What Are the 7 Pillars of UX Design? Complete Breakdown with Examples

The 7 pillars of UX design are usefulness, usability, findability, credibility, desirability, accessibility, and value. These seven principles, originally derived from Peter Morville's user experience honeycomb, form the foundation every digital product needs to deliver meaningful, intuitive experiences.

For designers and product teams building mobile apps in Figma, these pillars are not abstract theory. They are practical checkpoints that determine whether your app solves real problems, feels effortless to navigate, and earns user trust from the first interaction.

This guide breaks down each pillar with clear definitions, explains how they work together, and shows you exactly how to apply them inside your Figma workflow, from component design to prototyping to developer handoff.

What Is UX Design and Why Does It Matter for Mobile Apps

UX Design Defined in the Context of Digital Products

User experience design is the process of shaping how a person feels when interacting with a digital product. It covers every touchpoint: the structure of information, the flow between screens, the clarity of visual elements, and the emotional response a user has while completing a task.

UX design is not just about making things look good. It is about making things work well for the people using them. In the context of mobile applications, UX design addresses how users navigate small screens, interact with touch gestures, process limited content areas, and move through task flows under real-world conditions like poor connectivity or divided attention.

Why UX Design Is Critical for Mobile App Success

Mobile users make fast decisions. Research from Google shows that 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load. That impatience extends to app experiences. Confusing navigation, unclear labels, or inconsistent design patterns push users toward uninstalling.

Strong UX design directly impacts retention, engagement, and conversion. When a mobile app is easy to use, trustworthy, and genuinely helpful, users stay longer, return more often, and recommend it to others. For startup founders and product teams, this means UX is not a design luxury. It is a growth lever.

Every screen you design in Figma either strengthens or weakens the user experience. Understanding the foundational pillars gives you a framework to evaluate every design decision against what actually matters to users.

What Are the 7 Pillars of UX Design

The 7 pillars of UX design originate from Peter Morville's User Experience Honeycomb, a framework he developed while leading information architecture at Semantic Studios. Morville identified seven qualities that a product must have to deliver a complete, meaningful user experience. Each pillar addresses a different dimension of how users perceive and interact with a product.

Here is each pillar, what it means, and how it applies to mobile app design.

1. Usefulness

A product must serve a purpose. Usefulness means the product solves a real problem or fulfills a genuine need for the user. If your mobile app does not help someone accomplish something they care about, no amount of visual polish will save it.

In practice, usefulness starts before you open Figma. It starts with user research, problem validation, and understanding the jobs your audience needs done. A budgeting app is useful when it actually helps people track spending. A fitness app is useful when it delivers workouts users can follow and progress through.

When designing in Figma, usefulness translates to feature prioritization. Every screen, every component, every interaction should map back to a core user need. If a feature does not serve the user's goal, it creates noise.

2. Usability

Usability measures how easy and efficient it is for users to accomplish their goals within your product. A useful app that is difficult to navigate still fails. Usability covers learnability, efficiency, memorability, error prevention, and satisfaction.

For mobile apps, usability means intuitive navigation patterns, clear tap targets, logical screen flows, and minimal cognitive load. Users should not have to think about how to use your app. The interface should guide them.

In Figma, usability shows up in your component design, spacing systems, and interactive prototypes. Consistent button sizes, predictable navigation placement, and clear visual hierarchy all contribute to a usable interface. Testing your Figma prototypes with real users reveals usability issues before a single line of code is written.

3. Findability

Mobile app information architecture diagram showing structured navigation and findability

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Findability refers to how easily users can locate the content, features, or information they need. In mobile apps, where screen space is limited and attention spans are short, findability is critical.

This pillar covers information architecture, navigation design, search functionality, and content labeling. If users cannot find what they are looking for within a few taps, they leave.

In Figma, findability means designing clear navigation structures, using recognizable icons with labels, organizing content into logical categories, and building search patterns for content-heavy apps. Your sitemap and user flow diagrams in Figma are direct expressions of findability.

