101 UX Principles - Actionable Solutions for Product Design Success

101 UX Principles

Actionable Solutions for Product Design Success

Become a better digital product designer with 20+ years of collected UX experience

The second edition of the Amazon best-selling book, 101 UX Principles is the perfect companion when working on digital projects and making the right decisions for your users.

From landing page and checkout basket UIs to startup launches and enterprise software solutions, a great user experience design will maximize the success of your product.

The book includes an exclusive invitation to join an online UX professionals community, where you can read the book alongside peers and other UX designers, and participate in various challenges and discussions with the author. See you there!


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❤️ Praise for 101 UX Principles

Elizabeth Churchill, Director of User Experience at Google

Google


"This updated version of 101 UX Principles is a delight.

Thoroughly revised, this edition includes great points from the earlier edition, offers some updated examples, and provides new examples of solid UX principles.

It's an educational and fun provocation to look at the world of UX differently - solidly from the user's point of view."

Jeff Gothelf, Best-selling Author of Lean UX

Jeff Gothelf


"In a series of short, direct lessons, this book lays out the fundamental principles of good user experience design.

Complete with case studies, a record of personal experience, and visual examples, Grant makes it clear why these techniques have found their way into the canon of UX best practices.

This is a phenomenal reference guide as you set out on your UX journey or even if you've been on it for many years."

Anne-Marie Léger, Staff Product Designer at Shopify

Shopify


"I recommend it for anyone looking to learn new basics and also for more experienced designers.

The breakdown by topics makes it convenient to use it as a reference book, summarizing key learning points at the end of each principle.

The author's candid opinions will force you to revisit some of your established assumptions!"



101 ways to solve 101 UX problems clearly and single-mindedly.

101 UX Principles shows you the 101 most important things you need to know about usability and interface 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.


Key features

101 UX shortcuts to success for beginners

Browse over 20 years of collected user experience insights

Learn how to apply these principles into your day-to-day work


What you will learn

Use typography well to ensure that text is readable

Design controls to streamline interaction

Provide interfaces that work for users with visual or motion impairments

Understand and respond to user expectations


Who should read this book?

UX professionals both freelance and in-house

Entry-level UI/UX/product designers and students

Mid-level and senior UI/UX/product designers

Product professionals, product managers & owners



Table of Contents

  • 101 UX Principles - 2nd Edition (2022)
  • #1 Everyone Can Be Great at User Experience (UX)
  • #2 Be Strategic About Using These Principles
  • #3 Don't be afraid to ship something simple
  • #4 But Complexity Can Be Good for Some Users
  • #5 Use A/B Testing To Test Your Ideas
  • #6 Test with Real Users
  • #7 Nobody Cares About Your Brand
  • #8 Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces
  • #9 Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers
  • #10 Use Type Size & Weight to Depict Information Hierarchy
  • #11 Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
  • #12 Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step
  • #13 Make interactive elements obvious and discoverable
  • #14 Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function
  • #15 Make the Whole Button Clickable
  • #16 Don't Invent New Arbitrary Controls
  • #17 Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"
  • #18 Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values
  • #19 Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
  • #20 Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
  • #21 Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
  • #22 Optimise your interface for mobile
  • #23 Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed-Style Content Only
  • #24 If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle and End, Use Pagination
  • #25 Allow Users to Accept or Reject Cookies with One Click
  • #26 Help users understand their next steps from "Empty States"
  • #27 Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable
  • #28 When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
  • #29 Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu
  • #30 Make Your Links Look Like Links
  • #31 Split Menu Items Down into Subsections
  • #32 Categorize Settings in an Accessible Way
  • #33 Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
  • #34 Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
  • #35 Don't Use Obsolete Icons
  • #36 Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon
  • #37 Never Use Text on Icons
  • #38 Always Give Icons a Text Label
  • #39 Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
  • #40 Streamline creating and entering passwords
  • #41 Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
  • #42 Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
  • #43 Respect Users Time and Effort in your Forms
  • #44 Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
  • #45 Use Animation with Care in User Interfaces
  • #46 Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
  • #47 Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields
  • #48 Make Your Input Systems Case-Insensitive
  • #49 Chatbots are usually a bad idea
  • #50 If Your Forms Are Good, Your Product is Good
  • #51 Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
  • #52 If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
  • #53 Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) about Your Data Formats
  • #54 Pick the Right Control for the Job
  • #55 Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
  • #56 Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry
  • #57 Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
  • #58 Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
  • #59 Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
  • #60 Make it Painless for the User to Add Images
  • #61 Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
  • #62 Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
  • #63 Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
  • #64 Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
  • #65 If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
  • #66 Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
  • #67 Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
  • #68 Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation
  • #69 Never Use Color Alone to Convey Information
  • #70 If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil
  • #71 Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
  • #72 Write Clear Labels for Controls
  • #73 Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
  • #74 Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
  • #75 Each aspect of a user's Journey Should Have a Beginning and End
  • #76 The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey
  • #77 Use Breadcrumb Navigation
  • #78 Users Rarely Care About Your Company
  • #79 Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
  • #80 Show an Indicator if the User's Work is Unsaved
  • #81 Let users give feedback
  • #82 Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen
  • #83 Make Your Favicon Distinctive
  • #84 Add a "Create from Existing" Flow
  • #85 Make it Easy for Users to Pay You
  • #86 Give users the ability to filter search results
  • #87 Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System
  • #88 Show, Don't Tell
  • #89 Be Consistent with Terminology
  • #90 Use "Sign in" and "Sign out"
  • #91 Make it clear to users if they're joining or signing-in
  • #92 Standardize the Password Reset Experience
  • #93 Write Like a Human Being
  • #94 Choose Active Verbs over Passive
  • #95 Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
  • #96 Pick Good Defaults
  • #97 Only use modal views for blocking actions
  • #98 Give Users The Experience They Expect
  • #99 Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious or Possible
  • #100 Does it Work on Mobile? is Obsolete
  • #101 Don't Join the Dark Side