100 UX Laws

1. Hick's Law - The time it takes for a user to make a decision increases with
the number of choices available to them.

2. Fitts's Law - The time required to reach a target area is proportional to the
distance and size of the target.

3. Miller's Law - The average person can remember up to 7 (plus or minus 2)

items of information in their short-term memory.

4. Jakob's Law - Users spend most of their time on other sites, so design your
site to be familiar and intuitive.

5. Gestalt Principles - A set of principles that describe how humans perceive

and group visual elements.

6. Law of Proximity - Objects that are close together are perceived as related.

7. Law of Similarity - Objects that are similar in shape, color, or size are
perceived as related.

8. Law of Closure - The mind will perceive an incomplete shape or form as

complete.

9. Law of Symmetry - Objects that are symmetrical are perceived as more

visually appealing.

10.Law of Continuity - The mind prefers to perceive objects as continuous,

rather than as separate parts.

11.Law of Common Fate - Objects that move together are perceived as related.

12.Aesthetic-Usability Effect - Users perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as

easier to use.

13.Golden Ratio - A design principle that states that objects arranged in a

certain proportion are more visually pleasing.

14.Progressive Disclosure - Only showing necessary information, and then

revealing more as the user needs it.
15.Miller's Pyramid - A framework for categorizing different levels of user
expertise, and designing for those levels accordingly.

16.The Pareto Principle - Also known as the 80/20 rule, 80% of the effects
come from 20% of the causes.

17.Kano Model - A framework for categorizing user needs into three

categories: basic needs, performance needs, and delight needs.

18.Principle of Least Astonishment - Designs should behave in a way that is

predictable to users.

19.Shneiderman's Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design - A set of rules

for designing effective interfaces.

20.Don't Make Me Think - A principle that states that users should be able to
navigate a website without thinking too hard.

21.User-Centered Design - Designing products that meet the needs of the user,
rather than the designer or developer.

22.Consistency - Designs should be consistent across different pages, elements,

and devices.

23.Feedback - Users should be given feedback for their actions, such as

confirmation messages.

24.Error Prevention - Designs should prevent errors from happening in the

first place, rather than just reacting to them.

25.Help and Documentation - Designs should include help and documentation

for users who need it.

26.Human Error - Designs should take into account that users will make
mistakes.

27.Accessibility - Designs should be accessible to users with disabilities.

28.Cognitive Load - Designs should minimize the amount of cognitive load

placed on users.
29.Affordances - Designs should provide clear visual cues for how they can be
used.

30.Signifiers - Designs should use signifiers, such as buttons, to make it clear

how users can interact with them.

31.Mental Models - Designs should match the mental models that users have
for how things should work.

32.Mapping - Designs should use spatial mapping to make it clear how

different elements are related to each other.

33.Visibility - Designs should make important elements clearly visible to users.

34.Feedback Loop - Designs should include a feedback loop, so that users can
see the effects of their actions.

35.Skeuomorphism - Designs should use visual metaphors to make digital

36.Hierarchy - Designs should use hierarchy to show the relative importance

of different elements.

37.Navigation - Designs should have clear and easy-to-use navigation.

38.Context - Designs should provide context for users, so they understand what
they are seeing and why it is important.

39.Flow - Designs should create a seamless flow for users, so they can
accomplish tasks without interruptions.

40.Call to Action - Designs should have clear and compelling calls to action,
so users know what to do next.

41.White Space - Designs should use white space effectively to create a clean
and uncluttered look.

42.Contrast - Designs should use contrast to create emphasis and draw

attention to important elements.

43.Readability - Designs should prioritize readability, so users can easily

consume and understand the content.
44.Scannability - Designs should be scannable, so users can quickly find what
they are looking for.

45.Feedback Timing - Designs should provide feedback to users at appropriate

times, not too early or too late.

46.Goal-Gradient Effect - Users are more motivated to complete a task when

they are closer to the goal.

47.Hickson's Law of Response Time - The time it takes for a system to

respond to user input should be less than 0.1 seconds.

48.The Von Restorff Effect - Users are more likely to remember items that
stand out from their surroundings.

49.Mental Shortcuts - Designs should take into account that users use mental
shortcuts to make decisions quickly.

50.Persuasion - Designs should use persuasive techniques to encourage users

to take action.

51.Anchoring - Users are influenced by the first piece of information they see.

52.Confirmation Bias - Users are more likely to seek out and remember
information that confirms their existing beliefs.

