Laws of UX, second edition — an interview with Jon Yablonski
Jon Yablonski’s second edition of Laws of UX is geekier and beefier yet still joyful and accessible to read.
I discovered and read the first edition of the Laws of UX four years ago. Its penetrating simplicity blew me away. The book connected classic psychology concepts with how we should design in a way that made a lot of sense. After reading the book, I was left equal parts frustrated and excited. I was frustrated because Jon had written the book I wanted to write, and I was excited because I finally had a solid text for my UX students and staff.
On a whim, I reached out to Jon to see if he’d talk to me. To my surprise, he agreed to give me an interview. I think we both had a grand old time chatting it up, but maybe it was just me ;). Since the interview, he’s guest lectured in several of my classes.
In late 2023 Jon and his editor asked me to comb through the Laws of UX’s second edition and offer feedback. I jumped at the opportunity because it was a huge honor, and wanted to see what he was cooking. I didn’t want to wait until the release to find out.
A very short review of the second edition
The second edition of the Laws of UX is similar but different. It’s similar because it houses the same 11 chapters as the first edition. However, it is different because Jon allowed his inner nerd to come out and play by digging into topics considerably more than he did in the first edition. Despite the new beef and geek offered in the second edition, Jon managed to keep the book joyful and accessible.
The Interview
Tell me what your book is about.
Overall, the book discusses the relationship between psychology and user experience. The chapters explore key considerations under the framework of related psychology concepts and UX methods. Deconstructing apps and experiences we are familiar with help drive home clear examples of how we can build interfaces that adapt to how humans perceive and process information in digital interfaces. I see it as a two-part guide. The first part guides design decisions, and the second is to help interpret human behavior. If the design process is a cycle of iteration, prototype, and test, this is there to help guide decisions along the way.
What is new in the second edition?
Since the first edition’s release, I’ve thought about what to add. I’ve been capturing notes along the way, and some really important things have happened in the tech world since the first edition’s publication. LLMs, spatial computing, new perspectives on traditional UX methodology… all these things are shaping how we work in the field. I wanted the second edition to double down on linking core concepts, techniques, and considerations while bringing a new perspective in the context of this new technology. I wanted to talk about these things in the context of all this new technology (LLM, AI image gen, continued evolution of smartphones and the web, spatial computing) while the psychological concepts stay relatively fixed and anchored in human behavior.
The other thing is that I’ve grown as a designer. I’ve learned a lot of new things and grown in my discipline since the first edition’s release. I wanted to bring all that to bear in the second edition and keep this material fresh. Articulate that tech will continue to change and methods will continue to change, but as humans, our psychology is more or less hardwired into who we are.
Follow up: Tell me more about your mentality toward continuous learning and what new things you are learning.
I chose very early on that I would always be learning. As cliche as that sounds, it is a mindset you take into everything. You’re never done learning new things or evolving in your craft or the design discipline overall. I stick to that as a personal philosophy. There have been opportunities in my career that I went headfirst into and came up with some new techniques, approaches, or perspectives on something I already knew about and could see from a different angle. Working in different industries (agencies, automotive, aerospace, and now working in SaaS startup culture) will also change your perspective on how to approach design. Recently, I have taken on a mindset of being very iterative, working closely with engineers and iterating on a software product already out there. That requires a slightly different mindset, tools, and approaches to user research. The notes I’ve taken over the years showed me that it’s time to rearticulate the book from this new lens.
What was the culminating motivator for a second edition?
Ever since the first edition’s release, I’ve kept a notion doc of things I would learn about or things that came up and I saw from a different perspective. These are things that I saw as additions to the book. After a couple of years of doing that, you start to have a sizable list of things you are excited about, including the potential to get back into the source material. I always thought of The Laws of UX projects as living documentation. The project has grown with me professionally, so it was time to revisit the material in light of the things I learned and the new perspectives I gained.
How did your research process for the first book differ from the second?
For the first edition, the most time-consuming part of the entire process was actual research, not writing. I went through academic studies, research papers, and some dense material, then grokked it until I could translate it into a way I wanted to express in the book. Through that process, I got pretty good at the iteration process. Coming to the second edition, I revisited much of that research and updated it where needed, singling in on those new ideas I captured over the years. The research process was narrower, showing how these new concepts, ideas, and methods fit into the overall story that I was telling. It was a lot more narrow. The second edition was an opportunity to zero in on gaps from the first edition and make it overall more holistic.
Talk to me about your thought process for the chapters in the second book.
