ULTIMATE UX DICTIONARY
Index
They indicate something. The index connected with its meaning (not arbitrary) but unlike the icon, it’s not the object itself. As examples, we can say that smoke indicates fire, smiles indicate happiness, fresh coffee smell in the morning indicates that someone preparing breakfast. Even medical symptoms and measuring instruments are indexes, because they indicate something.
Symbols
They have no resemblance to the real object, it’s a result of a convention. A symbol can only make meaning if the person already knows that, so, this is a matter of culture and previous knowledge. We all know that a dove represents peace, but there’s no connection between the animal and peace, it’s just …
NMED: Donald Norman's Theory of Emotional Design
Donald Norman’s theory of Emotional Design. A theoretical model of the way the human brain responds emotionally to the designs we produce. Norman describes three levels at which we judge the appeal of designs: The ‘Visceral’, ‘Behavioral’, and ‘Reflective’ Visceral Level – The most immediate level of processing, in which we react to visual and …
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Imprinting
In organizational theory and organizational behavior, imprinting is a core concept describing how the past affects the present.[1] Imprinting is generally defined as a process whereby, during a brief period of susceptibility, a focal entity or actor (such as an industry, organization, or an individual) develops characteristics that reflect prominent features of the environment, and …
What You See Is All There Is (WYSIATI).
the brain craves a story that ties everything together. If the story lacks causality, it will struggle to create that story, and will eventually just make up it’s own causalities — the WYSIATI effect.