Jakob Nielsen
Usability pioneer; co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group and founder of UX Tigers; author of the ten usability heuristics and of Jakob's Law.
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What they believe
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The winning system of the next decade will be the one that best understands the user's job to be done and shows what it is about to do, not the one with the prettiest buttons or fewest screens.
The winning system of the next decade will not be the one with the most aesthetically pleasing buttons, nor will it be the one with the fewest screens. It will be the system that best understands the human’s “job to be done,” autonomously selects the right tools on their behalf, clearly shows the user what is about to happen, and gracefully recovers when the user’s context is incomplete or ambiguous.
jakobnielsenphd.substack.comSaid 26 Mar 2026This on korrents
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The average user is a dangerous statistical artifact: design for the gap between the median user and the heavy-use tail, not for a phantom mean.
In the world of high-stakes digital strategy, the “average user” is a dangerous statistical artifact.
jakobnielsenphd.substack.comSaid 19 Mar 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 21 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
The winning system of the next decade will be the one that best understands the user's job to be done and shows what it is about to do, not the one with the prettiest buttons or fewest screens.
The winning system of the next decade will not be the one with the most aesthetically pleasing buttons, nor will it be the one with the fewest screens. It will be the system that best understands the human’s “job to be done,” autonomously selects the right tools on their behalf, clearly shows the user what is about to happen, and gracefully recovers when the user’s context is incomplete or ambiguous.
Intent by Discovery: Designing the AI User Experience Said 26 Mar 2026
Companies pay for design so that customers buy more and look at more ads; internet-era UX was manipulation, whatever designers set out to do.
The reason companies pay for design is to get customers to buy more and users to look at more advertisements.
Intent by Discovery: Designing the AI User Experience Said 26 Mar 2026
The average user is a dangerous statistical artifact: design for the gap between the median user and the heavy-use tail, not for a phantom mean.
In the world of high-stakes digital strategy, the “average user” is a dangerous statistical artifact.
Don’t Design for Average Users Said 19 Mar 2026
Show 18 more
UX does not die when the interface disappears; it becomes the design of policies, protocols and orchestration of what AI does on the user's behalf.
So no, UX doesn’t die; it metamorphoses. We’ll still craft humane experiences, but increasingly through policies, protocols, and orchestrations rather than panels and palettes.
No More User Interface? Said 8 May 2025
The return on UX design work is declining because the usability battles have been won: the low-hanging fruit was picked and interfaces are now reasonably good.
UX design has been steadily improving over the last 50 years and is now reasonably good. The low-hanging fruit of terrible usability has long since been picked.
Declining ROI From UX Design Work Said 20 Mar 2025
Vibe coding lets users design and build their own software, upending the user-centred design paradigm that has held since 1947.
The new trend toward vibe coding and vibe design may be upending the user-centered design paradigm that has remained based on the same ideology since the first UX design projects at Bell Labs, starting in 1947.
Does User-Driven Design Still Need User-Centered Design? Said 13 Mar 2025
Making coding easy makes design more critical, not less: when anyone can produce working features, the quality of the experience is what sets products apart.
In a vibe coding future, companies will hopefully invest more in understanding user needs, refining the interface, and polishing details that delight users, because those are harder for AI to get right without guidance.
Vibe Coding and Vibe Design Said 7 Mar 2025
Mockups existed because coding was hard; now designers can skip static mockups and go straight to building a UI that works.
Essentially, vibe coding makes it trivial to create front-end code, so designers can skip static mockups and go straight to building a UI that works.
Vibe Coding and Vibe Design Said 7 Mar 2025
Deciding what software should do and why is still a human job: vibe coding changes the implementation phase far more than the planning phase.
Vibe coding can execute instructions, but deciding what the software should do and why is not automated. Product managers and designers must still do user research, market analysis, and creative brainstorming. In that sense, vibe coding changes the implementation phase more than the planning phase of the product lifecycle.
Vibe Coding and Vibe Design Said 7 Mar 2025
AI agents will end traditional UI design and accessibility, because users will stop visiting websites and act only through their agent.
