Top 10 UX Videos of 2021

These are the videos published in 2021 that received the most views from our audience. Each video runs for 2–4 minutes, unless otherwise indicated.

Top 10 Web-Design Mistakes of 2021 (21 minutes)
Jakob Nielsen condemns 10 awful design flaws that plague today’s websites, as voted by the audience at his Virtual UX Conference keynote.
UX vs. UI
User experience and user interface are highly related. Both are important, but what’s the difference between UX and UI? (Often confused!).
Design for the Elderly (5 min.)
Problems arise when people get older, but that just means opportunities for better design to support elderly users. The very best designs will help the elderly, but also be adapted by everybody else.
UX 2050 (36 min.)
The user experience field will see dramatic changes over the next 3 decades, driven by trends in demographics and the world economy. We will end up like the Little Mermaid. (This was Jakob Nielsen’s UX Conference keynote.)
Onboarding: Skip it When Possible
Onboarding instructions that users must digest before they start using an app or other product require attention and effort, and thus reduce usability. They should be avoided as much as possible.
Starting a New UX Project
At the beginning of a new project, identify the level of UX effort needed, and the key deliverables you aim to produce. Identify known and missing knowledge about users and tasks to uncover gaps before they bite you.
3 Principles of Design Thinking
User-centered problem solving creates innovative products, based on observational research with real users, visual sense-making, and iterative design.
The Magical Number 7 and UX
People can remember about 7 (plus/minus 2) items in short-term memory. This memory limitation has implications for UX design, but not the ones you often hear stated.
You Can’t Test Everything, So What Should You Test? (5 min.)
Nobody has enough user-research budget to test everything, so you must focus usability testing on those features that will matter the most for the user experience and have the most business impact. Here’s a simple method to prioritize what to test.
UX in Scrum
UX professionals should engage in all Scrum ceremonies. Here are tips for what UX should contribute to stand-ups, backlog refinement, sprint planning, sprint review, and retrospectives.

Bonus: Top 5 Videos from Last Year

These videos published in 2020 received so many views in 2021 that they would have been on the above list if they had been published this year:

UX Research Cheat Sheet
Different user research methods are suited for different stages of the UX design process. Here’s an overview of the best methods to discover, explore, test, and listen.
5 Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative user research is invaluable for UX design. Here’s an overview of 5 key methods beyond standard usability testing that are especially useful for early discovery studies.
UX Portfolios: What Hiring Managers Look For
We asked over 200 hiring managers who hire for UX jobs what they look for in candidates’ portfolios. The expectations are different for people looking to be hired as designers vs. as researchers, and also different for junior vs. senior positions.
Are You Doing Real Discoveries?
Discoveries are a powerful part of the UX design process, but unfortunately many teams are not doing true discovery. Here are 5 main ways to go wrong.
21st Century Design (6 min.)
Traditional design education is too narrow. Don Norman advocates a broader perspective for design and designers.

See Also

Top 10 UX Articles of 2021
Top 10 UX videos of 2020