Accessibility Audit is the process of evaluating a digital product—such as a website, mobile app, or document—for compliance with accessibility standards and guidelines. It involves both automated and manual testing to identify barriers that may prevent people with disabilities from…
Affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of an object—physical or digital—that suggest how it can be used. In User Experience (UX) design, affordances are visual or behavioral cues that intuitively guide users toward taking specific actions, such as…
Confirmshaming is a dark pattern in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design where users are manipulated into taking a desired action—typically by using guilt-inducing or emotionally charged language in opt-out options. This tactic shames users into compliance by…
Contextual Inquiry is a qualitative user research method that combines observation with in-depth interviews in the user’s natural environment. It aims to understand user behaviors, workflows, motivations, and pain points in context, offering deep insights for user-centered design. Expanded Definition…
In UX design, an edge case refers to an uncommon, rare, or extreme situation that falls outside the typical or expected user journey but still must be handled gracefully by a product or service. Unlike the “happy path” (the ideal…
Empirical Validation is the process of confirming design decisions, theories, or models through direct observation, measurement, and analysis of real-world user behavior and performance. In UX, it ensures that product designs are grounded in actual user data rather than assumptions…
Feature Inspection is a usability evaluation method where individual features of a product or application are systematically assessed for their usability, functionality, and effectiveness within the context of end-user tasks. Rather than evaluating the entire system holistically, feature inspection focuses…
Gestalt Principles (also known as the Laws of Gestalt or the Law of Simplicity) are perceptual rules that describe how people naturally organize visual elements into structured, unified wholes. Instead of seeing isolated parts, our brains group related elements, fill…