Hick's Law

A well-known cognitive psychologist's principle that says that the time it takes to make a decision varies logarithmically according to the number of choices. As more options are presented, more decision time is required due to the mental work of comparing and contrasting each potential option.

More terms you might want to know

x-height

The distance between the baseline and the mean line of lowercase letters in a typeface. Nearby descenders (such as j) and ascenders (such as q) usually extend slightly below or above this height.

Brand Identity

The perception that people have of a business and its reliability, authenticity, and attractiveness. It's also the set of impressions an individual has when they think about a brand.

Pica

A unit of measurement that equals 1/6 of an inch, or 1/72 of a foot.

Triadic Colours

A triad is a group of three colours that are equally spaced on the colour wheel.

Affinity Diagram

A data visualisation tool that can be used to explore and group people's thoughts or reactions to a set of concepts. Affinity diagrams are often used in user research and design thinking as an experimental technique for generating new ideas or solutions.

The emergent patterns in these visual representations can help identify which aspects your audience will respond well to, thus enabling decisions on the information architecture and next steps in the process.

It is important to note that affinity diagrams were initially developed for qualitative research but have since been adapted for quantitative research (though they are not typically used with statistical data).

Palette

A set of colors which can be used to create a particular visual effect. It is usually composed of multiple primary, secondary, and tertiary colours.

Design Thinking

An iterative process that designers use to understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine the problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our initial level of understanding. Design Thinking provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It is a way of thinking and working as well as a collection of hands-on methods.

Eye-Tracking

A tool that allows user experience designers, or people who design products and websites with consumers in mind, to track where users look on the screen. Eye-tracking can measure users’ attention and the duration of time they spend on different areas of a website. With this information, websites can create user experience solutions such as buttons with varying colours designed to catch the eye.

Full-stack Developer

A software developer who designs, develops, maintains and supports the entire end-to-end product. These developers are capable of developing and implementing modern solutions to any industry problem. They typically work with different technologies such as mobile application development, web application development, back-end software development and front-end software development.

Mood board

A collage consisting of images, colours and text that is assembled to convey an idea or theme.

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