--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as \"the user\"…" description: "\"There is no such thing as \"the user\". Users... come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they have widely varying information needs.\" — Hans H Wellisch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as "the user". Users... come in all… ![“There is no such thing as "the user". Users... come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they have widely varying information needs.” quote by Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg) > “There is no such thing as "the user". Users... come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they have widely varying information needs.” [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Users are diverse and cannot be reduced to a single archetype; design must accommodate varied needs and contexts. **In simple terms:** People are diverse; design for all. Key Takeaway Design inclusively for varied users. Themes inclusion design diversity Mood empathetic pragmatic Type practical analytical When to use this quote - software development - public services - educational tools Key Concepts human‑centered design user research Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify core user groups? - What methods reveal hidden user needs? A Different Perspective Over‑generalization may dilute specific user needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size/) [Thing User](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-user-614263/) [User](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/user/) [User Users](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/user-users-614261/) [Users](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/users/) [Users Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/users-come-614262/) ## Related quotes > [Content is often the reason users come to your site.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-james-garrett/content-is-often-the-reason-users-come-to-your-site/) [Jesse James Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-james-garrett/) > [The utmost thing is the user experience, to have the most useful experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-mayer/the-utmost-thing-is-the-user-experience-to-have-the-most-useful/) [Marissa Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-mayer/) > [“The thing to do, then, is to describe what the user does from the beginning to the end of their experience, remembering that it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-colborne/the-thing-to-do-then-is-to-describe-what-the-user-does-from-the/) [Giles Colborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-colborne/) > [The least flexible component of any system is the user.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowell-jay-arthur/the-least-flexible-component-of-any-system-is-the-user/) [Lowell Jay Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lowell-jay-arthur/) > [Women have their own strengths, like fashion. In technology, we can contribute in a big way in terms of the design of the user…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weili-dai/women-have-their-own-strengths-like-fashion-in-technology-we-can/) [Weili Dai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weili-dai/) > [To the user, the interface is the product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aza-raskin/to-the-user-the-interface-is-the-product/) [Aza Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aza-raskin/) > [Google+ will never have a user base to rival Facebook's. It just won't. Not even if you include the 'users' who create accounts so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/google-will-never-have-a-user-base-to-rival-facebook-s-it-just-won-t/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [If you get deep enough, you get trapped. Stop calling yourself a user. You are being used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-you-get-deep-enough-you-get-trapped-stop-calling-yourself-a-user/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Everything at Apple can be best understood through the lens of designing. Whether it's designing the look and feel of the user experience, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sculley/everything-at-apple-can-be-best-understood-through-the-lens-of/) [John Sculley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sculley/) > [We have a core value here at Twitter that says we want to defend and respect the user's voice. And that's important to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-costolo/we-have-a-core-value-here-at-twitter-that-says-we-want-to-defend-and/) [Dick Costolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-costolo/) > [When I joined Ford, in the late 1970s, I felt strongly we could not forever be a huge user of natural resources without there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-joined-ford-in-the-late-1970s-i-felt-strongly-we-could-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Historically, software for business was seen as unsexy because the products were seen as so poor - they provided such a poor user experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-rosenstein/historically-software-for-business-was-seen-as-unsexy-because-the/) [Justin Rosenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-rosenstein/) > [The true principle of taxation is the benefit principle - those who benefit from a government service should pay for it. It's also known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/the-true-principle-of-taxation-is-the-benefit-principle-those-who/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [If you're a Firefox user, you get accustomed to your history and the URL bar and finding things. That should be available on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/if-you-re-a-firefox-user-you-get-accustomed-to-your-history-and-the/) [Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/) > [“The metaprogrammer who uses one, or especially several, applications as components in a larger system. This is the user whose needs are poorly met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-p-brooks-jr/the-metaprogrammer-who-uses-one-or-especially-several-applications-as/) [Frederick P. Brooks Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-p-brooks-jr/) ## More by Hans H Wellisch > [We know that we can do it, but cannot describe in so many words how we do it, nor can we reduce it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/we-know-that-we-can-do-it-but-cannot-describe-in-so-many-words-how-we/) [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) > [It is well documented that the same text, indexed by several indexers, will result in as many slightly or even substantially different indexes, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/it-is-well-documented-that-the-same-text-indexed-by-several-indexers/) [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) > [The indexing problem changes with each new book undertaken. To meet the needs of different classes of seekers and to suit various types of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/the-indexing-problem-changes-with-each-new-book-undertaken-to-meet/) [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) > [Importance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and that there is nothing inherently "logical" about the preference of users in looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/importance-like-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-and-that-there/) [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) > [Detailed analytical indexing is generally the hallmark of good back-of-the-book indexes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/detailed-analytical-indexing-is-generally-the-hallmark-of-good-back/) [Hans H Wellisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) [Explore all 6 Hans H Wellisch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Browse all 5,594 Color quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as \"the user\". Users... come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they have widely varying information needs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hans H Wellisch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users-come-in-all-shapes-sizes-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Color" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users-come-in-all-shapes-sizes-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/hans-h-wellisch-56474_color_there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users_1646580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such thing as \"the user\". Users... come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and they have widely…” — Hans H Wellisch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hans H Wellisch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-h-wellisch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users-come-in-all-shapes-sizes-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-h-wellisch/there-is-no-such-thing-as-the-user-users-come-in-all-shapes-sizes-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```