53.Scarcity - Users are more motivated to take action when they perceive that
there is a limited quantity available.

54.Social Proof - Users are more likely to take action when they see that others
have already done so.

55.Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) - Users are more motivated to take action
when they feel they might miss out on something.

56.Gamification - Designs should use game elements, such as points and

badges, to encourage user engagement.

57.Serendipity - Designs should create opportunities for unexpected

discoveries and delightful surprises.
58.Personalization - Designs should be personalized to the user's preferences
and needs.

59.Time Perception - Users' perception of time can be influenced by design

elements, such as animations and progress bars.

60.A/B Testing - Designs should be tested using A/B testing to determine

which version is more effective.

61.User Testing - Designs should be tested with actual users to identify and fix
usability issues.

62.Accessibility Guidelines - Designs should adhere to accessibility guidelines,

such as WCAG, to ensure that they are usable by people with disabilities.

63.Contextual Inquiry - Designs should be informed by observing users in

their natural context.

64.Design Thinking - A human-centered approach to design that involves

empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing.

65.Rapid Prototyping - Designs should be quickly prototyped and tested to

identify and fix issues early on.

66.Agile Development - A development methodology that emphasizes

collaboration, flexibility, and rapid iteration.

67.Lean UX - A design methodology that emphasizes rapid experimentation

and data-driven decision making.

68.Design Sprints - A process for rapidly ideating, prototyping, and testing

designs in a short period of time.

69.Design Systems - A set of guidelines and reusable components for creating

consistent and efficient designs.

70.Microinteractions - Small interactions that provide

71.Mental Models - Designs should align with users' mental models, so they
can easily understand and use the product.
72.Prototypicality - Designs should be consistent with users' expectations of
how a product should look and behave.

73.Consistency - Designs should be consistent across different pages and

interactions, so users can predict what will happen.

74.Forgiveness - Designs should be forgiving of user errors and provide clear

paths for recovery.

75.Error Prevention - Designs should prevent errors from occurring in the first
place.

76.Error Messaging - Designs should provide clear and actionable error

messages to help users recover from errors.

77.Cognitive Load - Designs should minimize cognitive load, so users can

focus on the task at hand.

78.Information Architecture - Designs should have a clear and intuitive

information architecture, so users can find what they are looking for.

79.User Control - Designs should give users control over their experience and
allow them to customize their settings.

80.Accessibility - Designs should be accessible to all users, regardless of their

abilities or disabilities.

81.User Research - Designs should be informed by user research, such as

interviews and surveys, to understand users' needs and preferences.

82.Personas - Designs should be created with specific user personas in mind, to

ensure that the product meets their needs.

83.Affordances - Designs should use visual cues, such as buttons and icons, to
indicate what actions are possible.

84.Feedback - Designs should provide clear and immediate feedback, so users

know what is happening.

85.Gestalt Principles - Designs should follow Gestalt principles, such as

proximity and similarity, to create cohesive and organized layouts.
86.Fitts' Law - The time it takes to reach a target depends on the distance and
size of the target.

87.Miller's Law - The average person can only hold 7 plus or minus 2 pieces of
information in their working memory.

88.Hick's Law - The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number
of choices available.

89.Law of Prägnanz - Users will perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex

images as the simplest form possible.

90.Jakob's Law - Users spend most of their time on other sites, so designs
should follow established conventions.

91.Pareto Principle - 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Applied to UX, this means that 80% of a product's usage comes from 20% of
its features.

92.Progressive Disclosure - Designs should reveal information gradually, to

avoid overwhelming users.

93.10 Usability Heuristics - A set of heuristics created by Jakob Nielsen to

evaluate the usability of a product.

94.User Journey Maps - A visual representation of the steps a user takes to

accomplish a goal, used to identify pain points and opportunities for
improvement.

95.Mental Workload - Designs should minimize mental workload, so users

can focus on the task at hand.

96.Peak-End Rule - Users' memory of an experience is influenced by the peak

(most intense) and end (final) moments.

97.Error Recovery - Designs should provide clear and easy paths for error
recovery, so users can continue their tasks without frustration.

98.Hick-Hyman Law - The time it takes to make a decision depends on the

number of alternatives and the amount of uncertainty.
99.Constraint - Designs should use constraints to limit the possible interactions
and guide users towards the desired action.

100. Recognition vs Recall - Designs should prioritize recognition over

recall, so users don't have to remember information or actions from memory.