A reference for design decisions
Design decisions, connected.
485 entries on why interfaces work and what the evidence actually says. Each is a station on the chart below; every line is a stated connection between two of them.
Hover a station to trace its connections. Select a region name to zoom in.
Key
- An entry
- Most connected in its region
- A stated connection
§ 1 · How to read it
Three ways in.
i.
Look it up
You know the name, or the problem.
Titles, alternative names, tags and the body of every entry. A description of the problem works as well as the name of the concept.
ii.
Survey a region
You want the lie of the land.
Twelve shelves and 485 entries, filterable by type, difficulty and evidence strength. Every entry links out across shelves.
iii.
Start from the work
Something is in front of you.
Pick the surface you are designing, or the symptom you recognise, and get the laws, patterns, components and checks that apply to it.
§ 2 · Gazetteer
Twelve regions, one library.
The structure is deliberately flat. Everything is reachable from search, and every entry links across regions rather than staying in its own.
- IUXLaws, principles, heuristics and the psychology underneath them064
- IIUI DesignType, color, layout, space, motion and the rest of the craft054
- IIIPatternsInteraction patterns and the components that implement them073
- IVResearchMethods, sample sizes, analysis and honest interpretation031
- VAccessibilityWCAG in practice, assistive technology and inclusive defaults020
- VIDesign SystemsTokens, components, governance and adoption011
- VIIToolsWhat to use, what it is good at, what it is not052
- VIIITemplatesFillable starting points for the documents designers actually write012
- IXChecklistsInteractive review passes with saved progress011
- XGlossaryPlain-language definitions, cross-linked to the library137
- XICase StudiesDecisions, constraints, trade-offs and what happened010
- XIIAI for DesignPractical workflows, with the prompts and the failure modes010
§ 3 · By surface
Start from what you are designing.
Pick a surface and get the laws, foundations, patterns, accessibility requirements and checklists that apply to it, in one view.
- A FormSignup, application, settings or anything else where people type things in.
- A DashboardAnalytics, monitoring or any screen whose job is to answer a question at a glance.
- A Mobile AppNative or mobile web, where reach, input precision and connectivity all change.
- An Ecommerce ExperienceBrowsing, comparing and buying, where trust and honesty are load-bearing.
- A CheckoutThe last few screens, where every unnecessary decision costs a sale.
- A Search ExperienceThe input, the suggestions, the results and everything that happens when there are none.
- An Onboarding FlowThe path from arrival to the first moment the product is actually worth something.
- SettingsPreferences, account and configuration, where the defaults matter more than the controls.
- NavigationHow people find out what exists and where they currently are.
- A Data TableMany records, many attributes, and comparison down a column as the actual task.
- AuthenticationSign-in, sign-up, recovery and the security decisions that show up as usability ones.
- An AI ProductModel-driven features, where explanation, control and correction carry more weight than accuracy.
- An Enterprise WorkflowTools used all day by trained people, where efficiency beats first-use friendliness.
- A Pricing PageComparison under uncertainty, where framing decisions are also ethical ones.
§ 4 · Instruments
Tools for the field.
Field survey
Run a UX audit, and keep the findings.
Eleven categories, guidance on every check, severity ratings and notes. Progress stays in your browser, and the whole audit exports as Markdown.
- Test your knowledgeTen, fifteen or twenty questions on one shelf or the whole library. Every answer links back to the entry behind it.
- Interactive checklistsForms, accessibility, mobile, dashboards, ecommerce and more. Every item links to the reasoning behind it.
- Fillable templatesResearch plans, interview guides, journey maps and specs. Prefilled, editable, copyable and printable.
§ 5 · Legend
Every entry says how far to trust it.
Design writing routinely presents an aphorism and a replicated experiment as though they carry the same weight. Each entry here is graded, and where the popular version of a law overstates its source, the entry says so.
- Established research
- Originates in published research and has been replicated. The effect is real. Its size in your product still needs measuring.
- Mixed evidence
- Real research exists, but findings conflict, effect sizes are small, or the jump from the lab to interface design is contested.
- Expert heuristic
- A review criterion developed by practitioners. Useful and widely taught, but evaluated by judgement rather than measurement.
- Craft convention
- True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.