Once, humans navigated the web manually. In the future, AI agents will act on our behalf, browsing, clicking, and deciding. This shift marks the end of traditional UI design and accessibility, ushering in a future where agents are the primary users of digital services.
Hello AI Agents: Goodbye UI Design, RIP Accessibility Said 21 Feb 2025
AI will flatten the design profession: when ten AI-enabled designers do the work of a department of a hundred, the need for higher management levels shrivels.
When a team of 10 AI-enabled super-designers can do the work that used to require a UX department of 100, the need for higher management levels shrivels. I call this the “pancaking” of the design profession.
Design Leaders Should Go “Founder Mode” Said 21 Nov 2024
AI design tools are starting at the low end and eating their way up: within ten years even the richest brands will rely heavily on them.
Right now, they can make simple social media posts for small companies and individual influencers. Two years from now, they can make simple campaigns and tradeshow collateral for mid-sized businesses. And in 10 years, I bet that even the richest brand will rely heavily on these tools.
Innovator’s Dilemma Hits Design: Growing Capabilities of AI-Driven Amateur Design Tools Said 8 Aug 2024
Accessibility has failed as a way to make computers usable for disabled users, after thirty years of trying.
Accessibility has failed as a way to make computers usable for disabled users. My metrics for usable design are the same whether the user is disabled or not: whether it’s easy to learn the system, whether productivity is high when performing tasks, and whether the design is pleasant — even enjoyable — to use.
Accessibility Has Failed: Try Generative UI = Individualized UX Said 29 Feb 2024
Within about five years the user interface will be generated afresh each time a user opens an app, so different users will get drastically different designs.
I foresee a much more radical approach to generative UI to emerge shortly — maybe in 5 years or so. In this second-generation generative UI, the user interface is generated afresh every time the user accesses the app. Most important, this means that different users will get drastically different designs.
Accessibility Has Failed: Try Generative UI = Individualized UX Said 29 Feb 2024
Half the population in rich countries is not articulate enough in writing to use prompt-driven AI well.
For sure, half the population is insufficiently articulate in writing to use ChatGPT well.
The Articulation Barrier: Prompt-Driven AI UX Hurts Usability Said 26 Jun 2023
Graphical interfaces have superior usability because they show people what can be done rather than requiring them to articulate what they want.
GUIs have superior usability because they show people what can be done rather than requiring them to articulate what they want.
The Articulation Barrier: Prompt-Driven AI UX Hurts Usability Said 26 Jun 2023
AI is the first new user-interface paradigm in sixty years: intent-based outcome specification, where the user says what outcome they want rather than how to get it.
The third UI paradigm, represented by current generative AI, is intent-based outcome specification. The user tells the computer the desired result but does not specify how this outcome should be accomplished, such as the steps to be executed. Compared to traditional command-based interaction design, this completely reverses the locus of control.
AI Is First New UI Paradigm in 60 Years Said 22 Jun 2023
Today's chat-based AI tools have deep-rooted usability problems and are not the interfaces we will be using in a few years; prompt engineering is a symptom, not a career.
I doubt that the current set of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, Bard, etc., are representative of the UIs we’ll be using in a few years because they have deep-rooted usability problems.
AI Is First New UI Paradigm in 60 Years Said 22 Jun 2023
The graphical user interface will survive AI in a less dominant role: future AI systems will have hybrid interfaces that combine intent and command.
Thus, the 2nd UI paradigm will survive, albeit in a less dominant role. Future AI systems will likely have a hybrid user interface that combines elements of both intent-based and command-based interfaces while still retaining many GUI elements.
AI Is First New UI Paradigm in 60 Years Said 22 Jun 2023
Users spend most of their time on other sites, so they prefer yours to work the same way as the sites they already know.
Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
End of Web Design Said 22 Jul 2000
A feature that works the same everywhere needs no teaching: a first-time visitor can use it by transferring what they learned on other sites.
On the contrary, a first-time visitor to a site will be able to use expert features without having to learn the site because he or she can transfer learning from other sites.
