Terms & Definitions

Question 1

Above the fold

Answer 1

The content on a web page that doesn’t require scrolling to experience

Question 2

Accessibility

Answer 2

The design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities

Question 3

Advertising agencies

Answer 3

Teams of creatives hired by clients to build marketing campaigns

Question 4

Affinity

Answer 4

A feeling of like-mindedness or compatibility toward something or someone

Question 5

Affinity diagram

Answer 5

A method of synthesizing that organizes data into groups with common themes or relationships

Question 6

Aggregated empathy maps

Answer 6

Represent a visualization of everything designers know about an entire segment or group of similar users

Question 7

Alternative text (alt text)

Answer 7

Text that helps translate something visual, such as an image or graph, into a description that can be read by screen readers

Question 8

Apprenticeships

Answer 8

Long-term positions providing paid, on-the-job training to help you develop real skills

Question 9

Assets

Answer 9

Everything from the text and images to the design specifications, like font style, color, size, and spacing

Question 10

Assistive technology

Answer 10

Any products, equipment, or systems that enhance learning, working, and daily living for people with disabilities

Question 11

Asymmetrical layout

Answer 11

Having purposeful imbalance between different sides of a page

Question 12

Back-end developer

Answer 12

Someone who writes code for the website’s architecture and data storage or retrieval, based on the sitemap and functionality

Question 14

Basic grid

Answer 14

Intersecting lines that divide pages into small squares, which allows you to easily lay out elements in a design

Question 15

Bias

Answer 15

Favoring or having prejudice against something based on limited information

Question 16

Big picture storyboard

Answer 16

Big picture storyboard

Question 17

Brand Identity

Answer 17

The visual appearance and voice of a company

Question 18

Borders

Answer 18

A method of containment that uses continuous lines that often form shapes, like squares or rectangles, to break up sections of a page

Question 19

Box layout

Answer 19

A web page layout that consists of boxes or squares of various sizes and proportions

Question 20

Budget estimate

Answer 20

Details the expenses and profit margins that add up to an appropriate cost for services

Question 21

Call-to-action (CTA)

Answer 21

A visual prompt that tells the user to take action

Question 22

Cards

Answer 22

Rectangle parts of a design that contain content and actions about a single subject, which are often used in mobile app design

Question 23

Carousels

Answer 23

Scrolling feeds of images or cards on a UI that can be sifted through with a click or that automatically loop while you’re on the page

Question 24

Case study

Answer 24

Leads the user through your design process from the beginning to the end

Question 25

Case studies

Answer 25

Summarized presentation of a design project that typically includes
● Project goal and objectives
● Your role on the project
● Process your team followed
● Outcome of the project

Question 26

Close-up storyboard

Answer 26

A series of visually rendered panels that focus on the product

Question 27

Color modification

Answer 27

Features that increase the contrast of colors on a screen, like high-contrast mode or dark mode

Question 28

Common region

Answer 28

The Gestalt Principle that describes how elements located within the same area are perceived to be grouped together

Question 29

Competitive audit

Answer 29

An overview of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses

Question 30

Complementary

Answer 30

Taking into account how the product design on each device can make the overall user experience better

Question 31

Confirmation Bias

Answer 31

Occurs when you start looking for evidence to prove a hypothesis you have

Question 32

Consistency

Answer 32

Having a uniform design, so users can expect the design to feel familiar across devices and products

Question 33

Containment

Answer 33

The use of visual barriers to keep elements of a design neat and organized; the four methods of containment are dividers, borders, fill, and shadow

Question 34

Context

Answer 34

Designing for the needs of a specific device and the way in which the user will use that device in any given situation

Question 35

Continuity

Answer 35

Providing users with a smooth and uninterrupted experience as they move between devices

Question 36

Conversion rate

Answer 36

Measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action

Question 37

Corporation

Answer 37

A company with thousands of employees working on lots of different projects

Question 38

Curb cut

Answer 38

The slope of the sidewalk that creates a ramp with adjoining street

Question 39

Curb cut effect

Answer 39

A phenomenon that describes how products and policies designed for people with disabilities often end up helping everyone

Question 40

Customizable text

Answer 40

A feature that allows users to change how text is displayed in order to read the text more easily

Question 41

Database model

Answer 41

A website structure that mixes a database, or an organized collection of information, with search functionality

Question 42

Deceptive patterns

Answer 42

UX methods that trick users into doing or buying something they wouldn’t otherwise have done or bought

Question 43

Dedicated mobile app

Answer 43

Built to live on the mobile device and is accessed through an icon on the phone’s home screen

Question 44

Define

Answer 44

The phase of design thinking that involves leveraging the insights gained during the empathize phase to identify the problem you’ll solve with your design

Question 45

Design agency

Answer 45

Provides a one-stop shop for the look of brands, products, and services

Question 46

Design critique session

Answer 46

A planned period of time where UX designers present their work to team members and listen to feedback

Question 47

Design research

Answer 47

Answers the question: How should we build it?

