UI/UX Design UX Foundations & Design Thinking Syllabus

UX Foundations & Design Thinking syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for UX Foundations & Design Thinking in UI/UX Design, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Introduction to UX Design

   4 topics

   • What Is UX vs UI
   • History and Evolution of UX
   • The UX Design Process
   • UX Career Paths and Specializations
2. 2

   Design Thinking

   4 topics

   • The Five Stages of Design Thinking
   • Human-Centered Design Principles
   • Divergent and Convergent Thinking
   • Problem Framing and Reframing
3. 3

   Human-Centered & Inclusive Design

   4 topics

   • Empathy in Design
   • Inclusive and Equity-Focused Design
   • Designing for Edge Cases and Stress Cases
   • Ethics and Dark Patterns
4. 4

   Cognitive Psychology for Design

   4 topics

   • Mental Models
   • Cognitive Load and Working Memory
   • Hick's Law and Fitts's Law
   • Gestalt Principles of Perception
5. 5

   Heuristics & Usability Principles

   4 topics

   • Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics
   • Shneiderman's Eight Golden Rules
   • Affordances and Signifiers
   • Feedback and Mapping

UX Foundations & Design Thinking flashcards for UI/UX Design

23 of 51 cards from the UX Foundations & Design Thinking deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the difference between UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) design?

   UX design covers the entire experience a person has with a product — research, information architecture, interaction flows, and usability — while UI design focuses on the visual and interactive surface: layout, typography, color, buttons, and other on-screen elements. UI is one part of the broader UX.

2. Why can a product have a beautiful UI but still a poor UX?

   Because UI concerns only visual presentation. If underlying flows are confusing, tasks take too many steps, content is unclear, or the product fails to meet user needs, the overall experience is bad regardless of attractive visuals — 'looks good' does not equal 'works well.'

3. Who coined the term "user experience," and where?

   Don Norman coined the term "user experience" in the early 1990s while working at Apple, where his title was "User Experience Architect." He intended it to cover all aspects of a person's interaction with a company, its services, and its products.

4. Which pre-digital discipline, formalized during World War II, is a major ancestor of modern UX?

   Ergonomics / human factors engineering — the study of fitting tools, machines, and environments (e.g., aircraft cockpits) to human capabilities and limitations, which later informed human–computer interaction (HCI).

5. What is the significance of Don Norman's 1988 book "The Design of Everyday Things" (originally "The Psychology of Everyday Things") to UX history?

   It popularized user-centered design and core concepts such as affordances, signifiers, feedback, mapping, and conceptual models, arguing that human error usually stems from bad design rather than bad users. It became a foundational text of the field.

6. What field emerged in the early 1980s as the academic study of how people interact with computers, bridging psychology and computer science?

   Human–Computer Interaction (HCI). It applied cognitive psychology to interface design and is the direct academic predecessor of modern UX practice.

7. List the typical phases of the UX design process in order.

   1) Research/Discover (understand users and context), 2) Define (synthesize findings into problem statements, personas, requirements), 3) Ideate (generate solution concepts), 4) Design/Prototype (wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes), 5) Test/Validate (usability testing), 6) Launch and Iterate. The process is iterative, not strictly linear.

8. What is the difference between low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes, and when is each used?

   Low-fidelity prototypes (paper sketches, wireframes) are quick, cheap, and used early to test concepts, flows, and structure. High-fidelity prototypes look and behave close to the final product and are used later to test visual design, micro-interactions, and detailed usability.

9. In the UX process, what is the purpose of the Define phase and what are its typical outputs?

   The Define phase synthesizes research data into actionable direction. Typical outputs: user personas, journey maps, problem statements/point-of-view statements, 'How Might We' questions, and prioritized user needs and requirements.

10. Name five common UX career specializations and the focus of each.

    UX Researcher — studies user behavior and needs; Interaction (IxD) Designer — designs flows and behaviors; Visual/UI Designer — designs the look of interfaces; Information Architect — organizes and structures content; UX Writer/Content Designer — crafts interface language. (Others: UX Engineer, Service Designer, Product Designer.)

11. What is a "UX generalist" versus a "UX specialist," and what does the term "T-shaped" designer mean?

    A generalist works across the whole UX process (common in startups); a specialist goes deep in one area like research or interaction design (common in large companies). A T-shaped designer has broad skills across many UX areas (the horizontal bar) plus deep expertise in one (the vertical bar).

12. List the five stages of design thinking (Stanford d.school model) in order.

    1) Empathize, 2) Define, 3) Ideate, 4) Prototype, 5) Test. The stages are non-linear and iterative — teams loop back as they learn.

13. In design thinking, what happens in the Empathize stage and what methods are typically used?

    Designers build an understanding of users and their needs without assumptions. Methods: user interviews, observation/shadowing, contextual inquiry, diary studies, and immersing oneself in the user's environment.

14. Why is the design thinking process described as "non-linear" or iterative?

    Because insights from later stages feed back into earlier ones — e.g., testing a prototype may reveal a misframed problem, sending the team back to Define or Empathize. The stages are modes of work, not a fixed sequence to complete once.

15. What is a Point-of-View (POV) statement in the Define stage, and what is its standard format?

    A POV statement reframes research into an actionable design challenge. Format: "[User] needs [need] because [insight]" — e.g., "Busy commuters need a one-handed way to buy tickets because they carry bags while rushing."

16. What is human-centered design (HCD)?

    An approach that puts the people who will use a product at the center of every stage of design: starting from their needs and contexts, involving them throughout via research and testing, and evaluating solutions by how well they work for those people rather than for the business or the technology.

17. According to ISO 9241-210, what are key principles of human-centered design?

    Design is based on explicit understanding of users, tasks, and environments; users are involved throughout; design is driven and refined by user-centered evaluation; the process is iterative; the whole user experience is addressed; and teams include multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.

18. In Don Norman's framework, what is the difference between an affordance and a signifier?

    An affordance is the relationship that makes an action possible (a handle affords pulling); a signifier is the perceivable cue that communicates where and how the action can happen (a "Pull" label, a raised button style). Signifiers signal affordances.

19. Define divergent thinking and convergent thinking in design.

    Divergent thinking generates many varied ideas and possibilities without judgment (breadth). Convergent thinking narrows options by analyzing, evaluating, and selecting the best ones (focus). Effective design alternates between the two.

20. What is the Double Diamond model, and how does it use divergent and convergent thinking?

    The UK Design Council's model of two diamonds: Discover (diverge on the problem) → Define (converge on the right problem), then Develop (diverge on solutions) → Deliver (converge on the right solution). Each diamond expands options then narrows them.

21. What is problem framing in design, and why does it matter?

    Problem framing is deliberately defining the boundaries, perspective, and assumptions of the problem before solving it. It matters because the frame determines the solution space — a poorly framed problem leads teams to efficiently solve the wrong problem.

22. What is problem reframing? Give the classic "slow elevator" example.

    Reframing is changing the perspective on a problem to reveal better solutions. Classic example: instead of "the elevator is too slow" (fix: faster motor), reframe as "the wait feels annoying" — solved cheaply by adding mirrors or displays so people are occupied while waiting.

23. What are "How Might We" (HMW) questions and what makes a good one?

    HMW questions turn problem statements into optimistic, open-ended prompts for ideation (e.g., "How might we make check-in feel effortless for first-time visitors?"). A good HMW is broad enough to allow many solutions but narrow enough to give useful direction — and does not embed a specific solution.

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