User experience (UX) - ANSWER The utility gained by a user while
interacting with a designed entity
(different from UI- a design can be visually appealing and yet equally
problematic for the user)
User interface (UI) - ANSWER The visual elements of a program through
which a user controls or communicates with the application
Fundamentals of principal design - ANSWER Discoverability
Feedback
Conceptual model
Affordances
Signifiers
Mapping
Constraints
Discoverability - ANSWER Ensures that:
-It is possible to determine what actions are possible
-It is possible to determine the current state of the device
Problem example: site visitors are not visiting two important sections of the site
Feedback - ANSWER Ensures that:
-There is full + continuous info about the results of actions
-There is full + continuous info about the current state of the product/device
-After an action has been executed, it is easy to determine the new state
Problem example: a user inputs their username + password, the page refreshes
without going to the next page and only the input boxes are emptied
Conceptual model - ANSWER Ensures that:
, -The design projects all the info needed to create a good conceptual model of
the system, leading to understanding and a feeling of control. The conceptual
model enhances both discoverability + evaluation of results
Affordances - ANSWER The quality or property of an object that defines its
possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used
Problem example: a clickable link that is not underlined
Signifiers - ANSWER Ensures that:
-Discoverability and that the feedback is well communicated + intelligible
-Affordances are detected
Problem example: a button on a page without a distinguishable border from its
background
Mapping - ANSWER Ensures that:
-The relationship between controls and their actions follows the principles of
good mapping, enhanced as much as possible through spatial layout + temporal
contiguity
Problem example: a phased application form hosted all on a single page and
without visual hierarchies
Constraints - ANSWER Providing physical, logical, semantic, and cultural
constraints guides actions and eases interpretation
Problem example: no back buttons, enabling deleting of an image only through
right-clicking (no delete buttons)
Principles of visual design - ANSWER Scale
Visual Hierarchy
Balance
Contrast
Gestalt Principles
Scale - ANSWER Using relative size to signal importance and rank in a
composition
interacting with a designed entity
(different from UI- a design can be visually appealing and yet equally
problematic for the user)
User interface (UI) - ANSWER The visual elements of a program through
which a user controls or communicates with the application
Fundamentals of principal design - ANSWER Discoverability
Feedback
Conceptual model
Affordances
Signifiers
Mapping
Constraints
Discoverability - ANSWER Ensures that:
-It is possible to determine what actions are possible
-It is possible to determine the current state of the device
Problem example: site visitors are not visiting two important sections of the site
Feedback - ANSWER Ensures that:
-There is full + continuous info about the results of actions
-There is full + continuous info about the current state of the product/device
-After an action has been executed, it is easy to determine the new state
Problem example: a user inputs their username + password, the page refreshes
without going to the next page and only the input boxes are emptied
Conceptual model - ANSWER Ensures that:
, -The design projects all the info needed to create a good conceptual model of
the system, leading to understanding and a feeling of control. The conceptual
model enhances both discoverability + evaluation of results
Affordances - ANSWER The quality or property of an object that defines its
possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used
Problem example: a clickable link that is not underlined
Signifiers - ANSWER Ensures that:
-Discoverability and that the feedback is well communicated + intelligible
-Affordances are detected
Problem example: a button on a page without a distinguishable border from its
background
Mapping - ANSWER Ensures that:
-The relationship between controls and their actions follows the principles of
good mapping, enhanced as much as possible through spatial layout + temporal
contiguity
Problem example: a phased application form hosted all on a single page and
without visual hierarchies
Constraints - ANSWER Providing physical, logical, semantic, and cultural
constraints guides actions and eases interpretation
Problem example: no back buttons, enabling deleting of an image only through
right-clicking (no delete buttons)
Principles of visual design - ANSWER Scale
Visual Hierarchy
Balance
Contrast
Gestalt Principles
Scale - ANSWER Using relative size to signal importance and rank in a
composition