Question 48

Design Sprint

Answer 48

A time-bound process, with five phases typically spread over five full 8-hour days. The goal of design sprints is to answer critical business questions through designing, prototyping, and testing ideas with users

Question 49

Design system

Answer 49

A series of reusable visual elements and guidelines that allow teams to design and develop a product following predetermined standards

Question 50

Design thinking

Answer 50

A UX design framework that focuses on the user throughout all five phases: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test

Question 51

Digital literacy

Answer 51

A user’s level of ability related to using digital information and technologies

Question 52

Direct competitors

Answer 52

Companies that have offerings similar to your product and focus on the same audience

Question 53

Dividers

Answer 53

A method of containment that uses single lines to separate sections of a page

Question 54

Domain

Answer 54

Address of your website

Question 55

Dopamine

Answer 55

A natural chemical in the brain that’s released when something pleasurable happens, which makes us feel good or intrigued

Question 56

Edge case

Answer 56

What happens when things go wrong that are beyond the user’s control

Question 57

Elements

Answer 57

Building blocks for creating a design

Question 58

Elevator pitch: A short, memorable description that explains a concept in an easy-to-understand way

Question 59

Empathize: The phase of design thinking that involves getting to know your user through research

Question 60

Empathy: The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation

Question 61

Empathy map: An easily understood chart that explains everything designers have learned about a type of user

Question 62

Emphasis: A way of attracting attention to text, a button, or another object in a design

Question 63

Entry-level job: Roles that do not require prior experience in the field

Question 64

Equality: Providing the same amount of opportunity and support

Question 65

F-shape layout: A website layout that assumes that users will likely browse content on the page following an F-shaped pattern

Question 66

Equity-focused design: Designing for groups that have been historically underrepresented or ignored when building products

Question 67

Facilitator: Runs the critique session and guide the process

Question 68

False consensus bias: The assumption that others will think the same way as you do

Question 69

Featured image layout: A website layout that places the user’s focus on a single image or video that often takes up the entire page above-the-fold

Question 70

Feedback: Asking for or receiving ideas about what is or isn’t working

Question 71

Feedback loops: The outcome a user gets at the end of a process

Question 72

Fidelity: How closely a design matches the look and feel of the final product

Question 73

Fill: A method of containment that assigns colors to borders and shapes

Question 74

First interview: Introductory call with a recruiter or hiring manager to determine whether a candidate meets the minimum set of requirements for the role

Question 75

Focal point: A specific and distinct area that sticks out on a web page or mobile screen design, to guide the users’ attention

Question 76

Font: The size, thickness, and emphasis of characters of text

Question 77

Foundational research: Helps designers understand why or if they should build the product and to better understand the user problem they are trying to solve

Question 78

Framework: Creates the basic structure that focuses and supports the problem you’re trying to solve

Question 79

Freelancers: UX designers who work for themselves and market their services to businesses to find customers

Question 80

Friendliness bias: The tendency of people to agree with those they like in order to maintain a non-confrontational conversation

Question 81

Front-end developer: Someone who writes code for all the user-facing interface, based on the UX designer’s specifications

Question 82

Generalist: A UX designer with a broad number of responsibilities

Question 83

Gestalt Principles: Describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns, and simplify complex images when we perceive objects

Question 84

Gesture: Any method of interaction a user has with information on their device using touch

Question 85

Goal statement: One or two sentences that describe a product and its benefits for the user

Question 86

Graceful degradation (top-down designing): A method of designing from the largest screen, with a lot of features and interactions, to smaller screens, where features and interactions are scaled back

Question 87

Graphic designers: Create visuals that tell a story or message

Question 88

Grid of cards layout: A website layout that features a series of cards, which are often square or rectangles, that provide previews of more detailed content

