User Experience (UX) theory and practice can be confusing for the uninitiated. This talk outlines a set of UX Axioms designers and developers alike can use to integrate UX into their practice. Erik shares hard-won lessons learned from practicing UX in the real world for over 10 years. Building real products and services involves an ongoing series of design compromises. There is no ideal process or magic bullet for integrating UX or creating amazing user experiences. However, understanding and applying UX Axioms will allow you to adapt to the situation at hand and build products that resonate with and delight your end-users. More info at http://www.uxaxioms.com/

1. UX
axioms
Erik Dahl eadahl@gmail.com @eadahl
#uxaxioms

2. @eadahl
#uxaxioms

3. ...a boutique design consultancy
and innovation lab. We help
companies design products and
services that deliver great
experiences for their customers by
turning human experiences with
technology products into positive,
meaningful interactions.
BOSTON, MA
COLUMBUS, OH
@goinvo

4. #designaxioms

5. #healthaxioms

6. UX
axioms
#uxaxioms

7. “IF YOU THINK GOOD DESIGN IS
EXPENSIVE, YOU SHOULD LOOK
AT THE COST OF BAD DESIGN”
Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar
#uxaxioms

8. WTF IS UX?
#uxaxioms

9. Interface Design: as in traditional HCI:
design of interface elements to facilitate
user interaction with functionality
Information Design: in the Tuftean sense:
designing the presentation of information
to facilitate understanding
Navigatio
elements
through th
Informatio
designing
to facilita
Interface Design Navigation Design
Information Design
Interaction Information
Design
Architecture
Interaction Design: development of
application flows to facilitate user tasks,
defining how the user interacts with
site functionality
Informatio
of the info
intuitive a
Functional
Content
Specifications Requirements
User Needs: externally derived goals
for the site; identified through user research,
ethno/techno/psychographics, etc.
Site Objectives: business, creative, or other
internally derived goals for the site
Abstract
Content R
content e
in order to
User Needs
Site Objectives
Functional Specifications: "feature set":
detailed descriptions of functionality the site
must include in order to meet user needs
#uxaxioms
Visual De
graphic p
componen
Visual Design
Visual Design: graphic treatment of interface
elements (the "look" in "look-and-feel")
task-oriented
Completion
Concrete
time
Web as software interface
User Need
for the sit
ethno/tec
Site Objec
internally
Conception
This picture is incomplete: The model outlined here does not account for secondary considerations (such as those arising during techn
that may influence decisions during user experience development. Also, this model does not describe a development process, nor doe
user experience development team. Rather, it seeks to define the key considerations that go into the development of user experience o
www.slideshare.net/Hienadz.Drahun/50-visual-definitions-of-user-experience
© 2000 Jesse James Garrett

10. Completion
Concrete
USER EXPERIENCE (UX) DESIGN IS
A HOLISTIC ORIENTATION LOOKING
Information Design
Interaction Information
AT HOW ‘WHAT WE Design Architecture
MAKE’
IMPACTS PEOPLE, BUSINESS, Content
AND
Functional
Specifications Requirements
THE WORLD; AS WELL AS THE
User Needs
Site Objectives
STRATEGY TO IMPLEMENT IT
Visual Design
Abstract
#uxaxioms
time
Interface Design Navigation Design
Conception

11. AXIOM NO. 01
IT’S ALL ABOUT PEOPLE;
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE OBJECT
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

12. Joe Ballay

13. ...it is in its transparency that
it fulfills its function

14. AXIOM NO. 02
FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE,
NOT ON THE FUNCTION
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

15. ACTIVITY
Get out something to
write on/with.

16. ACTIVITY
You have 20 seconds.
Design a vase.

17. ACTIVITY
You have 20 seconds.
Design a vase.
Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.

18. ACTIVITY
You have 20 seconds.
Design a vase.
Design a better way
for people to enjoy
flowers in their home.
Design a better way
for people to connect
with nature.

