More from Jakob Nielsen on UX
Users parse a layout before they read its labels. Whitespace, borders, alignment, color, and motion determine what belongs together. When these cues fight the content, users attach the label, price, warning, status, or action to the wrong object. Proximity, similarity, enclosure, and the other Gestalt cues guide the eye, snapping visual chaos into clarity.
Design guidelines held steady for 30 years but are shifting with AI | Users who are anxious about AI use it more, not less | A toggle is a light switch, not a form field | The same design scores lower every year | What are the Erdős problems and why are they relevant for AI? | An ambient monitoring interface with glanceable feedback on agent progress cut errors in half
Summary: Halfway through 2026, AI is evolving faster than expected, but usability is struggling to keep pace.
Summary: The two most conversion-killing ecommerce usability fails | Social media use remains strong but the platforms are becoming less about connecting with other people | The usability of overseeing AI agents | Team-building image idea: design video game characters | Professor Ben Shneiderman was one of the greatest early pioneers of user experience | Seedance 2 as PC software concept
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