Learning points
    33. #28. Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
      1. Learning points
    34. #29. Don't Use Obsolete Icons
      1. Learning points
    35. #30. Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon
      1. Learning points
    36. #31. Never Use Text on Icons
      1. Learning points
    37. #32. Always Give Icons a Text Label
      1. Learning points
    38. #33. Emoji are the Most Recognized Icon Set on Earth
      1. Learning points
    39. #34. Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
      1. Learning points
    40. #35. Obfuscate Passwords in Fields, but Provide a "Show Password" Toggle
      1. Learning points
    41. #36. Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
      1. Learning points
    42. #37. Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
      1. Learning points
    43. #38. Don't Ever Clear User-Entered Data Unless Specifically Asked To
      1. Learning points
    44. #39. Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
      1. Learning points
    45. #40. Don't Ever Make Your UI Move While a User is Trying to Use It
      1. Learning points
    46. #41. Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
      1. Learning points
    47. #42. Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields
      1. Learning points
    48. #43. Be Case-Insensitive
      1. Learning points
    49. #44. If a Good Form Experience Can Be Delivered, Your Users will Love Your Product
      1. Learning points
    50. #45. Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
      1. Learning points
    51. #46. If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
      1. Learning points
    52. #47. Be Forgiving – Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) How You Need the Data
      1. Learning points
    53. #48. Pick the Right Control for the Job
      1. Learning Points
    54. #49. Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
      1. Learning points
    55. #50. Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry
      1. Learning points
    56. #51. Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
      1. Learning points
    57. #52. Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
      1. Learning points
    58. #53. Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
      1. Learning points
    59. #54. Make it Painless for the User to Add Images
      1. Learning points
    60. #55. Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
      1. Learning points
    61. #56. Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
      1. Learning points
    62. #57. Never Show an Animated, Looping Progress Bar
      1. Learning points
    63. #58. Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
      1. Learning points
    64. #59. Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
      1. Learning points
    65. #60. If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
      1. Learning points
    66. #61. Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
      1. Learning points
    67. #62. Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
      1. Learning points
    68. #63. Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation
      1. Learning points
    69. #64. Don't Only Use Color to Convey Information
      1. Learning points:
    70. #65. If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil
      1. Learning points
    71. #66. Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
      1. Learning points
    72. #67. Write Clear Labels for Controls
      1. Learning points
    73. #68. Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
      1. Learning points
    74. #69. Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
      1. Learning points
    75. #70. A User's Journey Should Have a Beginning, Middle, and End
      1. Learning points
    76. #71. The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey
      1. Learning points
    77. #72. Use Breadcrumb Navigation
      1. Learning points
    78. #73. If the User is on an Optional Journey, Give Them a Control to "Skip This"
      1. Learning points
    79. #74. Users Don't Care About Your Company
      1. Learning points
    80. #75. Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
      1. Learning points
    81. #76. Show an Indicator in the Title Bar if the User's Work is Unsaved
      1. Learning points
    82. #77. Don't Nag Your Users into Rating Your App
      1. Learning points
    83. #78. Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen
      1. Learning points
    84. #79. Make Your Favicon Distinctive
      1. Learning points
    85. #80. Add a "Create from Existing" Flow
      1. Learning points
    86. #81. Make it Easy for Users to Pay You
      1. Learning points
    87. #82. Categorize Search Results into Sections
      1. Learning points:
    88. #83. Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System
      1. Learning points
    89. #84. Show, Don't Tell
      1. Learning points
    90. #85. Be Consistent with Terminology
      1. Learning points:
    91. #86. Use "Sign in" and "Sign out", Not "Log in" and "Log out"
      1. Learning points
    92. #87. "Sign up" Makes More Sense Than "Register"
      1. Learning points
    93. #88. Use "Forgot Password" or "Forgotten Your Password", Not Something Obscure
      1. Learning points
    94. #89. Write Like a Human Being
      1. Learning points
    95. #90. Choose Active Verbs over Passive
      1. Learning points
    96. #91. Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
      1. Learning points
    97. #92. Pick Good Defaults
      1. Learning points
    98. #93. Don't Confound Users' Expectations
      1. Learning points
    99. #94. Reduce the Number of Tasks a User Has to Complete by Using Sensible Defaults
      1. Learning points
    100. #95. Build Upon Established Metaphors – It's Not Stealing
      1. Learning points
    101. #96. Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible
      1. Learning points
    102. #97. "Does it Work on Mobile?" is Obsolete
      1. Learning points
    103. #98. Messaging is a Solved Problem
      1. Learning points
    104. #99. Brands Are Bullshit
      1. Learning points
    105. #100. Don't Join the Dark Side
      1. Learning points
    106. #101. Test with Real Users
      1. Learning points
    107. 102. Bonus – Strive for Simplicity
    108. Other Books You May Enjoy
      1. Leave a review - let other readers know what you think
    109. Index

Product information

  • Title: 101 UX Principles
  • Author(s): Will Grant
  • Release date: August 2018
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781788837361