Card Sorting 🗂️ Prompts

SUMMARY

Purpose: Card sorting helps design teams understand how users categorise information, enabling clearer IA and navigation.

Design Thinking Phase: Empathise

Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis

Difficulty: ⭐⭐

When to use:Early in the product design process to explore mental modelsWhen redesigning information-heavy interfaces like dashboards or help centresTo validate navigation logic before wireframing or testing

What it is

Card sorting is a qualitative UX research method where participants organise topics into categories that make sense to them. It uncovers user mental models and informs the structure of content or features, typically in navigation design or content-heavy products.

📺 Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.

Why it matters

Product teams often structure information based on internal logic or legacy models — not how users actually think. Card sorting corrects this by revealing how real users mentally organise tasks or categories. The result is more intuitive navigation, reduced friction, and cleaner information architecture. It’s especially valuable in redesigns, product onboarding journeys, and content-heavy platforms like SaaS tools or education apps.

When to use

• When users are struggling to find information or complete tasks efficiently
• When IA decisions are based on assumptions or internal roles
• In localisation projects where taxonomy may shift across regions or cultures

Benefits

• Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that aren’t visible in metrics.
• Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
• User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.

How to use it

• Define your goal (e.g., restructure a dashboard menu or streamline a shopping flow).
• Select content items or functionalities to be sorted (10–30 ideal).
• Choose the card sorting type: open (users define categories), closed (you define categories), or hybrid.
• Recruit 5–10 target users per segment for qualitative insight.
• Use tools like OptimalSort or conduct manual sorts with printable cards.
• Observe sessions and note user rationale for grouping decisions.
• Analyse patterns across users to form taxonomy, IA labels, and navigation logic.

Example Output

A fictional example from an edtech dashboard redesign:

• Key groupings (open-sort):
  • “Learning Resources”: videos, quizzes, assignments
  • “Progress Tools”: grades, analytics, feedback
  • “Community”: peer messages, discussion boards
• Label preferences: Users preferred “Progress” over “Reports” by a 6:1 margin
• Navigation implication: Merge ‘Assignments’ and ‘Quizzes’ into a single section under ‘Learning’

Common Pitfalls

• Too few participants: Insights from 1–2 people may be misleading; aim for at least 5–10 per segment.
• Ambiguous items: Vague cards like “Reports” or “Tools” make it difficult for users to sort meaningfully.
• Ignoring category rationale: Observing how users talk through their sort is often more valuable than the final categories.

10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for Card Sorting – UX/UI Edition

How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)

Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method — a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.

C.S.I.R. stands for:

• Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
• Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
• Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
• Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)

Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders — no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First one’s free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.

Prompt Template 1: “Generate Open Card Sorting Items for Navigation Audit”

Generate Open Card Sorting Items for Navigation Audit

Context: You are a UX researcher conducting a navigation audit for a client’s B2B analytics dashboard.  
Specific Info: The dashboard includes 15 key features spanning data entry, visualisation, exports, and permissions.  
Intent: Create a list of candidate items for an open card sorting session with end users to reveal intuitive groupings.  
Response Format: Return a bulleted list of 20–25 items in clear, user-facing language suitable for usability testing.

If feature naming is unclear, ask clarifying questions before generating items.  
Then, suggest one follow-up prompt for category labelling or IA testing.