Question 89

Hamburger menus: A nickname for the type of navigation menu that is represented by an icon with three lines. When you click on the icon, it unfolds by sliding in from the side or taking over the whole page, revealing a menu of options to navigate through pages

Question 90

Happy path: A user story with a pleasant ending

Question 91

Heading: Titles or subtitles that stand out at the beginning of a paragraph, article, section, or another area of a website

Question 92

Hierarchy: A visual design principle that orders elements on a page and highlights them by their importance

Question 93

Hierarchical model: A top-down approach to structure that starts with broader categories of information (parent) and narrows into more detailed information (child)

Question 94

High-fidelity (hi-fi): A design that closely matches the look and feel of the final product and is more refined or polished; called “hi-fi” for short

Question 95

High-fidelity prototypes: Polished designs that exhibit functionality and closely match the look and feel of the final product

Question 96

Hypothesis statement: Our best educated guess on what we think the solution to a design problem might be

Question 97

Iconography: A system of graphic images or symbols associated with a subject or an idea

Question 98

Ideate: The phase of design thinking that involves brainstorming all potential solutions to the user’s problem

Question 99

Ideation: The process of generating a broad set of ideas on a given topic, with no attempt to judge or evaluate them

Question 100

Implicit bias: The collection of attitudes and stereotypes associated with people, without one’s conscious knowledge

Question 101

Impostor syndrome: The belief that you’re unskilled, inferior to others, or bad at your job, despite your successes

Question 102

Inclusive design: Making design choices that take into account personal identifiers like ability, race, economic status, language, age, and gender

Question 103

Indirect competitors: Have a similar set of offerings but focus on a different audience, or have a different set of offerings and focus on the same audience

Question 104

Information architecture (IA): Organizes content to help users understand where they are in a product and where the information they want is

Question 105

Initial focus: How you attract a user’s attention to help them accomplish a task

Question 106

Insight: An observation about people that helps you understand the user or their needs from a new perspective

Question 107

Interaction designers: Focus on designing the experience of a product and how it functions

Question 108

Interactivity: Makes the prototype function

Question 109

Internship: A short-term role with limited responsibility

Question 110

Interviews: A research method used to collect in-depth information on people’s opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings

Question 111

Iterate: Revise the original design to create a new and improved version

Question 112

Iteration: Doing something again, by building on previous versions and making tweaks

Question 113

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Critical measures of progress toward an end goal

Question 114

Key terms: Important words in a job posting that tell you the specifics about the role

Question 115

Landmarks: Features — like navigation bars, search boxes, fixed sidebars, and footers — used to break up a lot of text on a web page and help improve the use of assistive technology

Question 116

Layout: The structure that supports how visual components on a page are arranged

Question 117

Layout grid: A series of columns and alleys that allow you to organize elements in a design

Question 118

Lorem ipsum: Meaningless placeholder text written in Latin that you can use to show where content will go and how a page will be laid out

Question 119

Low fidelity (lo-fi): A design that has a lower amount of complexity and is less refined or polished; called “lo-fi” for short

Question 120

Low-fidelity prototypes: Simple interactive structures that provide a basic idea of how products will look and behave

Question 121

Matrix model: A website structure that allows users to determine their own path, since content is linked in several ways

Question 122

Mental models: Internal maps that allow humans to predict how something will work

Question 123

Methodology: The steps to take to conduct research, collect data, and analyze data

Question 124

Mobile-first philosophy: A method of design that starts by designing the mobile version of a product and later adapts it to fit larger screens

Question 125

Mockup: A static, high-fidelity design that’s used as a representation of a final product

Question 126

Motion: A way to animate static design elements to focus the user’s attention and tell stories

Question 127

Motion designers: Think about what it feels like for a user to move through a product

Question 128

Multi-column layout: A web page layout that uses two or more columns for content

Question 129

Navigation: The way users get from page to page on a website

Question 130

Negative (white) space: The gaps between elements in a design

Question 131

Networking: Interacting with other people to develop professional contacts and learn more about a job industry

Question 132

Next Billion Users (NBU): The billion people around the world who are accessing the web for the first time

Question 133

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): A contract that gives one party legal protection against another party stealing their ideas or revealing proprietary information before a product is launched

Question 134

Notetaker: The person who captures all of the ideas and feedback from the reviewers during a design critique

Question 135

Pain points: UX issues that frustrate the user and block the user from getting what they need

Question 136

Panel interview: A group of people meet a job candidate at the same time to assess the candidate’s skills

