Software design principles

Software design principles

• 10 Principles of Good Web Design

  Vitaly Friedman

  Ten principles for creating user-friendly websites that reduce cognitive load, guide attention, and follow established conventions for better usability.

• 4 Design Principles to Create Products That Work for Everyone

  Adam Silver

  Four principles Adam Silver uses daily to avoid bad UX, focusing on inclusivity, obviousness, user control, and performance.

• 7 Principles of Rich Web Applications

  Guillermo Rauch

  My approach is to examine the usage of JavaScript exclusively from the lens of user experience (UX). In particular, I put a strong focus on the idea of minimizing the time it takes the user to get the data they are interested in. Starting with networking fundamentals all the way to predicting the future.

• AMP Design Principles

  AMP Project

  These design principles are meant to guide the ongoing design and development of AMP. They should help us make internally consistent decisions.

• Adobe Spectrum Design Principles

  Adobe

  Design Principles of Adobe's new Scalable Design System.

• Android Wear OS Design Principles

  Android

  Android Wear OS design principles focus on creating glanceable, standalone wearable experiences that help people complete critical tasks quickly while staying present and productive.

• Atlassian Design Principles

  Atlassian

  Atlassian is a enterprise software company that develops collaboration software. It is best known for its issue tracking application, Jira, and its team collaboration product, Confluence. At Atlassian, we believe that behind every great human achievement, there is a team. We create software to help unlock the power of teamwork and continuously try make our products, websites and integrations better at helping people and teams be more effective. These guidelines were put together by a large group of designers from across the organisation to help scale our design craft and to enable designers to create digital experiences that unleash the potential in any team.

• Atlassian Design System – Values and Principles

  Atlassian Design System, Atlassian

  We use the Atlassian Design System values and principles to align our team around a clear set of shared beliefs and goals. They embody our team ethos and will evolve as the design system changes and scales over time. Values are our fundamental beliefs (what we hold true), and principles exist to guide our behavior (how we achieve those values).

• Basis Design Principles

  Basis

  Design principles for the Basis Design System that prioritize user-friendly design over rigid consistency.

• Blockchain Design Principles

  IBM

  The IBM Blockchain Design Team design supply chain flows and open source tools. Most users were new to blockchain. So they needed to be reassured by the principles of trust and consistency. Exposing blockchain transaction data to inform the user's understanding was a way to achieve this. By seeing what was happening a user could understand of what was actually happening. "People want to “see the blockchain” even when they don’t need to." Motion and animation were used to give meaning to unfamiliar processes. Subtle use of animation provided constant feedback so the user always knew what was going on. A consistent visual language guided the user through unfamiliar empty states. Excitement for new technology should improve lives and not create more problems. To achieve this the team's principles were informed by user needs from the beginning.

• Brainly Pencil Design Principles

  Brainly

  Design principles for Brainly's Pencil design system that spell out PENCIL, guiding their product and brand experiences.

• Design in the Era of the Algorithm

  Josh Clark

  Ten principles for designing data-driven products responsibly, balancing algorithmic power with human judgement and user control.

• Designing for Virtual Reality

  Google

  Google's framework for virtual reality design, focusing on head tracking, comfort, immersion, and creating intuitive experiences for VR platforms like Cardboard.

• Designing for voice interfaces

  Brian Colcord

  Brian Colcord's framework for creating effective voice interfaces, emphasising compelling use cases, conversational design, and user-centred approaches to voice interaction design.

• Duet's Principles

  LocalTapiola Services Ltd

  These principles form the foundation of Duet. They guide our team when working on different parts of the system and help us do better and more informed decisions.

• Eight Principles of Natural User Interfaces

  Rachel Hinman

  Rachel Hinman's framework for creating natural user interfaces that emphasize the joy of interaction over task completion, focusing on performance aesthetics and intuitive human-computer relationships.

• Facebook Business Design Principles

  Facebook

  Facebook's four business design principles by Margaret Gould Stewart for crafting elegant tools that help people be more effective and successful in their work, balancing efficiency with effectiveness while bringing clarity to complexity.

• Figma Design Principles

  Figma

  Figma's design philosophy centers on creating a powerful yet approachable collaborative design tool that balances professional precision with thoughtful simplicity, enabling designers to express any idea while respecting their attention and natural workflows.

