By Quick answer: What are the most important laws of UX?
- Hick's law — more choices, slower decisions. Reduce and chunk options.
- Fitts's law — far and small targets are slow to hit. Make key actions big and near.
- Jakob's law — users expect your app to work like the ones they know.
- Use together — familiar layout, few clear choices, easy targets.
- Library — 60 laws explained in the SOA Laws of UX.
Key takeaways
- These laws describe human limits; designs that respect them feel effortless.
- Hick's law isn't 'fewer is always better' — structure and defaults matter too.
- On phones, Fitts's law points to the thumb zone near the bottom of the screen.
- Innovation is welcome in value, not in where the back button lives.
- Test with real users — laws predict tendencies, not certainties.
Design debates often come down to taste. Laws of UX move them to evidence. They're patterns in how people perceive, decide and act — drawn from psychology research — that predict when an interface will feel effortless or exhausting. Three of them shape more everyday decisions than any others. Each has a full entry in the SOA Laws of UX library; here's how they work in apps.
Hick's law: choices slow decisions
William Edmund Hick's 1952 research showed that decision time grows with the number and complexity of options1. In apps:
The problem
A home screen with twenty equally loud options makes people hesitate — or leave.
The fix
Reduce options, group related ones, highlight a default, and reveal advanced options progressively.
Example: a food app that opens on "Reorder your usual" plus three cuisines decides faster than one showing every restaurant category. Full entry: Hick's law.
Fitts's law: size and distance matter
Paul Fitts's 1954 research modelled how long it takes to reach a target based on its distance and size2. On phones, distance is about thumbs:
- Put primary actions where thumbs rest — usually the lower part of the screen
- Make touch targets at least 44×44 points (Apple)4 or 48×48 dp (Material Design)
- Space adjacent targets to prevent mis-taps
- Make destructive actions harder to hit by accident
Example: a full-width "Pay ₹499" button at the bottom beats a small button in the top-right corner. Full entry: Fitts's law.
Jakob's law: be familiar
Jakob Nielsen's observation: users spend most of their time on other products, so they expect yours to work the same way3.
| Convention | Why break it? |
|---|---|
| Bottom tab bar for main navigation | Rarely worth it |
| Search at the top | Rarely worth it |
| Cart icon top-right in shopping apps | Rarely worth it |
| Swipe to go back (iOS) | Never block it |
Innovate in what your product does, not in where the back button lives. Full entry: Jakob's law.
Using them together
- Jakob's law — start from familiar layouts and patterns.
- Hick's law — reduce and structure the choices on each screen.
- Fitts's law — make the most important choice the easiest to reach.
- Test — watch real users; laws predict tendencies, not certainties.
For how the first two interact, see Hick's law vs Fitts's law. Explore all 60 principles in the SOA Laws of UX.
Key terms, defined
Hick's law — decision time increases with number and complexity of choices. Fitts's law — time to reach a target depends on distance and size. Jakob's law — users expect familiar patterns. Touch target — the tappable area of a control. Progressive disclosure — revealing options only when needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hick's law?
A principle from William Edmund Hick's 1952 research: the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices. In design, it means reducing, grouping and progressively revealing options.
What is Fitts's law?
A model from Paul Fitts's 1954 research: the time to acquire a target depends on the distance to it and its size. Larger, closer targets are faster to hit — which is why primary buttons should be big and reachable.
What is Jakob's law?
Coined by Jakob Nielsen: users spend most of their time on other sites and apps, so they prefer yours to work the same way. Familiar patterns reduce learning and errors.
How does Fitts's law apply to mobile apps?
Thumb reach matters: primary actions near the bottom of the screen, large touch targets (Apple suggests at least 44×44 points; Material Design 48×48 dp), and enough spacing to avoid mis-taps.
Does Hick's law mean I should always reduce options?
Reduce unnecessary ones, but also group, prioritise and use smart defaults. Sometimes users need many options — organise them so the choice feels simple.
Where can I learn more laws of UX?
The SOA Laws of UX library explains 60 principles from psychology and design, each with examples and how to apply it in apps.
Sources
- Hick, W. E. — On the rate of gain of information (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1952)
- Fitts, P. M. — The information capacity of the human motor system (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1954)
- Nielsen Norman Group — Jakob's law of internet user experience
- Apple — Human Interface Guidelines
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- SOA Laws of UX — all 60 principles, explained
- Hick's law vs Fitts's law — how they differ and combine
- Career guidesUX psychology skills employers want in 2027: attention, memory, perception, decision-making and how designers apply them without manipulationUX psychology skills employers want in 2027: attention, memory, perception, decision-making, Hick's and Fitts's laws, cognitive load and ethics.
- UI/UX designApp accessibility checklist: WCAG made simple for mobile and web appsA practical app accessibility checklist based on WCAG 2.2: contrast, text size, touch targets, screen readers, motion and forms, plus India's GIGW 3.0.
- Career guidesHow to get a mobile app designer job in 2027: iOS and Android patterns, touch ergonomics, onboarding, permissions, offline states and app store contextHow to get a mobile app designer job in 2027: iOS and Android conventions, touch targets, navigation, onboarding, permissions, offline states and pay.
- Career guidesProduct design science in 2027: how designers, PMs and founders use the laws of UX and behavioural science to make product decisions employers trustProduct design science in 2027: how designers, PMs, founders and marketers use the laws of UX and behavioural science to make better product decisions.
- App marketing & ASOApp store screenshots that convert: 12 patterns, specs and examplesApp store screenshots that convert: 12 proven layout patterns with example captions, current App Store and Google Play specs, and tips for India.
- Architecture & engineeringIndian temple architecture explained: Nagara, Dravida and Vesara, and how to read any templeThe three types of Indian temple architecture, Nagara, Dravida and Vesara, explained with diagrams: a temple's parts, its plan grid and famous examples.
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