4. Credibility

Credibility is about trust. Users need to believe that your product is reliable, accurate, and safe. Credibility affects whether someone enters their payment information, shares personal data, or follows your app's recommendations.

Design choices directly influence perceived credibility. Professional typography, consistent visual language, clear error messaging, transparent privacy policies, and polished micro-interactions all signal that a product is trustworthy.

In Figma, credibility translates to design consistency. A design system with standardized components, a cohesive color palette, and predictable interaction patterns tells users that the team behind the product is competent and detail-oriented. Broken layouts, inconsistent styles, and unclear copy destroy trust instantly.

5. Desirability

Desirability is the emotional dimension of UX. It covers aesthetics, brand identity, and the emotional response your product evokes. A desirable product is one that users want to use, not just one they have to use.

This pillar is where visual design, motion design, illustration, and brand voice converge. Desirability is what makes users choose your app over a competitor that offers similar functionality.

In Figma, desirability lives in your visual design decisions: color choices, typography pairings, iconography style, illustration approach, and animation design. It also lives in micro-interactions, the small delightful moments that make an app feel alive. A well-crafted loading animation or a satisfying toggle switch contributes to desirability.

6. Accessibility

Accessibility means your product can be used by people with a wide range of abilities, including those with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Accessibility is not optional. It is a fundamental requirement for ethical, inclusive design.

For mobile apps, accessibility includes sufficient color contrast, scalable text, screen reader compatibility, touch target sizing, alternative text for images, and support for assistive technologies.

The World Health Organization estimates that over 1.3 billion people globally experience significant disability. Designing for accessibility expands your user base and improves usability for everyone. Larger tap targets help users with motor impairments and users on bumpy commutes alike.

In Figma, accessibility starts with your design system. Define color palettes that meet WCAG contrast ratios. Set type scales that remain legible at smaller sizes. Use plugins like Stark or A11y to audit your designs before handoff. Build accessibility into your components from the start rather than retrofitting later.

7. Value

Diagram showing overlap between user outcomes and business outcomes representing product value

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Value is the pillar that ties everything together. A product must deliver value to both the user and the business. For users, value means the product meaningfully improves their situation. For the business, value means the product achieves its strategic objectives, whether that is revenue, engagement, market share, or brand loyalty.

Value is the outcome of getting the other six pillars right. A product that is useful, usable, findable, credible, desirable, and accessible naturally delivers value. But value also requires intentional alignment between user needs and business goals.

In Figma, designing for value means constantly asking whether each design decision serves the user and the product's objectives. It means measuring success not just by how a screen looks, but by whether it drives the outcomes that matter.

How the 7 Pillars of UX Design Work Together

The Relationship Between Usability, Usefulness, and Value

No single pillar operates in isolation. Usefulness without usability creates a frustrating product. Usability without usefulness creates a smooth but pointless experience. Both must be present for the product to deliver value.

Consider a mobile banking app. It is useful because it lets users manage finances on the go. But if transferring money requires seven taps and two confirmation screens with confusing labels, usability fails. The app is useful in theory but painful in practice. Value drops.

The strongest products nail the intersection. They solve real problems through interfaces that feel effortless. When you design in Figma, evaluate each screen against both usefulness and usability simultaneously. Ask: does this screen help the user accomplish their goal, and can they do it without friction?

Balancing All Seven Pillars in a Single Product

Perfect balance across all seven pillars is rare. Every product makes tradeoffs. A medical app might prioritize credibility and accessibility over desirability. A social media app might lean heavily into desirability and findability.

The key is intentional prioritization based on your users and your product's context. Know which pillars matter most for your specific audience and use case. Then design accordingly.

In Figma, this means your design reviews should evaluate work against all seven pillars, not just visual aesthetics. Create a simple checklist or scoring rubric that your team uses during design critiques. Rate each screen or flow against each pillar. This practice surfaces blind spots early and keeps the team aligned on what "good UX" actually means for your product.

How to Apply the 7 Pillars of UX Design in Figma

Mapping Each Pillar to Your Figma Design Workflow

Each pillar connects to specific stages of your Figma workflow:

Usefulness maps to your user research synthesis and feature definition. Before designing screens, create user journey maps and task flows in Figma that validate you are solving the right problems.

