Isolation Effect

A psychological principle which predicts that when multiple homogeneous stimuli are presented, the stimulus which differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered. In other words, people tend to remember items in isolation more than those of a similar nature or objects in clusters. This phenomenon has been applied in designing websites and software with various levels of success.

More terms you might want to know

Baseline

An imaginary line on which most letters "sit". As such, it equals the height of an em square. The expected result of a baseline is to reference the height with which text is aligned. The alignment ranges from ascenders, which are the upper strokes in b, d, and h, down to descenders like j or y.

Centre Aligned

A layout where all the content, mostly text, is aligned to the centre. The overall purpose of a Centre Alignment is to make it easier for users to read and scroll through content.

Design Sprint

A way to create and test designs. Designers use design sprints as a time-intensive method of quickly testing ideas and then pivoting into designing for user needs. A designer may then take the prototype they created on the first day of the design sprint and fix any usability issues with it, which is a quick way to get feedback on their work before continuing development.

Cap Height

The distance from the baseline to the top of a capital letter, number, or other upper-case glyphs.

Greyscale / Grayscale

Black, white, and all the values of shades in between.

Zeigarnik Effect

A psychological phenomenon that states that people tend to remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.

Cool Colours

Colours on the opposite side of the colour wheel to warm colours. Typically bluish in tone, such as blue or green.

Breadcrumb Navigation

Typically used on the internet or web pages to provide easily accessible navigation for users. Typically, the breadcrumb navigation appears along the top of a webpage or at other locations on a webpage so that users can know where they are on a site quickly and efficiently.

Tittle

The typographic term for the dot above the letters 'i' and 'j'.

Information Architecture

The art and science of arranging information so that it's intuitive to find, easy to navigate, presents a cohesive design, meets accessibility guidelines, looks attractive on any device or screen size and ultimately drives behaviour change.

Problem?

Got a suggestion or found an issue with the glossary?
Let me know!