Glossary

Design & UX glossary

Clear, jargon-free definitions of the UI/UX, product, Framer, web, branding, and AI terms that come up when building digital products.

50 terms

UX

User Experience (UX)

The overall feeling and ease a person has when using a product.

UX

Usability

How easily and efficiently people can accomplish tasks in a product.

UX

User Research

Studying real users to inform design decisions with evidence, not guesses.

UX

User Persona

A research-based profile representing a key segment of your users.

UX

User Flow

The path a user takes through a product to complete a task.

UX

Information Architecture (IA)

How content and features are organised, structured, and labelled.

UX

Wireframe

A low-fidelity skeleton of a screen focused on structure, not visuals.

UX

Prototype

An interactive mockup used to test and demonstrate a design before build.

UX

Usability Testing

Watching real users attempt tasks to find where a design breaks down.

UX

Heuristic Evaluation

Reviewing an interface against established usability principles.

UX

Accessibility (a11y)

Designing products usable by people with the widest range of abilities.

UX

Cognitive Load

The mental effort required to use an interface.

UX

User Journey Map

A visualization of a user's experience across touchpoints over time.

UI

User Interface (UI)

The visual and interactive layer through which people use a product.

UI

Design System

A reusable set of components, patterns, and rules for building product UI.

UI

Component Library

A collection of reusable, pre-built UI elements.

UI

Design Tokens

Named variables for design values like color, spacing, and type.

UI

Visual Hierarchy

Arranging elements so the eye is guided to what matters most.

UI

White Space

The empty space around and between elements — a design tool, not waste.

UI

Grid System

An underlying structure of columns and rows that aligns a layout.

UI

Typography

The craft of arranging type for legibility, hierarchy, and tone.

UI

Color Contrast

The luminance difference between foreground and background.

UI

Microinteraction

A small, focused animation or response to a single user action.

UI

Responsive Design

Designing layouts that adapt fluidly to any screen size.

UI

Dark Mode

An alternative low-light color scheme with dark backgrounds.

Product

Product Design

Designing the end-to-end experience of a digital product.

Product

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The smallest version of a product that delivers and validates core value.

Product

Design Sprint

A time-boxed process to solve a problem and test a prototype fast.

Product

Onboarding

The first-use experience that guides a new user to value.

Product

Activation

The moment a new user first experiences a product's core value.

Product

Retention

The rate at which users keep coming back over time.

Product

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action.

Product

A/B Testing

Comparing two versions to see which performs better with real users.

Product

North Star Metric

The single metric that best captures the value a product delivers.

Framer & Web

Framer

A design-first website builder where you design and publish the real site.

Framer & Web

Webflow

A visual web builder with granular control over markup and CMS.

Framer & Web

No-Code

Building software and sites visually, without writing code.

Framer & Web

CMS (Content Management System)

A system for creating and managing site content without touching code.

Framer & Web

Landing Page

A focused page designed to drive a single action.

Framer & Web

Core Web Vitals

Google's metrics for loading, interactivity, and visual stability.

Framer & Web

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Improving a site so it ranks and is found in search results.

Branding

Brand Identity

The visible elements that define how a brand looks and feels.

Branding

Logo

The central graphic mark that represents a brand.

Branding

Style Guide

The rulebook for applying a brand consistently.

Branding

Brand Voice

The consistent personality and tone of a brand's writing.

AI

Large Language Model (LLM)

An AI model trained on vast text to understand and generate language.

AI

Prompt

The input or instruction given to an AI model.

AI

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

Grounding an AI's answers in retrieved, relevant source data.

AI

AI Agent

An AI system that can plan and take multi-step actions toward a goal.

AI

Hallucination (AI)

When an AI confidently produces false or fabricated information.