I learned while writing the first edition that a compelling story existed. The principles formed a framework that helped tie the story together through the chapters. The last two chapters [in the second book] are about ethical implications and how we apply them to our work. The ethical component, or how tech shapes behavior, has the potential to shape behavior in negative ways. I wanted this chapter [on ethics] to be a book-end and double down on the call to action. I had never thought of this book as a comprehensive book on psychology concepts. These chapters were a vehicle for explaining related psychology concepts or UX methods and critical considerations. It was about creating a framework for telling that story. I realized that the intuition I gained from writing the first edition put me on to something. I wanted to keep that framework the same but deepen the related psychology concepts, methods, and principles. Lean into what was already working; that’s not to say there are no chapters I want to add in the future, but I would only add them if they carry on that story. I want readers to be able to pick up anywhere and be dropped into this story of psychology and user experience.
What are you hoping people take away from your book
Understanding psychology and how it influences user experience is very important. These related psychology concepts, methodologies, and considerations of how they are all interlinked help form that broader story. That is precisely what I wanted to get across. Once you make that connection between related psychology concepts and actual UX methods and key considerations and how they are all interlinked, there is the question of how you apply that to your work and whether and when you apply that. What are the trade-offs and risks in how tech can shape human design and behavior?
What part of the book was the most fun to write?
This is a great question. The one thing that has always been a part of the laws of UX projects overall is the history behind the discipline. The history of psychology and its relationship to UX, the history of computing, the history of these individual psychologists, and the studies behind these principles. I had a lot of fun revisiting that. A book that profoundly affected me is called User Friendly by Cliff Kuang. I’ve always loved history and understanding why things are the way they are and how they came to be that way, and bringing that into the work was a lot of fun to intentionally come to and inscribe into the book. One of the key pieces of feedback in my research was the opportunity to tell the story behind psychology and design. It was a little too late to give that a dedicated chapter, but I made a point of making it a very important part of the preface. It forms this foundation that gives context to the chapters that draw a lineage between computing, psychology, and user experience design. This is important because understanding the history of your craft makes you a much stronger practitioner.
What feedback from readers has surprised you the most?
The most surprising thing from the first edition feedback is the response from designers beginning their careers. They struggle with where to begin or ground the technical knowledge they are receiving. We can all get good at Figma or whatever shiny new tool comes next, but what is the foundational understanding that helps to ground that technical knowledge? Hearing back from folks who responded to how the first chapter was formatted [simply and understandably] was amazing feedback to receive. It wasn’t just beginning designers; seasoned professionals were coming to the book and saying that it’s been a great reminder of some aspects of why they became designers. I am honored to get that kind of feedback. My favorite bit of feedback from the second edition is that doubling down on the things I did in the first edition is paying off. When I heard that it was beefier, geekier, and more practical, those were all the things I wanted to be true for the second edition. Getting that feedback articulated back to me meant a lot.
What would you change about this edition? Is it perfect?
I consider very few things in life to be perfect. That’s the beauty of changing and slightly imperfect things, and I’ve always thought of the Laws of UX projects as living documentation. Part of the reason for that is that the project reflects my understanding of my craft, you know? It evolves with technology. I mentioned LLMs and spatial computers and all these AI advancements that are coming out. These things will get absorbed into our toolkit, but the underlying mental hardware we share as human beings is grounded in psychology and remains relatively unchanged. I have never really intended the Laws of UX to be an exercise in the history of psychology design. Yet, it is fun to inject that into certain parts of the book, and given the opportunity, I would do it even more.
Have you heard any feedback from folks who are not native English speakers about the translation and the concepts applying to them in their native context?
The feedback has generally been very positive. Folks I know who speak another language typically say it has been a very true-to-form translation, which is always great feedback. The examples in the book and how they cross-cultural differences are a very interesting aspect of this question. I haven’t heard anything contrary to the examples I’ve used, but I am sure there are some nuances. I try to take examples that are more or less universal, but there are important cultural differences, and I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback on that. This is giving me a lot of ideas for my third edition.
Is there a third edition of the works?
You know… I’m not going to say no. Given that I think of this project as living documentation, there is always room for further evolution. Technology will continue to evolve. Ux methods and artifacts will continue to evolve with the technology, and the underlying psychology will remain relatively the same or evolve much slower. That dynamic is ripe for iteration. I don’t see an ending to the iterations of the book.
What’s next for Jon?
These days, I think an awful lot about where design as a discipline is headed and how technology will continue to evolve our tools, how we think about our work, and how it impacts our fellow human beings. Much of my thinking these days goes into my project Humane by Design, which is surfacing differently. I am also investing back into the community I am part of in Detroit. I’ve been helping to build a conference called IXD2, which is an interactive design conference that is meant to cultivate community — the culture around digital creation and design, so that’s what’s on my mind these days. We hope to bring back IXD2 for the second year in the fall.
What questions should I have asked that I didn’t ask?
Andrés, I think you touched on all of them, man. This is comprehensive. It was fun going back through and thinking about these things. I learned a lot going back through and thinking about this.
A parting shot
If you are a UX noob or vet, get your hands on this book. UX is at a crossroads; we must create from a shared platform. This book is part of the answer. Do it.
