UX is Not Design, it's Psychology
While earning my degree in Interactive Design, I took a course called Human Behavior Fundamentals. At the time, I didn’t realize just how much it would shape the way I approach my work today.
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Now, working as a UX designer, I see that course for what it really was: the foundation of great user experience. That’s because UX isn’t really about moving pixels. It’s about moving minds.
Good design isn’t just about making things look good, it’s about making things feel intuitive by aligning with how people actually think, feel, and decide. And that’s grounded in psychology and behavioral economics more than it is in visual creativity.
In my work now, I see clearly: good UX helps people think less, not more.
It’s Not About Pixels
When you’re building an interface, it’s easy to get caught up in pretty spacing and polished typography. But these are just the packaging, not the product.
Humans don’t use products in neat, logical ways. We scan rather than read, rely on defaults and habits, and generally avoid thinking harder than we need to.
So instead of asking, “How can I make this look good?”, I’ve learned to ask:
How do I help users understand at a glance?
How do I reduce their cognitive load?
How do I guide them toward the right choice effortlessly?
The Six Minds of Experience
One concept from that class that still sticks with me is the six minds of experience — six dimensions of psychology every designer should consider:
1. Language
Humans interact with interfaces through language. Not just written words, but also icons, labels, and microcopy. Matching their mental models through clear, human language is key.
2. Wayfinding
People navigate interfaces like they navigate cities, we look for patterns, landmarks, and familiar paths. UX cues like hierarchies, progress indicators, and consistent orientation keep them from feeling lost.
3. Vision & Attention
I remember learning about foveal vision — the tiny, high-resolution area we actually focus on. We don’t process everything on a screen equally. As a designer, it’s my job to direct attention using hierarchy, contrast, and whitespace.
4. Memory
Working memory is fragile and short. People won’t remember what they did three screens ago, so we should minimize what they need to recall. Keep key information visible and leverage recognition over recall to lighten the mental load.
5. Emotion
Emotion drives behavior. Confusing experiences create frustration; clear and thoughtful ones build trust. Good UX design acknowledges the emotional context of users. Are they rushed? Distracted? Excited? Considering the emotional journey helps us design to support them.
6. Decision Making
One of my favorite lessons from the course was about behavioral economics. We’re all prone to cognitive biases: we avoid losses, rely on the first piece of information (anchoring bias), and make quick judgments (System 1 thinking). Good UX designs with these tendencies in mind.
It All Comes Back to People
UX isn’t just design, it’s psychology in action. Every button, every flow, every word is an opportunity to work with the human mind rather than against it.
When we design for language, wayfinding, vision, memory, emotion, and decision-making, we think about users’ cognitive and emotional lives. At the end of the day, good UX is not about technology, it’s about the people.
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We look forward to hearing from you.
