The iceberg

Everyone in the User Experience domain swears by Jesse James Garrett’s  Elements of User Centered Design.

If you’re from this field, the elements will  probably make sense to you the moment you look at the diagram above.

However, put yourself in your client’s or customer’s shoes and you’ll understand the need to translate the above into something that will make sense to them and at the same time emphasize the value these elements bring with them.

I came across this very smart representation of the Garrett’s model by Trevor Van Gorp, which he calls The UX Iceberg:

Like Trevor rightly puts it: “…  when the User Experience Iceberg is used to add context to the Elements, it illuminates the dark, unknown depths for project stakeholders who are new to UX. Because in the end, the unseen elements of user experience are the parts of the iceberg that will sink your project, while your stakeholders are busy focusing on the ‘tip’ “