design-heuristics

name	design-heuristics
description	Rams' 10 principles, Nielsen's usability heuristics, Three Lenses evaluation, and senior-vs-junior design thinking frameworks — structured rubrics for design critique, not vibes. Identifies design anti-patterns with fixes before they reach users. Use proactively when evaluating a design before shipping, running a structured design critique or review, applying Rams or Nielsen heuristics, distinguishing senior from junior design thinking, or identifying design anti-patterns.
version	1.0.0
tags	["design","heuristics","evaluation","critique","anti-pattern","best-practice"]
when_to_use	["Evaluating a design before shipping","Running a structured design critique or review","Applying Rams' 10 principles or Nielsen's usability heuristics","Distinguishing senior from junior design thinking","Identifying design anti-patterns before they reach users"]

Design Heuristics

Evaluation frameworks for rigorous design critique. Use these to evaluate work before shipping, not after.

Purpose

• Provide structured evaluation rubrics (not vibes)
• Distinguish senior from junior design thinking
• Identify common design anti-patterns with fixes
• Enable self-critique before peer review

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Rams' 10 Principles — Evaluation Rubric

#	Principle	Ask Yourself	Pass	Fail
1	Innovative	Does this explore new possibilities or just copy patterns?	Introduces at least one novel interaction or visual approach	Pure template reproduction
2	Useful	Does every element serve the user's goal?	All elements traceable to user needs	Decorative elements with no function
3	Aesthetic	Is the visual design intentional and cohesive?	Named aesthetic direction, consistent application	"Clean and modern" without specifics
4	Understandable	Can a new user grasp this without instructions?	Self-evident UI, progressive disclosure	Requires tutorial or manual
5	Unobtrusive	Does the design serve content, not itself?	Content is hero, chrome is invisible	Design competes with content
6	Honest	Does it promise only what it delivers?	Accurate affordances, no dark patterns	Misleading buttons, hidden costs
7	Long-lasting	Will this feel dated in 6 months?	Based on principles, not trends	Relies on current trend (glassmorphism everywhere)
8	Thorough	Is every detail considered?	All states, edge cases, error paths designed	Only happy path designed
9	Environmentally friendly	Is it efficient with resources?	Optimized assets, minimal HTTP requests, lean code	Bloated, wasteful, over-engineered
10	Minimal	Is anything here unnecessary?	Every element justified	Elements that can be removed without loss

Scoring: Count passes. 8+ = ship it. 6-7 = iterate. Below 6 = rethink approach.

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Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics — Checklist

#	Heuristic	Common Violations	How to Detect
1	Visibility of system status	No loading indicators, silent failures, no progress feedback	Trigger every action — does the user know what's happening?
2	Match between system and real world	Technical jargon in UI, unfamiliar icons, developer-facing error messages	Read all copy aloud — would a non-technical user understand?
3	User control and freedom	No undo, no cancel, no back button, trapped in modal flows	Try to exit every flow mid-way — can you?
4	Consistency and standards	Same action, different buttons; same icon, different meanings	Catalog all interactive patterns — are they consistent?
5	Error prevention	No validation until submit, easy mis-clicks, no confirmation for destructive actions	Try to make mistakes — does the system prevent them?
6	Recognition rather than recall	Hidden options, empty search, no recent items, no autocomplete	Can you complete tasks without remembering anything?
7	Flexibility and efficiency	No keyboard shortcuts, no bulk actions, no shortcuts for power users	Complete the same task 10 times — is there a faster way?
8	Aesthetic and minimalist design	Cluttered screens, competing CTAs, information overload	Cover each element — if removed, would users miss it?
9	Help users recognize and recover from errors	Generic "Error" messages, no recovery action, unclear next steps	Trigger every error — does the message explain what happened AND what to do?
10	Help and documentation	No tooltips, no onboarding, no contextual help	Can a new user complete key tasks without external help?

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Three Lenses Evaluation

Desirability (Would users choose this?)

Question	Evidence Required
Does this solve a real user pain point?	User research, support tickets, analytics data
Would users choose this over alternatives?	Competitive analysis, unique value proposition
Does the emotional experience match the brand?	Journey emotional mapping, tone consistency

Feasibility (Can we build this?)

Question	Evidence Required
Do we have the technical capability?	Stack assessment, team skills review
Can we build this within reasonable complexity?	Architecture review, dependency analysis
Does it integrate with existing systems?	API compatibility, data model fit

Viability (Does this make business sense?)

Question	Evidence Required
Does this align with business goals?	OKR mapping, strategy alignment
Can we sustain this long-term?	Maintenance cost, operational requirements
Does the value justify the investment?	ROI estimate, opportunity cost analysis

All three must pass. A beautiful, feasible design that doesn't make business sense fails. A viable, desirable design that can't be built fails. A feasible, viable design nobody wants fails.

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Senior vs Junior Thinking

Dimension	Junior Approach	Senior Approach
Scope	Designs the screen	Designs the system
Principles	Follows rules	Knows when to break rules (and why)
Feedback	Takes it personally	Uses it as design fuel
Decisions	"I like this"	"This works because [principle]"
Collaboration	Presents finished work	Involves stakeholders in process
Problem framing	Solves the stated problem	Questions whether it's the right problem
Rationale	"It looks good"	"It communicates [X] because [Y]"
Systems thinking	Designs components	Designs relationships between components
Constraints	Sees limitations	Sees creative opportunities
Output	One solution	Multiple options with tradeoffs

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10 Design Anti-Patterns

#	Anti-Pattern	Symptom	Fix
1	Assumption-Driven Design	No user research cited, "users want..." without evidence	Ground every decision in research, data, or analogous cases
2	Feature Creep	Every edge case gets a UI element, cluttered interface	Prioritize ruthlessly, use progressive disclosure
3	Inconsistent Patterns	Same action looks different in different places	Create pattern library, audit for consistency
4	Accessibility Afterthought	WCAG compliance bolted on at the end	Design accessible from the start, test continuously
5	Mobile-as-Shrink	Desktop design squished onto mobile	Design mobile-first, add complexity for larger screens
6	Dark Patterns	Tricks users into unintended actions	Apply the "newspaper test" — would you be embarrassed if reported?
7	Information Overload	Everything visible at once, no hierarchy	Progressive disclosure, clear visual hierarchy
8	Generic Copywriting	"Submit", "Error", "Welcome to our platform"	Name every action specifically, write helpful error messages
9	Ignoring Edge Cases	Only happy path designed, errors crash gracefully	Design empty, error, loading, and partial states first
10	Desktop-Only Thinking	No touch targets, hover-dependent interactions, fixed widths	Test on mobile devices, use responsive patterns

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Validation Checklist

Before Storing Work Product

• Scored 8+ on Rams' Principles
• All 10 Nielsen Heuristics addressed (no violations)
• All Three Lenses pass (Desirable + Feasible + Viable)
• No anti-patterns present
• Rationale given for every major design decision (not "it looks nice")
• Multiple concepts considered with tradeoffs documented
• Senior thinking patterns applied (systems, not screens)