Usability maps to wireframing and interaction design. Build low-fidelity wireframes first. Test navigation patterns and screen flows before investing in visual design.

Findability maps to information architecture. Use Figma's FigJam or dedicated frames to map your app's sitemap, navigation hierarchy, and content structure.

Credibility maps to your design system. Build a component library with consistent styles, standardized spacing, and cohesive visual language.

Desirability maps to visual design and motion. Apply your brand identity through color, typography, illustration, and micro-interactions in high-fidelity mockups.

Accessibility maps to component specifications. Define contrast ratios, minimum touch targets (at least 44x44 points for iOS, 48x48 dp for Android), and text scaling behavior in your design system documentation.

Value maps to prototyping and validation. Build interactive prototypes in Figma and test them with real users to confirm the product delivers on its promise.

Using Design Systems and Components to Reinforce UX Pillars

A well-built Figma design system is the most powerful tool for maintaining UX pillar alignment across your entire product.

Your component library enforces usability through consistent interaction patterns. Your style guide enforces credibility through visual consistency. Your accessibility annotations enforce inclusive design standards. Your brand tokens enforce desirability through cohesive aesthetics.

Build your design system with the seven pillars in mind. For each component, document not just how it looks and behaves, but which pillars it serves. A button component, for example, serves usability (clear affordance, appropriate size), accessibility (contrast ratio, focus state), credibility (consistent styling), and findability (clear labeling).

When every component in your library is pillar-aligned, every screen you build from those components inherits that alignment automatically.

Prototyping and Testing Against Each Pillar

Figma's prototyping features let you validate pillar alignment before development begins. Build interactive prototypes that simulate real user flows, then test them against specific pillar criteria.

For usability testing, observe whether users can complete key tasks without confusion. For findability testing, ask users to locate specific features or content. For credibility testing, ask users about their trust level and what influenced it. For desirability testing, use reaction cards or preference tests to gauge emotional response.

Document your test findings in Figma using annotation layers or linked FigJam boards. Map each finding back to the specific pillar it relates to. This creates a clear record of design decisions and their UX rationale, which is invaluable during design reviews and developer handoff.

Common UX Design Mistakes That Violate These Pillars

Prioritizing Aesthetics Over Usability

This is the most common mistake, especially among early-stage teams and designers new to product work. A screen can look stunning in a Dribbble shot and completely fail in a user's hands.

Light gray text on white backgrounds sacrifices readability for minimalism. Custom navigation patterns confuse users who expect standard mobile conventions. Decorative animations that delay task completion prioritize desirability at the expense of usability.

The fix is simple: test with real users early and often. If your Figma prototype looks beautiful but users cannot complete basic tasks, the design is failing at its core purpose.

Ignoring Accessibility Standards

Accessibility is frequently treated as an afterthought, something to "add later" before launch. This approach is both ethically wrong and practically expensive. Retrofitting accessibility into a finished design requires reworking components, layouts, and interaction patterns that should have been built correctly from the start.

Common violations include insufficient color contrast, touch targets smaller than platform minimums, missing alternative text, and interfaces that cannot be navigated with assistive technologies.

In Figma, use accessibility plugins during design, not after. Check contrast ratios as you select colors. Verify touch target sizes as you build components. Annotate screen reader order in your design specs. Make accessibility a design requirement, not a QA checkbox.

Skipping User Research and Validation

Designing without user research means guessing. You might guess correctly sometimes, but you will miss critical insights about what users actually need (usefulness), how they expect to navigate (findability), and what builds their trust (credibility).

Even lightweight research makes a significant difference. Five user interviews can reveal patterns that reshape your entire information architecture. A quick usability test on a Figma prototype can catch navigation problems that would have cost weeks of development time to fix.

The 7 pillars give you a framework for what to research. Usefulness research validates the problem. Usability research validates the solution. Credibility research validates the trust signals. Each pillar points to specific questions you should be asking your users.

