Avoid designer-isms to improve communication

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We started off writing this article with the best intentions. As UX designers, oops — as user experience designers, let’s try this one more time — as people who study how others experience something and then design to improve upon it…. we’ve made the same mistake of using jargon to describe the work we do.

Let’s face it, using jargon can make you feel important, an expert in your field — and also save time by using fewer words. The problem is that there is so much jargon and acronyms used daily that for many it is hard to understand, and a bit intimidating when to have to ask, “What does that mean?”. If you think clients will be impressed with your designer-isms, think again. We’ve found that clients more easily grasp concepts and they value when you explain to them in their everyday language.

Podcast about designer-isms

Before you start reading our list of do’s and don’ts, we’d like to mention we recorded a podcast episode on this topic as well. That’s available here on rethink.fm.

Do’s and Don’ts

To give you an idea of what we’re talking about… here are some examples to illustrate how to improve communication and avoid jargon.

Critical User Journey

Don’t

“Here is a spreadsheet, please document all of the CUJ’s a user takes when setting up this product.”

Do

“Let’s document the path and steps someone follows when they start using this product.”

User Journey Map

Don’t

“We need a designer to create a user journey map for the engineering team so they can see the flows people take using the software we are building.”

Do

“We need a designer to document the steps people take using our software so our engineers can understand what is required.”

Onboarding

Don’t:

“We’ll document and analyze the user onboarding experience creating their first website to see if we can reduce support requests.”

Do:

“We’ll observe a person creating their first website and see where they struggled so we can make it easier for them to succeed without having to contact support.”

Dark patterns

Don’t:

“We work to eliminate dark patterns in the user interface.”

Do:

“We’ll examine the choices presented to people to make sure all choices create a positive experience.”

UX/UI

Don’t:

“We need a UX/UI designer to come in after we build (or have decided to build) our features and digital product to create the visual interface.”

Do:

“Using our list of features desired, we need a designer to create an experience that will be delightful to use and easy to understand.”

Design Sprint

Don’t:

“Let’s schedule a 5-day design sprint with UX designers, so we can flush out business goals and user needs to emerge with the right solution for a fast MVP.”

Do:

“Let’s schedule a 5-day workshop with designers to begin solving and testing problems people have so we can prioritize features and goals for our initial product launch.”

User flow

Don’t:

“Can you explain to us the user flow of your website so we can understand how people interact with it and scope the content requirements for your new website experience.”

Do:

“Can you tell us how people currently use your website to accomplish their goal? This helps us learn how we can make some changes to the new layout and improve their experience.”

Heuristic evaluation

Don’t:

“Let us do a heuristic evaluation first”.

Do:

“Let’s test this website or computer application against 10 well-proven principles on how usable it is for humans.”

MVP

Don’t:

“We first deliver an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), that we will enhance in future sprints.”

Do:

“We’ll deliver a fully functional product that meets your minimum usability requirements. From there, we can improve and add functionality based on feedback from real people.”

Wireframes

Don’t:

“Wireframing is an important step in any screen design process. It primarily allows you to define the information hierarchy of your design, making it easier for you to plan the layout according to how you want your user to process the information.”

Do:

“A low fidelity sketch of every screen in your website or app will help you define what goes where. It’s a basic layout that makes it easier to focus on the functionality and information instead of how it looks.”

Usability testing

Don’t:

“We conduct usability testing on subjects to determine how effective a design is.”

Do:

“We observe how people use a product and see where it can be improved.”

Moodboard

Don’t:

“We use a moodboard filled with design assets to illustrate our project design style.”

Do:

“We create a collage of images, patterns, textures and colors to convey our design similar to how an interior designer does.”

Material design

Don’t:

“We use Material Design as the basis for creating cue-rich features and real world objects.”

Do:

“Our design feels natural and intuitive for people to use as it mimics how things work in the real world.”

Cognitive load

Don’t:

“Our design team works to avoid introducing more cognitive load on visitors.”

Do:

“Our design team works to minimize unnecessary distractions so people can stay focused on the task at hand.”

Start a conversion

We hope this stimulates conversation on how to effectively communicate with our clients and with each other. To quote from Nielson’s 10 usability heuristics:

#2 Match between system and the real world:
“Use words and concepts that users (humans) are already familiar with.”

Skip the jargon and speak their language.

Resources

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