The UX Principles Goldmine

Below you will find a constantly updating list of usability, design, psychology, and UX principles that are used in modern digital products. All of the experts here at GobySavvy use these key principles to conduct UX Reviews. If you are conducting a UX Review of your own website or app, the links below will act as a great checklist.

If you would like to contribute to this goldmine, please post your link(s) in the comments! We will add them to the list. UX principles with a * are especially important.

General Usability & UX Principles

• Overview and resources for usability heuristics*
• Usability.gov extensive guidelines*
• Nielsen’s Heuristics of course!*
• International Human-Computer Interaction Standards*
• 247 Usability Principles

Accessibility

• WCAG 2.0
• POUR principles
• YouTube principles

Adoption

• Onboarding Techniques and Examples
• Gradual Engagement
• Easy Sign Up
• Mobile Splash Screens

Engaging Content

• Branding
• Storytelling
• Typography
• Writing

Interaction / Movement

• Fitts’s Law
• User Behavior (BJ Fogg)

Navigation

• Navigation best practices
• Information architecture
• Search
• Mega menus
• Conventions

Psychology

• The Power of Human Faces
• Color Psychology
• Feature Richness and Engagement
• Social Proof
• Change Blindness and Inattention Blindness

Trust & Credibility

• Trust & Credibility*
• Extensive Stanford Web Credibility Research
• Credibility Checklist

Visual Design Principles

• Visual design*
• Gestalt Grouping Principles*
• Data Visualization Principles – Edward Tufte*
• Rule of Thirds
• Color

Best Practices & Current Trends

• 2015 Trends
• Material Design
• iOS guidelines
• Responsive design
• Scrolling designs
• Microinteractions
• Gamification Principles*

Others

• Persuasive Design Principles and Examples* (BJ Fogg)
• Evil by Design (appeal to the 7 deadly sins)*
• Choreography
• List of numerous Fortune 500 company design guidelines

Interested in improving your UX, but don't have the time? Contact us for a free 1-on-1 consultation.