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UX/UI Design vocabulary · UX/UI Basics and Process

Edge case

Meaning in UX/UI design, with examples

nounCommon term

In UX/UI design, edge case means: An unusual situation that happens rarely but must still work, such as a very long name, no internet connection or a user with 500 saved items.

In Turkish: uç durum, istisnai durum, edge case

How it is used

Developers often ask designers about edge cases during handoff ('What happens if the title is three lines long?'). Designing for edge cases means planning empty, error, loading and overflow states, not only the happy path.

Example sentences

  1. What about the edge case where a user has no profile photo?

  2. We found several edge cases in testing, like German product names that break the layout.

Common collocations

  • handle edge cases
  • cover edge cases
  • edge case scenario
  • rare edge case
  • happy pathThe ideal route through a flow where everything goes as expected: the user enters valid data, nothing fails and the task is completed without problems.
  • empty stateWhat a screen shows when there is no content yet, such as an empty inbox, a search with no results or a new account with no projects.
  • error messageText that tells users something has gone wrong, ideally explaining what happened and how to fix it, for example next to a form field.
  • handoffThe stage when designers pass finished designs, specs and assets to developers so they can build them, ideally with a walkthrough and clear notes.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: UX/UI Basics and Process

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