Skip to results

Design Signifiers

Psychology & UX Laws · mental models

Updated 2026-07-28

Signifiers communicate where and how to interact.
Examples:

Underline:

Means clickable text.

Shadow:

Suggests elevation.

Cursor change:

Signals interaction.

Animation:

Shows relationship.

Without signifiers, users guess.
Every important interaction needs a clue.

Related guides

Design Affordances
Design Interfaces Around User Mental Models
Design Recognition Over Recall
Design Mapping
Design User Mental Models