Question 137

Payment schedule: A list of expected payment dates, including upfront costs and contingencies

Question 138

Peer reviews: Assignments that enable learners to provide feedback on each other’s assignment submissions

Question 139

Persona: A fictional user whose goals and characteristics represent the needs of a larger group of users

Question 140

Personal brand: The way in which your personality, unique skills, and values as a designer intersect with your public persona

Question 141

Personal statement: A one- or two-sentence phrase that describes what you do and what you stand for

Question 142

Personally Identifiable information (PII): Specific details that could be used to identify a user

Question 143

Platform: The medium that users experience your product on

Question 144

Portfolio: A collection of work you’ve created that shows your skills in a certain area

Question 145

Post-launch research: Helps designers understand if the product worked as expected

Question 146

Presentation: A group of slides, where each slide has new information to share and promote insights

Question 147

Presenter: The designer who is sharing their work with others in the session

Question 148

Primacy bias: Remembering the first user more than others

Question 149

Primary research: Research you conduct yourself

Question 150

Problem statement: A clear description of the user’s need that should be addressed

Question 151

Product: A good, service, or feature

Question 152

Product designer: Someone who is responsible for figuring out how the whole product comes together

Question 153

Product goal statement: One or two sentences that describe a product and its benefits for the user

Question 154

Production designers: Make sure first and final designs match in the finished project materials and that the assets are ready to be handed off to engineering team

Question 155

Progressive enhancement (bottom-up designing): Designing from the smallest screen, with the basic capabilities of the product design, to the largest screen, where more advanced features and interactions are added

Question 156

Project background: provides a description about the background of the study, including why the insights were needed and what impact they will have on decisions being made

Question 157

Project stakeholders: People who are involved in the project or who will be impacted by its results

Question 158

Proportion: The balance or harmony between elements that are scaled

Question 159

Proposal: Outline of an approach to successfully deliver work that is scoped with a client, including timeline and budget estimates

Question 160

Prototype: An early model of a product that demonstrates functionality

Question 161

Proximity: The Gestalt Principle describing how elements that are close together appear to be more related than those that are spaced apart

Question 162

Qualitative research: Focuses on observations about why and how things happen

Question 163

Quantitative research: Focuses on data that can be gathered by counting or measuring

Question 164

Recency bias: Most easily remembering the last thing you heard

Question 165

Representative sample: A subset of the target population that seeks to accurately reflect the characteristics of the larger group

Question 166

Research report: A document with fewer visuals containing the same information as a presentation to share and promote insights

Question 167

Research study: A step-by-step examination of a group of users and their needs, which adds realistic context to the design process

Question 168

Responsive web app: An actual website that adapts to the device the user is on and is accessed through a mobile phone’s web browser

Question 169

Responsive web design: Allows a website to change automatically depending on the size of the device

Question 170

Retrospective: A collaborative critique of the team’s design sprint

Question 171

Reviewier: Gives feedback about the design and offers clear actions to take

Question 172

Scale: Concept that’s used to explain the size relationship between a given element and the other elements in the design

Question 173

Scalable: Describes a system that’s able to maintain performance levels when workload increases

Question 174

Scope creep: This is when the details of a project you’re planning, or scoping, slowly increase until the project is much more complex than what was originally planned

Question 175

Scope of work: A document that outlines the project that will be completed with a client

Question 176

Screen reader: Software that reads aloud any on-screen text, interactive elements, or alternative text

Question 177

Screener survey: A detailed list of questions that helps researchers determine if potential participants meet the requirements of the research study

Question 178

Second round of interviews: Interviewers explore a job candidate’s experience in more depth, often in person, so that the team can understand how the candidate’s background fits the role

Question 179

Secondary research: Research that uses information someone else has put together

Question 180

Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information: Data that if lost, compromised, or stolen, could cause your users financial harm, embarrassment, or discrimination

Question 181

Serial position effect: When given a list of items, people are more likely to remember the first few and the last few, while the items in the middle tend to blur

Question 182

Shadows: A method of containment that creates dimension in combination with borders or fill

Question 183

Similarity: The Gestalt Principle describing how elements that look similar are perceived to have the same function

Question 184

Single column layout: A web page layout that has only one column for content

Question 185

Sitemap: A diagram of a website or application that shows how pages are prioritized, linked, and labeled

Question 186

Social desirability bias: The tendency for people to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others

Question 187

Specialist: A UX designer that dives deep into one particular UX design role, like interaction, visual, or motion design

