UI/UX & Product Design Glossary

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Short, plain-English answers to the design terms our clients ask about most. Each term starts with a one-line definition, then explains why it matters, common mistakes and how Design Monks approaches it, with a link to the matching service.

SaaS Onboarding

SaaS onboarding is the experience that takes a new user from signup to their first real success with the product.

Responsive Design

Responsive design makes a website or app adapt its layout to any screen size, from phones to large desktops.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the visual and verbal system, including logo, colours, typography and tone of voice, that makes a company recognisable.

Product Discovery

Product discovery is the work of deciding what to build, and why, before committing to design and development.

Framer CMS

Framer CMS is the content management system built into Framer for managing structured content like blogs, changelogs and case studies on Framer sites.

Webflow CMS

Webflow CMS is Webflow's built-in content management system for creating structured, reusable content like blogs, case studies and product pages.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the practice of improving a website or product so more visitors take a desired action, like signing up or buying.

AI Prototyping

AI prototyping uses AI tools to turn ideas into clickable or working prototypes in hours or days instead of weeks.

Conversational UI

A conversational UI lets people use a product by talking or typing in natural language, as with chatbots and AI assistants.

Agentic UX

Agentic UX is the design of products where AI agents take actions on a user's behalf, with the user staying informed and in control.

Design Handoff

Design handoff is the process of passing finished designs to developers with everything they need to build them accurately.

User Flow

A user flow is a diagram of the steps a user takes to complete a task, such as signing up or checking out.

Information Architecture

Information architecture (IA) is how content and features are organised, labelled and connected so users can find what they need.

Prototype

A prototype is a clickable model of a product that simulates how it works, so you can test ideas with users before building.

Wireframe

A wireframe is a simple, low-detail layout of a screen that shows structure, content and hierarchy before any visual design is applied.

Design Tokens

Design tokens are named values for colours, typography, spacing and other styles that keep design and code in sync across a product.

Design System

A design system is a shared library of reusable components, styles and rules that keeps a product consistent and lets teams design and build faster.

Usability Testing

Usability testing means watching real people try to complete tasks with your product to see where they get stuck, confused or give up.

UX Audit

A UX audit is a review of an existing website or product that finds usability problems, explains why they hurt your goals and recommends fixes in priority order.

Heuristic Evaluation

A heuristic evaluation is an expert review of an interface against established usability principles, used to find problems quickly without testing with users.

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