What Is Card Sorting In UX?

Card sorting is a research method used by UX and user researchers to uncover users’ mental models and better understand how people naturally categorize information. It involves having study participants group information by sorting cards into categories. 

There are three types of card sorting exercises:

Open — Users sort cards into groups, and then name the groups

Closed — Users sort cards into an existing set of categories 

Hybrid — Same as closed, except users can also create new categories