7 fundamental principles of UX design that designers need to know

UX design involves the creation of products and services that address a particular user problem, with a focus on ensuring the solution is user-friendly and enjoyable. Achieving an optimal user experience requires careful consideration of numerous factors.

Thankfully, there are universal UX design principles available to assist in making informed decisions and prioritizing the user's needs.

Curious about these principles? Here are 7 crucial UX design principles that every designer should be aware of.

1. User-Centricity

The essence of UX design lies in developing products and services that effectively address user problems. Therefore, every action taken by a UX designer should revolve around the principle of user-centricity. User-centricity entails prioritizing the user's needs and making decisions based on an understanding of their preferences and expectations from the product. This principle is ingrained in the UX process, beginning with user research to identify the problem to be solved and comprehend the target users. It then progresses to user testing, which assesses how well the product fulfills the user's requirements.

When embarking on a new UX project, it is crucial to uphold the user-centricity principle, ensuring that the decisions made align with the best interests of the users while considering the business's objectives.

2. Consistency

Maintaining consistency is a vital UX design principle when developing products to address specific user problems.

Consistency in UX design encompasses multiple aspects. Firstly, it involves ensuring visual and functional uniformity across all pages, screens, and products within the same brand or product family.

Moreover, consistency also entails meeting user expectations regarding the type of product being designed. For instance, if designing a flight booking app, users will arrive with preconceived notions about how the app should function based on their previous experiences with similar apps. While it is not necessary to imitate competitors, there is no need to reinvent the wheel either.

By aligning with user expectations, you can create a user-friendly product with a minimal learning curve. This significantly contributes to a seamless user experience.

3. Hierarchy

Hierarchy plays a vital role in UX design as it influences the user's navigation within a product, determining the ease or complexity of the process.

Hierarchy encompasses both information architecture and the visual arrangement of elements on individual pages and screens. In general, it is desirable to place more important elements at the top of the hierarchy, making them more prominent and easily discoverable for the user.

Information architecture refers to the overall structure and organization of a website or app, dictating how users navigate between pages or screens. For instance, a website's home page typically features different menu items at the top, leading to additional pages or offering dropdown menus for more options. This hierarchical arrangement allows some items to be more visible and accessible while others require further exploration.

Visual hierarchy focuses on how individual elements are positioned on a page or screen. Important elements can be highlighted by placing them at the top, utilizing larger fonts, or using distinct colors to enhance their visibility.

Hierarchy aids users in navigating a product by directing their attention to the most critical pages and elements, ensuring they can easily find what they need.

4. Context

The fourth principle of UX design to consider is context. When creating a solution for a user problem, it is crucial to understand the context in which users will interact with your product. Designing without considering the surrounding circumstances is not effective. Context involves considering various factors that may influence the user experience.

As a designer, you should ask yourself questions like: What devices will users utilize to access and interact with my product? Where will the user likely be during interaction? Are there any external factors, such as noise, that may impact the experience? What emotional state might the user be in?

By comprehending the context surrounding the interaction between your product and the end user, you can account for potential limitations, such as background noise or the inability to use hands while driving. This understanding enables you to design a superior user experience that addresses these contextual considerations.

5. User Control

Another fundamental principle of UX design focuses on granting the user the appropriate level of control over their interactions with a product.

User control and freedom are highlighted as one of the ten essential usability heuristics for web design by Jakob Nielsen, co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group. According to the NNG website, users may unintentionally perform actions and require a clearly marked "emergency exit" to undo or reverse those actions without undergoing a lengthy process.

The principle of user control aims to empower users to rectify errors without disrupting the entire user experience. Incorporating features such as "Undo" and "Redo" functionality, providing "Cancel" buttons, and clearly labeling alternative actions and routes allows users to regain control and navigate back to their desired state.

By implementing user control and freedom in your product, you enhance the user experience by enabling users to correct mistakes and maintain a sense of control over their interactions.

6. Accessibility

Incorporating accessibility into UX design is crucial, and it is the responsibility of all UX designers to understand its significance and integrate it into the design process.

Accessibility involves ensuring that your product or service is accessible and usable for a wide range of individuals. This includes considering the needs of people with disabilities and acknowledging how different environments or situational factors can impact the user experience.

An example of designing for accessibility is employing high color contrast to ensure legibility of text for users with visual impairments. To see tangible examples of accessible design in practice, you can explore websites that have successfully implemented the principle of accessibility.

7. Usability

Usability refers to the measure of how easy a product is to use. It is a fundamental principle in UX design because without usability, a good user experience cannot be achieved.

There are five key components to consider when assessing usability:

• Learnability: How easily can users understand and navigate the product the first time they encounter it? Consistency and well-organized information architecture can enhance learnability.
• Efficiency: Does the design of the product enable users to accomplish their tasks quickly and efficiently? A streamlined and intuitive interface contributes to efficiency.
• Memorability: When users return to the product after a period of not using it, is it easy for them to remember how it works? A memorable design facilitates user re-familiarization.
• Error Handling: How often do users make errors while using the product, and how severe are these errors? Additionally, is it simple for users to recover from mistakes? This aspect relates to the principle of user control.
• Satisfaction: Does the product provide a pleasant and enjoyable experience for users? Is it satisfying to engage with, or does it cause frustration?

Considering and optimizing these usability components throughout the design process leads to a user-friendly product that enhances the overall user experience.

In conclusion

As a UX designer, it is crucial to prioritize usability over aesthetics. By integrating usability testing into the design process, you can identify and address any usability issues, resulting in a user-friendly and efficient overall user experience.

By keeping these seven UX design principles in mind, you will be on the path to creating enjoyable products that resonate with your users. Remember to always put the user first and strive for a seamless and satisfying user experience.