End of Web Design Said 22 Jul 2000
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 8 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Uses Dell 30-inch monitor
Dell 30-inch monitor (2560x1600 pixels)
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Uses Morae
Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Office 2007, Photoshop Elements, Snagit (for screenshots), Morae (for user testing videos), Skype.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Mixed on Vista
I always liked the Vista UI vision, but the reality wasn't as good.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Show 5 more
Mixed on Photoshop
On the other hand, I continue to find Photoshop unintuitive, though it has made me more productive to downgrade from the full edition to the more limited Elements edition. A good example of the less is more usability maxim.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Liked SnagIt
Interestingly, Snagit is one of the several other applications to adopt the "ribbon" style UI, which makes that more pleasant to use as well.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Liked Office 2007
Office 2007 is a good improvement over the old, crusty Office UI.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Disliked Alienware
My Alienware is disappointingly noisy, even though I paid extra for having it sound-proofed and watercooled.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Mixed on Acer Ferrari 5000-5832
Laptop: Acer Ferrari 5000-5832. Ridiculous co-branding, because cars and laptops have nothing to do with each other, but it is a powerful machine for travel use.
usesthis.com 13 Jun 2009
Where they publish
Newsletter Jakob Nielsen on UX Several articles a week on UX and AI, plus the UX Roundups.
Open jakobnielsenphd.substack.com
Recent
- Flow in UX 21 Oct 2026 Flow is the state of total absorption in which work feels effortless, time evaporates, and performance peaks.
- UX Roundup: AI by Design Phase | Product Managers vs. Designers | Individualized Tutoring | Text Labels | Thumbnails | Stopping AI | Unsubscribe | OODA Loop | Timeouts | Buzzwords | Registration 19 Oct 2026 Designers use AI most for ideation and least for finishing | Product managers benefit more from AI than designers | AI tutors as good as human experts but 918 times cheaper | Icons need text labels | Thumbnails give a f…
- UX Roundup: Skewed AI Use | Reviewing AI Results | Writing & Design | Losing Users’ Work | Autofill | Hover Effects | Time Gains | Asking What You Know | Multilingual Video | CAPTCHA | Social Presence 16 Oct 2026 Superusers use AI 15× the norm | Checking AI’s work is becoming a burden | Uniting writing and design | Respect the user’s work above all | The form that fills itself | Fingers can’t hover | Main AI benefit is saving ti…
Show 17 more
- 3 AI Interaction Styles: Turn-Taking, Task Agents, Always-On 14 Oct 2026 In under 4 years, AI has acquired 3 interaction styles: Turn-Taking AI answers the questions you ask, Task Agents finish the jobs you assign, and Always-on Agents fill the roles you appoint them to and start work on the…
- UX Roundup: CAPTCHA | Undo | Robotaxi Safety | Better Usability for Educational AI | Scrolljacking | Floating Action Button | Long Forms | Secondary vs. Primary Features | Picture Superiority 12 Oct 2026 Too easy to fail CAPTCHA verification | Rethinking undo for the AI age | Waymo gets 25% safer every year, a crawl for AI but a sprint for cars | Students disliked the AI tutoring style that’s likely best for learning |…
- UX Roundup: Erik the Red | AI Thematic Analysis | Nano Banana 2.1 | Scrolling | Fast Asymptote in AI Skills | Average Users | Wishlists | Usability Testing Without Findings | Naming Consistency 9 Oct 2026 How Erik the Red discovered Greenland | AI now codes user comments as well as UX researchers do | Google’s Nano Banana 2.1 is only a marginal upgrade | Scrolling imposes a memory load if related items are far apart | Us…
- Behavioral Economics & UX: Design for Irrational Humans 7 Oct 2026 People don’t decide the way classical economics assumes. They take mental shortcuts and follow seemingly irrational rules that were tuned for survival in the Paleolithic, not for pricing pages. This article distills the…
- UX Roundup: AI Errors Halve Every 5 Months | Muse Charm | Synthetic Users in Exploratory Design | Context | AI-Simulated Users Are Biased | Price Comparisons | Perceived Affordance | Consistency | Tab 5 Oct 2026 AI errors halve every 5 months on accounting tasks | Meta’s AI appliance, the Muse Charm | Synthetic users can revive participatory design and drive divergence in the exploratory design phase | Context changes what coun…
- UX Roundup: Vigilance Fatigue | Adaptive Authoring | UI Clutter | Scenarios vs. Surveys for User Preferences | Measure Outcomes | Satisfaction vs. Expectations | Spotlight Features | Allow Paste 2 Oct 2026 Asking users to watch AI carefully is doomed to failure | Adaptive authoring of content that changes depending on the reader | A cluttered experience kills user focus | To predict patients’ treatment preferences, discus…
- My Top 10 UX Slogans: 40 Words That Survive the Age of AI Agents 30 Sept 2026 My 10 favorite UX slogans total a mere 40 words, yet they distill the most enduring lessons from my 43 years in usability.
