As part of my mission to get more people started in User Experience design, I decided to follow-up last year’s UX Crash Course and User Psychology crash course — which have been read over a million times — by answering 30 of the dumbest UX questions I have ever heard.

Here’s the twist: they’re not as stupid as they seem.

All of these “stupid” questions are real. Real people have asked me all of them, more than once. And that’s a good thing!

Each one is based on a fundamental misunderstanding, which means they are an opportunity to learn some shit. All the answers are practical and useful. The lessons follow the order of a real UX process (more or less) so you can apply these ideas as-you-go. Each lesson also stands alone, so feel free to bookmark them as a reference!

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Welcome to UX:

#01 — What if I don’t know the answer?
#02 — Can anybody do UX? Can everybody?
#03 — Is UX just marketing and development?
#04 — My logo makes people happy. Is that UX design?
#05 — How do I explain UX to my grandmother?
#06 — How do I convince my boss that UX is
important?

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Thinking About Users:

#07 — Is “Design Thinking” just thinking about design?
#08 — What are the rules of UX design?
#09 — What if my design is confusing?
#10 — Will men click a pink icon?

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Choosing a UX Strategy:

#11 — Is sketching useful?
#12 — Does gamification always work?
#13 — Is social better than non-social?
#14 — What is the best gesture?

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Structuring Information:

#15 — How many menu options is too many?
#16 — Should I show the sub-menu on hover, click, or click-through?
#17 — Is an email confirmation bad UX?