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The Elements Of User Experience Visual Design

The Elements of User Experience
Jesse James Garrett
jjg@jjg.net
A basic duality: The Web was originally conceived as a hypertextual information space;
30 March 2000
but the development of increasingly sophisticated front- and back-end technologies has
fostered its use as a remote software interface. This dual nature has led to much confusion,
as user experience practitioners have attempted to adapt their terminology to cases beyond
the scope of its original application. The goal of this document is to define some of these
terms within their appropriate contexts, and to clarify the underlying relationships among
these various elements.
Web as software interface
Concrete
Completion
Web as hypertext system
Visual Design: visual treatment of text,
Visual Design: graphic treatment of interface
graphic page elements and navigational
Visual Design
elements (the "look" in "look-and-feel")
components
Interface Design: as in traditional HCI:
Navigation Design: design of interface
design of interface elements to facilitate
elements to facilitate the user's movement
Interface Design
Navigation Design
user interaction with functionality
through the information architecture
Information Design: in the Tuftean sense:
Information Design: in the Tuftean sense:
Information Design
designing the presentation of information
designing the presentation of information
to facilitate understanding
to facilitate understanding
Interaction Design: development of
Interaction
Information
Information Architecture: structural design
application flows to facilitate user tasks,
time
Design
Architecture
of the information space to facilitate
defining how the user interacts with
intuitive access to content
site functionality
Functional Specifications: "feature set":
Content Requirements: definition of
Functional
Content
detailed descriptions of functionality the site
content elements required in the site
must include in order to meet user needs
Specifications Requirements
in order to meet user needs
User Needs: externally derived goals
User Needs: externally derived goals
for the site; identified through user research,
User Needs
for the site; identified through user research,
ethno/techno/psychographics, etc.
ethno/techno/psychographics, etc.
Site Objectives: business, creative, or other
Site Objectives
Site Objectives: business, creative, or other
internally derived goals for the site
internally derived goals for the site
task-oriented
Abstract
Conception
information-oriented
This picture is incomplete: The model outlined here does not account for secondary considerations (such as those arising during technical or content development)
that may influence decisions during user experience development. Also, this model does not describe a development process, nor does it define roles within a
user experience development team. Rather, it seeks to define the key considerations that go into the development of user experience on the Web today.
© 2000 Jesse James Garrett
http://www.jjg.net/ia/