# My principles for product design

> Things I strongly believe about product design and use all the time. Plus some heuristics that are practical and useful.

**Published by:** [Alex Palmer](https://paragraph.com/@thatalexpalmer/)
**Published on:** 2025-02-23
**Categories:** design, ux, product
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@thatalexpalmer/my-principles-for-product-design

## Content

Clear design should…Above all, be useful. Get the user's job done and get out of the way as fast as possible. But also while at it, it should…Be unambiguous.Only one possible interpretation should exist for every design element.Be predictable.Design elements should help people accurately and consistently predict what happens when they interact with your product.Be helpful.Design should help people answer all these questions:Where am I?How did I get here?What can I do here and how do I do it?Where can I go from here?Be accessible.Design elements should adhere to AAA or AA accessibility standards because it makes design better overall for everyoneBe aesthetic.As a whole, the functionality of the product should be well executed. After that's achieved, there's no excuse to not make the product aesthetically beautifulBe honest.As a whole, the product should be free of jargon and should only promise what what it can achieve for the end user. No less, no more.Some useful heuristicsI think of these every now and again. Not too hard, and not too often. NameDescriptionExample or usageAnchoring biasPeople rely heavily on the first piece of information they seeExplain the value your product provides in one sentence, not what your product doesProgressive disclosureOne bit of info at a time, as neededStart simple, increase complexity as you go alongNo walls of textPeople don't read online, they scan for words https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/Don't hide critical information, surface it with highlights.Peak/end FallacyPeople tend to remember the peak (positive or negative) of an experience and its end.Memory is unreliable. We remember how something started, the strongest emotion we felt, and how it ended. Excellent design accounts for thisConfirmation biasPeople find evidence that confirms what they thinkFeedforwardWhen people are able to predict the outcome before they take actionCall it what users call it. Buttons hide actions that exist behind them. Views (screens) hide outcomes that are possiblePseudo-set FramingTasks that are part of a group are more tempting to completeComplete profile. Create community. Increase reputation.Spotlight EffectPeople erroneously believe that they're being noticed more than they areEveryone is thinking about themselves most of the time. Design for that or around thatGoal Gradient EffectMotivation increases as people get closer to their goalProgress bars workVon Restorff EffectPeople remember things that stand outWhen multiple similar objects are present, the one that differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered. Especially useful in guiding the user through a specific flow - make important info stand out (like CTAs)Social proofPeople adapt their behavior based on what others doFamiliarity biasPeople prefer things they already knowLoss aversion vs. equal gainPeople prefer to avoid losses than win equivalent gainsSaving what you have is more important than gaining what you don't, to mostReciprocity effectPeople feel the need to reciprocate when they receive somethingGive value before asking for valueSurvey BiasPeople tend to skew answers towards what’s socially acceptableAlso, users change their behavior when observedPrimingPeople remember the previous step/info which sets expectationsCognitive loadAmount of effort required to complete somethingJust-in-time complexity helps people move through even complicated context Pareto DistributionFor many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes20% of platform users typically generate 80% revenueHick's LawThe time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choicesJust try picking one of these to useMiller's LawPeople only keep 7 (+or - 2) items in their working memoryShorter sentences are easier to recall. 5 or less nav items are easier to learn/remember. Text containers should have max-width: 680px with font-size: 16-21px (NOTE: ideal font-size for maximum legibility is 21px)Proximity EffectElements that are close together are usually considered relatedGroup settings by their function to help people configure them fasterFeedback LoopWhen people take action, they expect feedback to communicate to them what happenedEmpty states, error states, success state, loading states are all opportunities to show people that they are in controlOccam's RazorAmong competing guesses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selectedEspecially useful in user research. Start with behaviors that you have the fewest number of assumptions onTesler's LawCertain amount of complexity cannot be avoidedSimplicity for its own sake passes decision making to the end user (which increases friction)Jacob's LawPeople spend most of their time on other websites/appsDon't re-invent common interactions like signup/login - your product should feel similar to othersDoherty ThresholdProductivity soars when a computer and its users interact at a pace (<400ms) that ensures that neither has to wait on the other.Apps/websites have to respond to users within 400-900ms, otherwise they might not be usedSerial Positioning EffectPeople tend to remember the first and last items in a series.Zeigarnik EffectPeople tend to remember and come back to unfinished tasksEspecially useful in onboarding users to complex products that have a steep learning curveFitt's LawThe larger something is, the easier it is to hitThe amount of time required for a person to move a pointer (e.g., mouse cursor) to a target area depends on the distance to the target divided by the size of the target

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