Design Principles talks

Design principles are short statements of what a team believes good design looks like for its product. They might say that clarity beats cleverness, or that the product should never lose a user’s work. Well-chosen principles turn vague values into guidance people can apply to concrete decisions.

Principles help teams stay consistent as a product grows and more people work on it. When there is a disagreement about a screen or a feature, they give everyone a common reference point, which makes critique less about personal taste.

The three talks in this topic cover principles from different angles. Whitney Hess presents design principles as the philosophy of UX. Margaret Gould Stewart explains at TED (2014) how giant websites design for you, and a billion others too. Dan Klyn shares five essential lessons from Richard Saul Wurman at UX Week (2013), touching on patterns and information design.