UX Design Practice Test #1

UX/UI

user experience and user interface

UX Design

The practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with a focus placed on the quality and enjoyment of the total experience; concerns the way that users interact with a product and focuses on the user's onscreen and offscreen experience.

UX Research

The systematic study of users to determine and better understand their needs, behaviors, and motivations.

UX Researcher

Champion of user's needs
Answer "who are our users?" and "what do our users want?"
Interview users, research market data, gather findings
Test alternate designs with users
Deliver: Usability plans, usability reports

Information Architecture

the set of ideas about how all information in a given context should be organized and displayed; blueprint maker

Content Strategy

a plan that outlines the development and management of content needed for a project; when and how content will be created.

Wireframing

Blueprints that define the layout, behavior, and functionality of a website

Prototyping

the process of building a model that demonstrates the features of a proposed product, service, or system

Usability Testing

Testing to determine the extent to which the software product is understood, easy to learn, easy to operate and attractive to the users under specified conditions.

Accessibility

The analyzation of how well a product has been designed for a vast array of peoples; ensuring that a design is usable by as many people as possible; Inclusive

Information Architect

Clarifies the mission and goals of the design; assists in determining the functionality of the product; instrumental in defining the organization, navigation, and labeling

Interaction Designer

Focuses on how a user interacts with a product and how they experience using it; designs the details of an interface, including movement, animation, user flows, and visual aesthetics.

UI Designer

Establishes the look, feel, and experience of a product from layout and placement to the visual nitty-gritty such as buttons, colors, and fonts

Product Designer

a career relating to the design and creation of models for commercial products; UX Designer

Front-end Developer

Take the designs from UI and UX, and combine with the Interaction and Visual Designs
Tools: CSS, HTML, JavaScript
Deliver: Working website

T Shaped Designer

Has an arsenal of skills and depth in one discipline but a breadth of experience across other disciplines.

Design Thinking

Research, question, and understand the user the product or service is is designed for by observing, engaging, reframing, and experimenting; empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test

Deliverables

Tangible records of work throughout the process of a design such as data, reports, presentations, sketches, wireframes, prototypes

Empathy

Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, needs, and motivations

Artifacts

the concrete items produced by the designer; a "single source of truth", guides and specifications for implementation and reference

Persona

a fictional profile used to communicate and summarize user research from a large group of users

Empathy Map

a graphical tool used to help you imagine things from a user's perspective; insight into the mindset of the user by collectivizing opinions

Quantitative Survey

a survey in which objective questions are used to gain detailed insights from respondents; findings are presented in numerical form, such as percentages and frequencies

Quantitative Research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

Qualitative Research

informal research methods, including observation, following social media sites, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques

Problem Statement

A part of a design brief that clearly and concisely identifies a client's or target consumer's problem, need, or want.

Competitive Analysis Report

outlines the strengths and weaknesses of a competitors compared to those of a client's business to know what your competitors are offering, what needs you can fill, and what problems you can find solutions for.

Human/User-Centered Design

an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first; uses the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process

User Research

Obtaining users' responses through questionnaires/surveys and interviews.

UI Design

Focuses specifically on the screen. It incorporates visual design, including layout, color theme, and use of negative space between elements

Responsive Design

Designing a website so that it changes depending on the device it is displayed on; understanding the differences between the features and elements that are used on a smartphone and those that are used on a tablet or computer

Back-end Developer

A developer who focuses mainly on the data, modeling, and server side of code for a website

Full Stack Development

A developer who is knowledgeable in both the data and visual sides of web design

Multidisciplinary Team

a group of professionals from different disciplines who function as a team but perform their roles independent of one another

Universal Design

the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to provide a universal set of standards promoting accessibility.

Usability

The extent to which users can attain goals.

Iteration

To use learning from a product to continue to change and improve it

Divergent Thinking

Think broadly, keep an open mind, and consider anything and everything.

Convergent Thinking

Think narrowly, bring back focus, and identify one or two key problems and solutions

Journey Map/ Storyboard

a visualization of how a user interacts with a product

Generative Research

generate ideas at the start of a project or improvement

Evaluative Research

evaluate performance once a product is ready to test or has been released

Behavioral Research

shows what people actually do when they use a product

Attitudinal Research

shows how people feel during their experience with a product

Proto-Persona

an informal persona based on how you think the users' might use the product

Scenario

a situation with at least one person and a series of events

Touchpoints

anytime a user comes into contact with the product or a representation on the product

Formative Research

assess the performance of a product throughout its lifestyle

Summative Research

assess the current state of a product

Insight

what the results actually mean

Visual Design

a practice that focuses on the aesthetics of a design by strategically implementing images, colors, fonts, and other elements

Elements of Visual Design

Color/lines/space/shape/typography/texture/alignment

Color

The perception of light reflecting off an object.

Lines

the connection of two or more points in a plane or flat surface

Space

the empty area around an element; negative space or white space

Shapes

enclosed elements with two dimensions; length and width

Typography

the technique of designing and arranging type with the goal of legibility, intrigue, and appeal.

Texture

an implied texture in the form of patterns created by lines, shapes, colors, values, shadows, or highlights.

Alignment

creates visual balance between elements and can help readers' eyes follow content in order.

Principles of VD

unity/balance/hierarchy/dominance/scale/variety/contrast/proximity

Unity

a sense of harmony between all elements in a design.

Balance

the distribution of elements in a design.

Heirarchy

the difference in importance of the elements.

Dominance

focus to a single element above others.

Scale

the relative sizes of the elements in a design.

Variety

varying elements in designs to avoid monotony.

Contrast

elements appear opposite or different.

Proximity

when elements are close together. When elements are they appear to share a common meaning or purpose.

Skeuomorphism

a type of visual design that mimics elements of real-life products or features. e.g. wood, stone and shadows around a click icon.

Minimalism

This style strips designs down to their essentials. There are two types: flat and material

Flat Design

a minimalist design style that removes all stylistic textures that imitate the real world.

Material Design

it uses minimalistic shapes and colors, but it also suggests "material" or physical layers. It uses shadows and highlights to create depth in visual designs

Target Market

a set of people who have common purchasing preferences