Welcome back. This week's gem: Mobbin's new abtest.design site. It's a goldmine of A/B test results from top apps, and I'm loving it. These resources are crucial for upping our design game. Seeing real-world UX wins and fails is invaluable, and reminds us why the design community rocks—we're always sharing knowledge. By being open about our hits and misses, we all get better.

—Tommy (@DesignerTom)

The Wireframe:

• Four (actually useful) design principles
• How to conduct a heuristic evaluation
• When is it okay to break the rules?

Practical Design Principles for Emerging Tech

After 14 years in this industry, one thing's clear: Great designers need solid principles.

And with emerging tech like AI and XR reshaping our industry (remember our deep dives?), it's especially crucial to have an A+ design foundation. So today, we’re unpacking four key principle sets that stand the test of time.

Let's see how they can elevate your design game in 2024 and beyond →

1. Dieter Rams' 10 Principles for Good Design

​Rams' principles are universal, applying to AI interfaces as much as physical products.

How I use them: These are my go-to for high-level design discussions, especially with non-designers. When a stakeholder questions a design decision, I frame my argument using Rams' principles.

Three of my favorite Rams’ principles:

• "Good design is innovative": And innovative doesn’t =/= reinventing the wheel. Think: ChatGPT's interface. It innovatively solved AI interaction through a familiar chat paradigm.
• "Good design is environmentally friendly": In UX, this means digital sustainability. Optimize content, use dark mode, and encourage eco-conscious choices (like a carbon footprint tracker in a travel app or energy usage stats in a smart home interface).
• "Good design is as little design as possible": Apple's Vision Pro interface is just gestures and eye movements, yet it's incredibly powerful.

Pro tip: Focus on one or two principles that resonate with your product. Designing a data viz tool? Lean into "Good design makes a product understandable."

2. Nielsen-Norman Usability Heuristics

These are the OG guidelines of UX. They've been around since the '90s, but they're still incredibly relevant—even for cutting-edge tech.

How I use them: They're my UX safety net. When I'm stuck or facing a deadline, I run through this list to catch obvious issues.

Two heuristics to keep in mind with emerging tech:

• "Visibility of system status": Users should always know what's going on—especially when dealing with new tech. Think about how ChatGPT shows its "thinking" process with a blinking cursor, or how Midjourney displays image generation progress.
• "Aesthetic and minimalist design”: Keep interfaces to their bare minimum and reveal additional information gradually. Superhuman’s simple interface and command palette (CMD+K) for advanced features is a killer example.

3. Gestalt Principles

​Gestalt principles aren't just psych class theory. They're practical tools for creating intuitive designs, even in 3D spaces.

How I use them: I turn to these for layout and visual hierarchy issues, especially in complex data viz or XR workflows.

Three Gestalt principles to consider:

• "Proximity": Objects close to each other are perceived as a group. In XR design, for instance, think about using spatial audio or haptic feedback to create a sense of proximity beyond visual cues.
• "Similarity": Similar objects are perceived as related. In AI interfaces, use this principle to visually distinguish between AI-generated content and user input.
• "Continuity": Our eyes naturally follow lines or curves. This principle is great for guiding users through a process in 3D space. Think about how many VR onboarding flows use virtual "paths" to lead users from one step to the next.

4. Tenets of Humane Technology

These principles help create tech that enhances human well-being…instead of exploiting weaknesses.

Real talk? These are often aspirational. But when working on cutting-edge and socially-significant products, they’re a great reality check.

Three tenets that are top-of-mind today:

• "Respect human nature": Design AI and XR experiences that work with human vulnerabilities, not against them. Instead of using AI to create infinitely scrolling content, could we design natural stopping points that respect users' time and attention?
• "Create shared understanding": Think about how VR social spaces could be designed to encourage meaningful connections—not just flashy interactions.
• "Help people thrive": Are we designing AI assistants to help users act in alignment with their deeper intentions? For instance, how can we design AI writing assistants to enhance creativity, not replace it?

Hard truth: These principles often conflict with business goals. It's our job to advocate for users and find balance.

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​The bottom line: These aren't just theory—they're practical tools for creating next-gen interfaces that work. You don't need to apply every principle to every design. It's about having a toolkit for the unique challenges of emerging tech.

News, Tools, and Resources: Design principles

• ​This is how to conduct your own heuristic evaluation for your next design.
• Nail your information architecture with these eight principles.
• So you get usability heuristics…but how do you apply them to complex apps? This article has your answer.
• A great read on how to improve your designs with Gestalt principles.
• Love this roundup of designer Patrick Morgan’s top five sets of design principles.
• Check out this killer deep dive on progressive disclosure.

When to Break the Rules

Design principles are guidelines, not laws. Here's when to break them:

1) When you need to grab attention: Sometimes, a little cognitive overload is exactly what you need to make a point.

Take Apple’s product launch landing pages, which often use a full-screen, motion-heavy hero section—a moment of "cognitive overload" that forces users to pay attention. It's not how you'd want to design a settings page, but for a big product reveal? It works.

2) For power users: If you're designing for pros who use your tool all day, every day, you can push complexity further.

Look at tools like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion. Their interfaces can be complex, with numerous parameters and options. But for power users creating AI art, this level of control is crucial.

3) When conventions fail: If the "standard" way of doing something sucks, try something new.

The Browser Company's Arc redefined browser tabs with a vertical sidebar. This breaks convention—but better serves users dealing with numerous tabs, making navigation faster and more intuitive.

4) To differentiate: In a crowded market, sometimes breaking convention is how you stand out. Just make sure the payoff is worth the learning curve.

​Notion's block-based editing is a perfect example. It was a huge departure from traditional document editors, but it's become a key differentiator.

The key? Know the rules well enough to know when (and why) you're breaking them.

UX Tools Job Board

• JetBlue is looking for a Product Designer for its Digital Web Experience team.
• 2025 grads: You may be a perfect fit for TikTok’s UX Designer graduate position on the e-commerce team.
• Unlearn.AI is using AI to power the future of medicine. Join their mission as a Senior Product Designer.

What’s one design principle you’re always going back to? Hit reply and let me know

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