- UX Roundup: Bogus Deskilling Research | Jargon Alienates | AI Exposure Improves AI Attitudes | Interruptions | Prioritizing > Everything | Paper Prototyping | Satisficing | Resizable Panes 28 Sept 2026 Most deskilling research studies the wrong condition | Speak the user’s language | Using AI increases people’s preference for AI | Interruptions cause stress | Experienced UXers give the most important findings the most…
- UX Roundup: AI Agents Help Blind Users | Style Exploration | Recognition: Show Options | Synthetic Users Help Designers Reflect | Local Optimization | Fail Early | Before–After Sliders | Error Message 25 Sept 2026 Current AI agents help blind users at least as well as screen readers in separate studies and may already do better | Decompose styles into elements you can choose and combine | Show users their options to spare them th…
- Default Dominance: Most Users Never Change the Setting You Ship 23 Sept 2026 Defaults decide what most users experience and teach them what to consider normal, so leaving a setting unchanged tells you little about its quality.
- UX Roundup: People Tell AI Their Secrets | Employment & AI | Long Forms | Two Ways of Using AI | Flow | Funny AI | Triangulation | IKEA Effect | Comparison Tables | Focus 21 Sept 2026 Users say they don’t trust AI, but they tell it their secrets anyway | More people have gained jobs because of AI than have lost them | Every form field you cut increases conversion | The two main ways users direct AI:…
- UX Roundup: Adapting AI to Users | What Characteristics of Profitable AI Use? | Integrated AI Design Advice | Progress Visibility | Agent Delegation | AI Must Show Its Work | Free | What Happens Next 18 Sept 2026 Several approaches help AI learn how to serve individual users better | A survey reveals differences between companies profiting from AI and the rest | Real-time feedback during editing | Show how far a slow process has…
- The 100 Most Common UX Design Methods, Ranked by Value 16 Sept 2026 100 top UXD methods ranked by breadth, altitude, persuasion, and cost.
- UX Roundup: AI Codes Survey Responses | Agents Disregard Ranking | Half of AI Use Needs Recovery | AI Context | AI Agents | Emotional Attachment to AI | Cost of Extra Steps | Feedback During Creation 14 Sept 2026 AI is good at coding open-ended survey answers | AI agents shop without Google Gullibility | Half of AI conversations include a breakdown, so the recovery experience deserves more attention | AI needs context to suit th…
- UX Roundup: Employers Value Experience Over Skills | Exponential Growth in AI Use | AI Dependence | Undo | Disappointing Suno | AI’s Economic Scenarios | Reflective Design | Mini Maps | GPT Image 2.5 11 Sept 2026 Since January 2025, tech job postings have asked for 25% fewer skills but 5% more experience | AI spending among OpenAI’s heaviest research users is growing at 129% per month | 26% of young-adult chatbot users say they…
- Information Foraging Theory: Why Users Hunt, Snack, Leave, and Farm Content 9 Sept 2026 Information foraging theory is the best explanation of how people behave in information-rich environments, from the original web to today’s AI chatbots.
- UX Roundup: Graph UI vs. Chat | Linear UI for Stories | Reusing Past Alternatives | Fast Wins | Mental Models | AI as Tool or Coworker | Sticky Navigation 7 Sept 2026 Graph-based UI for AI is better than linear chat for design tasks | Storytelling improves with a keyframing UI | With a better history UI, clients reused a designer’s past alternatives 2.6× as often as they generated ne…
Link verified 6 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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