This toolkit includes a mix of UX design principles and visual or aesthetic design principles.聽The distinction between user experience (UX) design and user interface (UI or visual design) can be a bit tricky, especially since the visual design does play into the overall experience.

One good way to think of it is that UX design鈥檚 goal is to optimize task completion or user success. Often UX design will focus on the structure of the content and how to communicate efficiently with the user. UX design principles tend to be more concrete. They may also be familiar to you if you鈥檝e worked with websites in the past.

In contrast, visual design principles help you build an emotional and aesthetic experience. People tend to enjoy using products that look nice. In fact, . Although aesthetic preferences vary between individuals, there are some overarching principles that govern our collective sense of what's pleasing. These are a key part of聽designing a digital experience.