What is User-centered Design?
While user experience (UX) is an overarching title. User-centered Design (UCD) is a design process and metrology where the user and the users experience are pivotal to the whole project. The core elements of UCD conceder visibility, accessibility, legibility and language when designing a system app or website.
UCD was originally conceived by Donald Norman in the book Design of everyday things in 1986, suggesting that design should be based on the needs of the user, while slightly de-emphasing aesthetic concerns. When used in its purest form, the project stakeholders and target users are consulted via testing prototypes to identify issues early on.
Read more about user-centered design
Design of Everyday Things. Donald A. Norman
Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design. Ben Shneiderman
User-Centered Design. Wikipedia