Question 188

Speech to text: Software that allows users to compose text by speaking into their device

Question 189

Spreadsheet note-taking: A simple and easy method to keep your notes organized using a spreadsheet

Question 190

Sprint Brief: A document that you share with all your attendees to help them prepare for the sprint

Question 191

Startup: A new business that wants to develop a unique product or service and disrupt the market

Question 192

Statement of Work: A legally binding document that includes a list of detailed deliverables, their due dates, and a payment schedule

Question 193

Storyboard: A series of panels or frames that visually describes and explores a user’s experience with a product

Question 194

Sunk cost fallacy: The idea that the deeper we get into a project we’ve invested in, the harder it is to change course

Question 195

Surveys: An activity where many people are asked the same questions in order to understand what most people think about a product

Question 196

Switch device: An assistive technology device that replaces the need to use a computer keyboard or a mouse

Question 197

System Usability Scale (SUS): A questionnaire to measure the usability of designs

Question 198

T-shaped designer: A designer who specializes in one kind of user experience (e.g., interaction, visual, motion) and has a breadth of knowledge in other areas

Question 199

Test: The phase of design thinking that involves facilitating and observing user tests with your design prototypes

Question 200

The human factor: Describes the range of variables humans bring to their product interactions

Question 201

Tiered layer cake layout: A web page layout where individual rows, or layers, are stacked on top of one another, and within each row, there can be different numbers of columns

Question 202

Time on task: The amount of time it takes for a user to complete a task

Question 203

Traversal order: The navigation flow for a user on an app or a website

Question 204

Typography: The technique of arranging letters and text to make the language readable, clear, and visually appealing

Question 205

Typographic hierarchy: The ordering of typefaces and fonts in a layout to create divisions that show users where to focus and how to find information

Question 206

Typeface: The overall style of the characters

Question 207

Type classification: A general system to describe styles of type, like serif and sans serif

Question 208

Unity: Measures how well elements of your design work together to communicate an idea

Question 209

Universal design: The process of creating one product for users with the widest range of abilities and in the widest range of situations

Question 210

Usability study: A research method that assesses how easy it is for participants to complete core tasks in a design

Question 211

Use of navigation vs. search: The number of people who use a website or app’s navigation compared to the number of people who use the search functionality

Question 212

User: Any person who uses a product

Question 213

User-centered design: Puts the user front-and-center

Question 214

User error rates: Indicate the parts of a design that cause users to make errors

Question 215

User experience: How a person, the user, feels about interacting with, or experiencing, a product

Question 216

User flow: The path taken by a typical user on an app or a website, so they can complete a task from start to finish

Question 217

User group: A set of people who have similar interests, goals, or concerns

Question 218

User interface (UI) designer: Someone who is concerned with how a digital product’s interface looks and functions

Question 219

User journey: The series of experiences a user has as they interact with a product

Question 220

User story: Fictional one-sentence story told from a persona’s point of view to inspire and inform design decisions

Question 221

UX designers: Focus on how users interact with a product

Question 222

UX engineers: Translate the design’s intent into a functioning experience

Question 223

UX program managers: Ensure clear and timely communication so that the process of building a useful product moves smoothly from start to finish

Question 224

UX research: Understand users and learn about their backgrounds, demographics, motivations, pain points, emotions, and life goals

Question 225

UX researchers: A type of researcher that conducts studies or interviews to learn about the users of a product and how people use a product

Question 226

UX writers: Create the language that appears throughout a digital product, like websites or mobile apps

Question 227

Value proposition: The reason why a consumer should use a product or service

Question 228

Variety: Differentiating the elements in your design to add visual interest

Question 229

Visual balance: The sense that a design is equally weighted on both sides of its emphasized center

Question 230

Visual design: How a product or technology appears to users

Question 231

Visual designer: Someone who focuses on how the product or technology looks

Question 232

Visual weight: A measure of the force that an element exerts to attract the eye

Question 233

Voice control: Allows users to navigate and interact with the buttons and screens on their devices using only their voice

Question 234

Vulnerable populations: Groups of people who have limited ability to provide their consent or have special privacy concerns

Question 235

WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Question 236

WebAIM: Web Accessibility in Mind

Question 237

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): A set of rules that explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities

Question 238

Whiteboard interview: Includes a practical demonstration of a job candidate’s skills in real time for interviewers

Question 239

Wireframe: An outline or a sketch of a product or a screen