19. AXIOM NO. 03
STORIES ARE HOW WE
UNDERSTAND AND
SHAPE THE WORLD
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

20. Pace Layers

21. Clifford Geertz
Culture is simply the ensemble of stories
we tell ourselves about ourselves.

22. Harry Crews

23. Truth of the matter was, stories was
everything and everything was stories.
Everybody told stories. It was a way of
saying who they were in the world. It
was their understanding of themselves.
It was letting themselves know how
they believed the world worked; the right
way and the way that was not so right.

24. 15 Core Meanings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Accomplishment
Beauty
Community
Creation
Duty
Enlightenment
Freedom
Harmony
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Justice
Oneness
Redemption
Security
Truth
Validation
Wonder
www.makingmeaning.org

25. AXIOM NO. 04
PAY ATTENTION
TO PATTERNS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

26. Culture is an underlying shared
system of information and knowledge
that is manifest through patterns of
norms, behaviors and signifiers.

27. AXIOM NO. 05
PROBLEM FINDING BEFORE
PROBLEMS SOLVING
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

28. “If I had an hour to solve a problem
and my life depended on the solution,
I would spend the first fifty-five
minutes determining the proper
question to ask, for once I know the
proper question, I could solve the
problem in less than five minutes.”
Albert Einstein

29. “If I had eight hours
to chop down a tree,
I’d spend six
sharpening my axe.”
Abraham Lincoln

32. PROBLEM
SOLVERS
PROBLEM
FINDERS
!
!
HOW DO I DO
GOOD WORK?
WHAT IS
GOOD WORK?

33. REFRAME THE PROBLEM TO
OPEN UP NEW SOLUTIONS

34. GLOBAL VS. LOCAL MAXIMA

35. AXIOM NO. 06
EXPOSE AND CHALLENGE
ASSUMPTIONS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

36. “Uncertainty is an
uncomfortable position,
but certainty is an
absurd one.”
Voltaire

37. AXIOM NO. 07
EXPLORE THE BIG PICTURE
AND THE DETAILS AT ONCE
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

38. AXIOM NO. 08
KNOW YOUR MATERIALITY:
PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY,
BUSINESS, AESTHETICS…
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

39. SYNTHESIS OF MANY FIELDS
!
CONSTANTLY EVOLVING LANDSCAPE

40. Sell your expertise and you have a
limited repertoire. Sell your ignorance
and you have an unlimited repertoire.
- RSW on Charles Eames

41. AXIOM NO. 09
DON’T TRUST WHAT PEOPLE
SAY; OPEN YOUR EYES
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

42. “What people say, what people do, and
what they say they do are entirely
different things.”
- Margaret Mead

43. AXIOM NO. 10
CREATE MODELS
NOT JUST NARRATIVES;
USE FRAMEWORKS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

44. Target Personas | :30 Minutes to Shop This diagram shows how each persona would spend 30 minutes of their online experience.
Deal Addict
The Deal Addict will split their time
between Browsing and Shopping.
Their Browsing is punctuated by an
effort to find the best deal regardless
of the product. Their Shopping is
defined by comparative pricing.
Basic Value
Inspire Me
Inspire Me will spend a majority of
their time Browsing. Their
experience is marked by an indirect
path through the product offering to
find something that excites them.
Basic Value will not spend any time
in the Research or Browse phases
and will spend as little time as
possible in the Shop phase. They
want to get their shopping done and
get on with life.
Flexible Learner
The Flexible Learner will split their
time evenly across the phases as
they inform themselves. They may
not finalize the purchase within the
30 minute window.
Critical Explorer
Critical Explorer will spend all of their
time in the Research phase. They
are unlikely to complete their
Research and commit to a purchase
within the 30 minute window.
Research
Research is the gathering and/or
analysis of detailed information about
a specific product, groups of products
or services.
The Critical Explorer will
move out of the Research
phase if/when the right
product is identified.
Browse
Browse is the perusal of products or
services without the direct intention of
purchasing.
Shop
Shopping is the act of searching for a
specific product, groups of products or
services with the direct intention of
purchasing.
Deal Addict will move
from Shop to Purchase if
they are confident they
are getting the best deal.
Purchase
Flexible Learner will
move onto Shop only
when they are confident
in their decision.
Inspire Me will move
out of Browse when
something delights
them.
Basic Value will move
out of the Shop phase
when the needed
product is located.
Purchasing is the act of the exchange
or transaction between the guest and
the store.
Goal
Save Money
See What’s New
Supply Basic
Needs
Feel Confidence
Find More
Information
EMOTIONAL
Heuristics
ANALYTICAL
Deal Addict needs to feel powerful
and successful at saving money;
feed that need with information
about savings.
Inspire Me shops for pleasure,
wants to surf around. Help them
jump from one idea to the next to
see what is hot.
Basic Value will appreciate
consistency. Keep designs and
interactions for basic shopping
activities consistent and
predictable.
Flexible Learner needs to stay in a
comfort zone. Provide a
consistent experience with
information, language and
interactions across channels.
Critical Explorer wants in-depth
information about products. Help
them dig deep to find out more
and provide that information.

