Basic ux ui terms everyone should know

6/19/2017 Basic UX/UI Terms Everyone Should Know

https://blog.designveloper.com/2017/06/15/basic-ux-ui-terms/ 1/7

Í

Basic UX/UI Terms Everyone ShouldKnow

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what you wanted your product to look like, but you

had no idea how to communicate with the design agency what you meant in designer-speak? It felt like

foreign language, didn’t it?

Pretty much every job has its own language or set of terms that those working in that field use on an

everyday level, whether it’s being a doctor, a lawyer or a designer. However, this can be quite a

challenge for clients who are not involved in the design industry. So, that’s why we’re here – make thing

easier.

In case you want to be more prepared as you meet prospective agencies, I’ve compiled some of the

most common UX/UI terminologies to help you make sure you are speaking the same language with

designers.

Related: Basic Glossary Of Web Design Terms For Non-Designers

(https://blog.designveloper.com/2016/10/26/web-design-terms/)

First, let’s make clear what’s different between UX and UI:

W E B S I T E D E S I G N ( H T T P S : / / B L O G . D E S I G N V E L O P E R . C O M / C A T E G O R Y / W E B S I T E -D E S I G N / )

B y V a n D o ( h t t p s : // b l o g . d e s i g n v e l o p e r . c o m / a u t h o r / v a n d o / ) o n J u n e 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

Û

Í



UX (User experience) : UX focuses on the human interaction with the computer or device.

UI (User Interface): The user interface is simply how a user interacts with the design on a page.

Okay, it’s time to find out others. Let’s scroll!

A/B test ing

At its core, A/B testing is exactly what it sounds like: You take two versions of a product , and present

them side by side to a group of users, to determine which one performs better and which one the users

likes more.

BreadcrumbBreadcrumbs are a navigation trail that show users where they have been on your website. Taking a

website which has a lot of pages as an example, breadcrumb navigation in this case can greatly

enhance the way users find their way around.

Call to ActionIt’s a term used for describing specific texts, images, banners or buttons that encourage the reader or

viewer of a website to take an expected, predetermined action.

Simple examples include: “Click here” or “Buy now”.

Conversion

Í



This term is used to describe when visitors take whatever action that you want them to make such as:

completing a web form, submitting a request for information, subscribing to a newsletter or making an

e-commerce purchase.

Flat DesignThis is a design philosophy that focuses on clean and minimalist styles. Quite literally, flat means

design that has no dimensional depth. Instead of designing elements that look like you can reach out

and grab them, flat design goes back to the basics of graphics – bright colors, primitive shapes, icons,

etc.

Information ArchitectureIt refers to the organization of the information, dealing with what pages go where in a website’s

structure, what content is contained on each page and how each of these interact with other pages

within the site

Landing pageIn the purest sense, a landing page is any web page that a visitor can arrive at or “land” on. Oftentimes,

a special landing page is designed for a specific business purpose (usually in connection with an

advertising or marketing campaign)

Micro-interaction

Í



Let’s have a look at this example:. When you see the red and white box icon on Facebook, you

automatically know that you have a new message and immediately click on it to read messages. That’s

micro-interactions.

Micro-interactions make devices more human-like in their moments. As a result, the design is more

usable and enjoyable.

Mock-upMockups are basically real size models of how your design is planned to look.

PrototypeMany people cannot distinguish prototype from wireframe. Look at it this way: Wireframe is just a low

detailed presentation of a product, but prototype is a medium or highly detailed representation of the

final product.

It’s the sample model of the product that gives the ability to test it and see if the solutions and

decisions made about the product are efficient.

PersonasA persona is a profile of your one ideal customer. It is usually a fictional character created based on

your user research and interview data.

Í



Responsive DesignResponsive design creates the layout magically adjusts itself to fit any sizes of the screen, whether

desktop, mobile or smart phone.

Check it out: 5 Compelling Reasons Why Your Website Should Be Responsive

(https://blog.designveloper.com/2016/09/13/responsive-website-design/)

White SpaceWhite space is also called called negative space. It’s the blank space that surrounds text, images or

other parts of the page. One more thing adding, white space is not necessarily white but uses the

background color of the site.

Wireframe

In short, wireframe is a skeleton of you app or product. As I mentioned above, it’s a low detailed

presentation of a design – no images, no content, no interactive elements. It’s like your website

blueprint. Designers will take the main group of content that you want and lay it out exactly as it will be

on your product.

Í



ConclusionThat’s a look at some of the more common UX/UI terms you’ll see in the design world. Now you’re

practically a designer, right? Just kidding! But guess what? You are totally ready for your meetings with

a design agency!

By no means is this the be-all-end-all of web design terminology… so feel free to add your own glossary

in the comments as well.

(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?

u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.designveloper.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fbasic-

ux-ui-

terms%2F)

(http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

source=Designveloper

Software

agency

-

Meteor

prime

partner&text=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.designveloper.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fbasic-

ux-ui-

terms%2F)

¬

(https://plus.google.com/share?

url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.designveloper.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fbasic-

ux-ui-

terms%2F)

Ɩ

(http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?

mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.designveloper.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fbasic-

ux-ui-

terms%2F&title=Basic%20UX%2FUI%20Terms%20Everyone%20Should%20Know&summary=Have%20you%20ever%20been%20in%20a%20situation%20where%20you%20knew%20what%20you%20wanted%20your%20product%20to%20look%20like%2C%20but%20you%20had%20no%20idea%20how%20to%20communicate%20with%20the%20design%20agency%20what%20you%20meant%20in%20designer-

speak%3F%20It%20felt%20like%20foreign%20language%2C%20didn%E2%80%99t%20it%3F%20Pretty%20much%20every%20job%20has%20its%20own%20language%20or%20set%20of%20terms%20that%20%5B%26hellip%3B%5D&source=Designveloper

Software

agency

-

Meteor

prime

partner)

ã

(http://www.tumblr.com/share/link?

url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.designveloper.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fbasic-

ux-ui-

terms%2F&name=Basic%20UX%2FUI%20Terms%20Everyone%20Should%20Know&description=Have%20you%20ever%20been%20in%20a%20situation%20where%20you%20knew%20what%20you%20wanted%20your%20product%20to%20look%20like%2C%20but%20you%20had%20no%20idea%20how%20to%20communicate%20with%20the%20design%20agency%20what%20you%20meant%20in%20designer-

speak%3F%20It%20felt%20like%20foreign%20language%2C%20didn%E2%80%99t%20it%3F%20Pretty%20much%20every%20job%20has%20its%20own%20language%20or%20set%20of%20terms%20that%20%5B%26hellip%3B%5D)

Ŭ

design termsÜ user experienceÜ user interfaceÜ UX/UI termsÜ web design termsÜwebsite designÜ

Ű Best Free Icon Fonts That Web Designers Can Not Ignore (https://blog.designveloper.com/2017/06/07/best-

free-icon-fonts/)

% (https://blog.designveloper.com)

Y O U M AY A L S O L I K E

Í

Technology

Basic ux ui terms everyone should know