The Laws of UX is a deck of guide cards, part of a group of products called Pip Decks. Pip Decks are aids to creation and leadership on various topics for consultants, designers, project leaders, entrepreneurs, marketers, educators, and speakers. They assist in developing presentations on the topics, as well as facilitating discussion.
"UX" in this case refers to User Experience Design: the process of defining the experience a user would have when interacting with a company, its services, and its products. This is different from User Interface Design. UX design encompasses all aspects of a user's perceived experience with a product or website.
There are currently eight Pip Decks and plans to cover additional topics. Each deck consists of about 54 cards (the number may vary a little by deck), each card providing information and tips on key elements of the topic. There is a suite of supplemental materials that you can purchase separately for each Pip Deck including videos, drag-and-drop cards for use with the digital whiteboard Miro to build storyboards, and PDF duplicates of all the cards in the deck.
The deck that deals with The Laws of UX is a bit different from the other guides. It is a collection of best practices that designers can refer to when building user interfaces in order to reduce the amount of cognitive overload for the interface user. The cards cover the concepts of UX that a designer, author, presenter, or consultant would need to be familiar with. The cards address:
- UX theory
- Interactivity principles
- UX methods
- Psychological concepts
- Introduction/How to use The Laws of UX
To get the user started, the "How to use The Laws of UX" card explains, "At the bottom front of each card there is a list of the related cards in the deck. To use the deck, begin by sorting through all the cards, starting with the UX Theory group. Connect related psychology concepts, interaction principles, and UX methods as they support your topic interest. In other words, pair your design principles with the UX Theories. The result is a strengthened connection between what the principle is seeking to accomplish and the psychological reasoning behind it. This creates a shared collective knowledge and vocabulary. With this, you will be able to articulate your design decisions to peers and stakeholders by tying them back to psychology."
The author, Jon Yablonski, is a senior UX designer with a passion for designing. Jon wanted to "focus on delivering the best possible user experience by removing the complexity debt that oftentimes becomes a focus during the development process." He has published a book based on this project with O’Reilly Media: The Laws of UX: Using Psychology to Design Better Products and Services.
I have to add some observations that you should keep in mind. First, this not an inexpensive product. Second, the cards are not a course on UX—they are intended to assist the user in designing "better products and services." In other words, this product is not for everyone. UX is an important discipline for designers, and it requires thoughtful application. Actually, those comments apply to all of the Pip Decks as far as I can tell. I use one of the decks in my work and the benefit is that the process saves me time and gives me better results. It doesn't make the work or the effort required any less, it is just faster. Read the reviews on the Pip Decks site and make your own decision. For myself, the Pip Deck that I use has been well worth the price and that has apparently been the experience of others.