1. Design Principles:
The Philosophy of UX
Whitney Hess
@whitneyhess
http://whitneyhess.com
whitney@whitneyhess.com

2. Hi, I’m Whitney Hess
User Experience Designer
Consultant
New Yorker
@whitneyhess

3. stakeholder interviews
web analytics storyboards
sketching surveys A/B testing
prototyping flow diagrams
What we usually talk about
when we talk about UX
wireframes scenarios
sitemaps
personas card sorts
heuristic evaluation
usability testing
user research

4. User Experience is the
establishment
of a philosophy
about how to
treat people

5. Visual Design is the
establishment
of a philosophy
about how to
make an impact

6. Principles of
Visual Design

7. Contrast

8. Emphasis

9. Variety

10. Balance

11. Proportion

12. Repetition

13. Movement

14. Texture

15. Harmony

16. Unity

17. Why principles?
Consistency.
Constraints.
Shared vision.
Objective evaluation.

18. good
design
good
experience

21. good
L e t ’s
design
do t h
t o ge is
the r
=
!
good
experience

22. Principles of
Experience Design

23. Principles of Experience Design
1. Stay out of people’s way.
2. Create a hierarchy that matches people’s needs.
3. Limit distractions.
4. Provide strong information scent.
5. Provide signposts and cues.
6. Provide context.
7. Use constraints appropriately.
8. Make actions reversible.
9. Provide feedback.
10. Make a good first impression.

24. 1. Stay out of people’s way

25. 1. Stay out of people’s way

26. 1. Stay out of people’s way

27. 2. Create a hierarchy that
matches people’s needs

28. 2. Create a hierarchy that
matches people’s needs

29. 2. Create a hierarchy that
matches people’s needs

30. 3. Limit distractions

31. 3. Limit distractions

32. 3. Limit distractions

33. 4. Provide strong
information scent

34. 4. Provide strong
information scent

35. 4. Provide strong
information scent

36. 5. Provide signposts and cues

37. 5. Provide signposts and cues

38. 5. Provide signposts and cues

39. 6. Provide context

40. 6. Provide context

41. 6. Provide context

42. 7. Use constraints appropriately

43. 7. Use constraints appropriately

44. 7. Use constraints appropriately

45. 8. Make actions reversible

46. 8. Make actions reversible

47. 8. Make actions reversible

48. 9. Provide feedback

49. 9. Provide feedback

50. 9. Provide feedback

51. 10. Make a good first impression

52. 10. Make a good first impression

53. 10. Make a good first impression

54. Logos
consistency, logic
Persuasion
Ethos Pathos
credibility, trust emotions, imagination

55. Knowledge
consistency, logic
Purpose
Ethics Empathy
credibility, trust emotions, imagination

56. Are
universal principles
enough?

57. Design principles for
companies you know

58. “Ten principles that contribute
to a Googley user experience”
Focus on people – their lives, their work, their dreams.
Every millisecond counts.
Simplicity is powerful.
Engage beginners and attract experts.
Dare to innovate.
Design for the world.
Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
Delight the eye without distracting the mind.
Be worthy of people‘s trust.
Add a human touch.

59. “Ten principles that contribute
to a Googley user experience”
Focus on people – their lives, their work, their dreams.
Every millisecond counts.
Simplicity is powerful.
Engage beginners and attract experts.
Dare to innovate.
Design for the world.
Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
Delight the eye without distracting the mind.
Be worthy of people’s trust.
Add a human touch. http://www.google.com/corporate/ux.html

61. Facebook Design Principles
Universal.
Human.
Clean.
Consistent.
Useful.
Fast.
Transparent.

62. Facebook Design Principles
Universal.
Human.
Clean.
Consistent.
Useful.
Fast.
Transparent.
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=118951047792

64. Windows User Experience
Design Principles
Reduce concepts to increase confidence.
Small things matter, good and bad.
Be great at “look” and “do”.
Solve distractions, not discoverability.
UX before knobs and questions.
Personalization, not customization.
Value the life cycle of the experience.
Time matters, so build for people on the go.

65. Windows User Experience
Design Principles
Reduce concepts to increase confidence.
Small things matter, good and bad.
Be great at “look” and “do”.
Solve distractions, not discoverability.
UX before knobs and questions.
Personalization, not customization.
Value the life cycle of the experience.
Time matters, so build for people on the go.
http://msdn.microso.com/en-us/library/dd834141.aspx

67. Burning Man
Keep good company.
Notice the ordinary.
Preserve the ephemeral.
Design not for the elite but for the masses.
Explain it to a child.
Get lost in the content.
Get to the heart of the matter.
Never tolerate “OK anything.”
Remember your responsibility as a storyteller.
Zoom out.
Switch.
Prototype it.
Pun.
Make design your life… and life, your design.
Leave something behind.

68. Charles and Ray Eames
Keep good company.
Notice the ordinary.
Preserve the ephemeral.
Design not for the elite but for the masses.
Explain it to a child.
Get lost in the content.
Get to the heart of the matter.
Never tolerate “OK anything.”
Remember your responsibility as a storyteller.
Zoom out.
Switch.
Prototype it.
Pun.
Make design your life… and life, your design.
Leave something behind. http://www.amazon.com/Fieen-ﬔings-Charles-Ray-Teach/dp/193031700X

69. Burning Man
Radical Inclusion.
Giing.
Decommodification.
Radical Self-reliance.
Radical Self-expression.
Communal Effort.
Civic Responsibility.
Leaving No Trace.
Participation.
Immediacy.

70. Burning Man
Radical Inclusion.
Giing.
Decommodification.
Radical Self-reliance.
Radical Self-expression.
Communal Effort.
Civic Responsibility.
Leaving No Trace.
Participation.
Immediacy.
http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/principles.html

71. ﬔe Starbucks Experience
Make it your own.
Everything matters.
Surprise and delight.
Embrace resistance.
Leave your mark.

72. ﬔe Starbucks Experience
Make it your own.
Everything matters.
Surprise and delight.
Embrace resistance.
Leave your mark.
http://www.starbucksexperience.net/excerpts.html

73. What are
your company’s
principles?

74. Steps to Craing Your
Own Design Principles
1. Research available principles for competitors
and related organizations (even aspirational)
2. Gather, list and print out the business goals,
user needs and brand attributes
3. Brainstorm with key collaborators across
capabilities and functions
4. Narrow down to no more than 10, preferably 7
5. Ensure they don’t conflict or overlap
6. Ensure they’re pithy and memorable

75. 1. Does it come directly from research?
2. Does it help you say ‘No’ most of the time?
3. Does it distinguish your design from your competitors’?
4. Is it something you might reverse in a future release?
5. Have you evaluated it for this project?
6. Is its meaning constantly tested?
http://www.uie.com/articles/creating-design-principles/

76. When to Use Your
Design Principles
1. During the project kickoff meeting
2. When prioritizing features
3. Brainstorming sessions
4. Design critiques
5. Stakeholder presentations
6. Resolving conflict
7. Postmortems
8. Web metrics analysis

77. User Experience is the
establishment
of a philosophy
about how to
treat people

78. Bathroom mirror
Seaport Boston Hotel

79. Help people
make their
lives better

80. ﬔank you.
Whitney Hess
@whitneyhess
http://whitneyhess.com
whitney@whitneyhess.com