45. Fitbit One

46. LABAN MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
Light
Direct
Sudden
WEIGHT
SPACE
TIME
Strong
Indirect
Sustained

47. LABAN MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
Light
Direct
Sudden
PUNCHING
WEIGHT
SPACE
TIME
Strong
Indirect
Sustained

48. LABAN MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
Light
Direct
Sudden
WEIGHT
SPACE
GLIDING
TIME
Strong
Indirect
Sustained

49. AXIOM NO. 11
REFRAME CONSTRAINTS AS
FORCING FUNCTIONS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

50. New Languages

51. AXIOM NO. 12
TAME COMPLEXITY;
DON’T SIMPLIFY
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

52. i
DESIGN
OPPORTUNITY
COMPLEXITY
$
TIME

53. The law of conservation of complexity
in human-computer interaction states
that every application has an inherent
amount of complexity. This complexity
cannot be wished away and has to be
dealt with, either in product
development or in user interaction.
Larry Tesler, Xerox PARC

54. COMPLEX, BUT NOT COMPLICATED

55. AXIOM NO. 13
MAKE NON-ARBITRARY
DESIGN DECISIONS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

56. AXIOM NO. 14
SET AND MANAGE
EXPECTATIONS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

57. AXIOM NO. 15
EVERYTHING IS DESIGNED
AND EVERYTHING IS A
DESIGN CHALLENGE
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

58. AXIOM NO. 16
BREAK SILOS;
YOUR ROLE IS BIGGER
THAN YOU THINK
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

59. AXIOM NO. 17
SAY ‘YES AND’;
DON’T ALWAYS ASSUME
‘EITHER OR’
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

61. AXIOM NO. 18
IT’S ABOUT THE LIFECYCLE, THE
JOURNEY AND THE TRANSITIONS;
NOT JUST KEY MOMENTS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

62. AXIOM NO. 19
EXTERNALIZE YOUR WORK
FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

64. AXIOM NO. 20
CREATE AND CLOSE
FEEDBACK LOOPS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

65. AXIOM NO. 21
MAKE STUFF AND
THEN KILL IT
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

67. AXIOM NO. 22
CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

68. AXIOM NO. 23
FOCUS ON A SINGLE THING
AND DO IT REALLY WELL
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

69. AXIOM NO. 24
UNDERSTAND AND PLAY
WITH EMOTION
#uxaxioms
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71. AXIOM NO. 25
ENGENDER TRUST
#uxaxioms
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72. AXIOM NO. 26
COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS
#uxaxioms
@eadahl

73. IF A THING IS WORTH DOING,
IT’S WORTH DOING WELL.
#uxaxioms

74. www.uxaxioms.com
#uxaxioms

75. THANKS!
Erik Dahl eadahl@gmail.com @eadahl