How the 7 Pillars of UX Design Improve Design-to-Development Handoff

Why UX Clarity Reduces Development Friction

When designers understand and apply the 7 pillars, their design decisions become more intentional and easier to communicate. Developers do not just receive pixel-perfect mockups. They receive designs with clear rationale.

A button is not just "blue and 48px tall." It is blue for brand consistency (credibility and desirability), 48px tall for touch accessibility (accessibility), and placed in the primary action position for task completion (usability and findability). When developers understand the why behind design decisions, they make better implementation choices and push back on the right things.

Pillar-aligned design also reduces ambiguity. When every component has documented behavior, accessibility specs, and interaction states, developers spend less time guessing and more time building.

Structuring Figma Files for Pillar-Aligned Handoff

Organize your Figma files to make pillar alignment visible to developers:

Create an accessibility annotation layer that documents contrast ratios, touch target sizes, screen reader order, and alternative text for every screen. This makes the accessibility pillar tangible and measurable for developers.

Include interaction specifications that document hover states, focus states, error states, loading states, and empty states. These specs serve usability and credibility by ensuring the product behaves predictably in every scenario.

Link to your design system documentation from every page. When developers can trace a component back to its design system definition, including its pillar alignment notes, they build with greater consistency.

Add a "Design Rationale" section to your handoff documentation. For key screens and flows, briefly explain which pillars drove the major design decisions. This context helps developers prioritize what matters during implementation and prevents well-intentioned "improvements" that accidentally violate UX principles.

Conclusion

The 7 pillars of UX design, usefulness, usability, findability, credibility, desirability, accessibility, and value, provide a complete framework for evaluating and improving every digital product you build. They move UX conversations beyond subjective opinions and into structured, measurable criteria that designers, founders, and developers can all align around.

For teams designing mobile apps in Figma, these pillars are practical tools, not academic concepts. They inform your research, shape your components, guide your prototypes, and strengthen your handoff. When every design decision maps back to a clear UX principle, the entire product development process becomes more focused and more effective.

We build mobile apps grounded in these principles every day. At Orbix Studio, we help startups and product teams turn ideas into polished, user-centric digital experiences, from brand identity and UX strategy through Figma design, prototyping, and production-ready development. If you are ready to build a mobile app that gets the fundamentals right, let's talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 7 pillars of UX design in simple terms?

The 7 pillars are usefulness, usability, findability, credibility, desirability, accessibility, and value. Each one represents a quality your product must have to deliver a complete user experience. Together, they ensure your product solves real problems, is easy to use, and earns user trust.

Who created the 7 pillars of UX design?

The framework originates from Peter Morville, a pioneer in information architecture and user experience. He developed the User Experience Honeycomb to illustrate the seven facets that define meaningful, valuable user experiences in digital products.

How do the 7 UX pillars apply to mobile app design?

Every pillar directly impacts mobile app quality. Usability determines whether users can navigate small screens efficiently. Accessibility ensures the app works for users with disabilities. Findability governs how quickly users locate features. Applying all seven pillars during mobile design prevents common usability failures.

What is the difference between usability and usefulness in UX?

Usefulness means the product solves a real problem or fulfills a genuine need. Usability means the product is easy and efficient to use. A product can be useful but hard to use, or easy to use but pointless. Both must be present for a good user experience.

How can I apply UX design pillars in Figma?

Map each pillar to a stage in your Figma workflow. Use journey maps for usefulness, wireframes for usability, sitemaps for findability, design systems for credibility, visual design for desirability, accessibility plugins for accessibility, and user testing on prototypes for value.

Why is accessibility considered a pillar of UX design?

Accessibility ensures that people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities can use your product. It is a fundamental quality of good UX because excluding users based on ability is both an ethical failure and a business limitation. Accessible design also improves usability for all users.

How do the 7 pillars of UX design affect product value?

Value is the outcome of getting the other six pillars right. When a product is useful, usable, findable, credible, desirable, and accessible, it delivers meaningful value to users and achieves business objectives. Neglecting any single pillar reduces the overall value the product provide