UX News
A look at what's going on in the field of user experience.
Do UX Certifications Pay Off?
, MeasuringU
What is the value of UX certification?
How do you learn the methods UX professionals use? A few university programs offer courses in UX or related fields.
The Optimal Design for Sidebar Indicators
, UX MovementA sidebar navigation on an interface offers users multiple items to select. After making a selection, they need a visual cue to identify the chosen item. This cue is called an indicator. Every sidebar needs a clear and non-distracting selection indicator. However, many designers continue to use bad practices that make it hard for users […]
The post The Optimal Design for Sidebar Indicators first appeared on UX Movement.
How to Design a Sidebar That Saves Screen Space
, UX MovementScreen space on a desktop interface is more important than you think. Most designers take it for granted because a desktop screen contains so much space. However, when it comes to data display, every pixel counts. A sidebar can occupy a lot of width space and diminish the content area. As a result, users will […]
The post How to Design a Sidebar That Saves Screen Space first appeared on UX Movement.
User Experience Salaries & Calculator (2024)
, MeasuringU
Continuing a decades-long tradition, in 2024 we worked with the UXPA to collect and understand the UX profession’s latest compensation, skills, and composition. We hosted the survey on our MUiQ® platform and summarized the findings on salaries and related skills of UX professionals from around the world. The details for the past and current UXPA surveys are available on the UXPA website. Here are the highlights for 2024. Go straight to the Salary Calculator below. Survey Results The data was collected from April 2024–October 2024 using a non-probability sample. Initial respondents were recruited through postings on professional networks and websites, such as UXPA and LinkedIn. Additional respondents were recruited using snowball sampling. Keep this sampling approach in mind as it impacts the generalizability of the findings and the comparability to earlier data. International reach, most from the U.S. The survey is based on 444 responses from 37 countries, with 67% of the responses coming from the U.S. Other significant numbers came from the UK (4%), Canada (4%) and Germany (3%). The sample size was the smallest we’ve ever collected for this survey, so we suspect practitioners may be suffering from some survey fatigue. Despite the smaller sample size, we saw very similar patterns compared to the 2022 data, suggesting consistent representative coverage. The median salary was $120K. This 10% increase is nominally higher than the 2022 median of $109K. While that sounds good, it doesn’t account for inflation, which was higher than any other measurement period we examined since 2010. Taking inflation into account, we also converted the salaries into constant U.S. dollars based on U.S. inflation using the inflation data from August 2024. Because the inflation from January 2022 to August 2024 was 12%, the effective median salary in 2024 was 2% less than the salary in 2022. Many variables affect salary. The $120K average is based on many variables, so you can’t look at that alone to gauge how well your own salary stacks up. For example, this includes a mix of both senior executives at large companies and entry-level professionals at small companies in locations where the cost of living is substantially different. What Factors Affect Salaries? As we did in 2022, we conducted a key driver multiple regression analysis (on the log-transformed salaries) to see which variables from the 2024 UXPA survey statistically predict what people earn (Table 1). VariableProportion of Variance Explained Country/U.S. Region50% Job Level11% Education 4% Company Size 4% Years Experience 3% Table 1: Key drivers from the UXPA 2024 survey explain 72% of the variation in salaries.
The regression model accounted for 72% of the variation in salaries. For the behavioral sciences, explaining this much variation is very good. Individual factors—skills, personalities, negotiation, company policies, etc.—also affect your salary; keep that in mind as you review the numbers and use the calculator below. As in years past, the most influential factors for salaries in the UX field are: Where you live: The country (and region for the U.S.) has the biggest impact on what you’re paid. It alone explains 50% of the variation in salary data. The median salary in the U.S. is $142K, compared to $85K in the UK, $87.5K in Canada and $85K in Germany. In the U.S., the top five highest salaries are in Northern California ($198K), the Pacific Northwest ($165K), Southern California ($158K), the Northeast ($153K), and the Southwest ($146K). After considering the 12% inflation from 2022 to 2024, the Northern California, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast regions experienced some loss in effective income. The map below (Figure 1) shows the number of usable salaries we analyzed for each state and how we labeled the regions. The patterns in 2024 were generally the same as those in 2022.
How to Handle Large-Scale Item Groups in a Sidebar
, UX MovementA sidebar navigation with a few items is simple to design. All you have to do is display them in a list with relevant icons. But what do you do when you have multiple large-scale item groups to display? The typical approach uses disclosure arrows to collapse each item group with an accordion functionality. However, […]
The post How to Handle Large-Scale Item Groups in a Sidebar first appeared on UX Movement.
A Better Approach to Multi-Level Sidebar Navigation
, UX MovementDesigners must stop using multi-level sidebar navigation. Grouping many items and subitems together in a small space creates visual clutter. As a result, users have trouble finding items when they navigate. For example, a sidebar with a navigation hierarchy with three levels will display many text labels. Users navigating between levels can easily misinterpret which […]
The post A Better Approach to Multi-Level Sidebar Navigation first appeared on UX Movement.
Empowering the User Experience Through Microinteractions: 7 Best Practices
, UXmattersBy Syed Balkhi
Microinteractions are small, yet powerful interaction-design elements that can fundamentally shape how users interact with a digital product. They are critical components that can make a product more user friendly and engaging.
Evolving the User Experience to Curb Digital Addiction
, UXmattersBy Nitin Kumar
Over the last decade, the ways in which we experience technology have undergone significant changes. We’ve progressed from checking our email messages in a computer’s Web browser to receiving email notifications on our smartphone. Instant-messaging communication has transitioned from chatting on the desktop application Yahoo Messenger to conversing with family and friends in WhatsApp groups. Social-media apps on smartphones have transformed to become instantaneous broadcasts of our life experiences. Marking an important paradigm shift, technology has influenced every aspect of our communications, from shopping to education to gaming.
The Power of Textual Content in UX Design
, UXmattersBy Shalini Samuel
Digital experiences get better through user-centric design. Among the various elements that contribute to a seamless user experience, do not underestimate the role of textual content. When you use text strategically, it can improve the brand value of a product, Web site, or application whether by guiding users, conveying information, or establishing a meaningful connection with customers.
How Web-Site Design and Social Media Work Together
, UXmattersBy Val Razo
While social media has taken center stage in terms of marketing priorities today, every successful business knows that Web-site design and social-media marketing should work in concert. Building a brand is all about consistency—so it’s important for a business’s Web-site design to align with its social-media content and vice versa. Otherwise, the business might confuse its audience and, thus, have difficulty building a loyal customer base.