• Financial Times Product Principles

  Financial Times

  The Financial Times developed five principles to create a shared understanding of "good" across their diverse product teams, from news apps to internal HR tools. These principles help teams make decisions about what to build and what to leave behind, turning vague conversations about quality into specific, actionable discussions. These principles emerged from collaborative workshops asking teams how they want people to talk about their products and what conditions enable their best work. Notably, they include explicit measurement and acknowledge failure as part of the process.

• Front-End Principles for Designers

  Jon Yablonski

  Designers that code is becoming increasing common in the web community; and while not a requirement, this skill can have an substantial effect on the quality of the designer’s work. Is that to say that a designer must know how to code to create great digital experiences? This mind set is dogmatic and fails to ask the right question, which is what principles do designers need to understand to create better designs?

• Google AI Principles

  Google

  Google's AI principles guide the development and deployment of artificial intelligence through bold innovation, responsible development, and collaborative progress to benefit humanity.

• HTML Design Principles

  W3C

  HTML 5 defines the fifth major revision of the core language of the World Wide Web, HTML. This document describes the set of guiding principles used by the HTML Working Group for the development of HTML5. The principles offer guidance for the design of HTML in the areas of compatibility, utility and interoperability.

• Kotti Design Principles

  Kotti

  Kotti's user experience framework focusing on keen engagement, transparency, timeliness, and intuitive design that makes complex systems accessible and effective.

• LINE Design System

  LINE

  Design principles for LINE's design system that guide their products using common values and design principles focused on user needs and chat-first experience.

• Michelin Design System

  Michelin

  UX principles for Michelin's design system that guide their approach to low environmental impact, inclusivity, and user-centric design.

• Microsoft Fluent Design Principles

  Microsoft

  Microsoft's four Fluent design principles evolved from their heritage to guide cross-platform experiences that feel natural, focused, inclusive, and unmistakably Microsoft across web, iOS, Android, and Windows.

• Microsoft Responsible AI Principles

  Microsoft

  Microsoft's Responsible AI Principles provide guidance for designing, building, and testing AI systems that are fair, reliable, secure, inclusive, transparent, and accountable.

• Monzo Product Principles

  Monzo

  Monzo's product principles focus on building scalable platforms that enable teams to perform at the speed of thought, with emphasis on learning, measurement, and empowering users through consistent, trustworthy experiences.

• Nordhealth Design Principles

  Nordhealth

  Nordhealth's design principles form the foundation of their design system, guiding their team to make better and more informed decisions across different parts of the system.

• OVO Experience Standard

  OVO

  OVO's Experience Standard consists of six principles that guide their design decisions across digital products and services. These principles focus on creating intentional, inclusive, connected, ethical, effortless, and memorable experiences for users. The standard includes specific criteria for each principle to ensure consistent application across all touchpoints. What makes these principles notable is their comprehensive approach to both digital and offline experiences, with strong emphasis on accessibility, ethical design, and seamless integration across organizational boundaries.

• Orange Design System

  Orange

  Eight responsible design principles serving as benchmarks for responsible innovation across Orange's design and delivery process, from project inception through retrospectives.

• PAIR AI Design Principles

  Google

  Google's People + AI Research (PAIR) design principles for creating human-centered AI products that balance user autonomy, safety, and helpfulness while adapting to user feedback and real-world contexts.

• Pajamas Design System

  GitLab

  Design principles for GitLab's Pajamas Design System that act as reusable standards for teams to measure their work, replacing subjective ideals with shared understanding of what results must do for users.

• PatternFly AI Principles

  Red Hat

  Five core principles forming an ethics-first framework for AI design in PatternFly, covering accountability, transparency, and human-centred approaches.

• Paypal Design Principles

  Paypal

  Four principles guiding PayPal's design team, focusing on craftsmanship, simplification, connection, and full commitment to creating memorable user experiences.

• Principles of Product Design

  Joshua Porter

  Joshua Porter's framework for creating successful products, emphasising usefulness as the primary goal, experience-driven design, and user-centred approaches to product development.

• Principles of Web Development

  Jens Oliver Meiert

  Seven principles for professional web development, emphasising quality, simplicity, and long-term thinking over quick fixes.

• Principles of pervasive retail application design

  Jonathan Morgan

  The findings presented on this site identify fundamental principles for designing applications for computationally-enhanced retail environments. These principles are distilled from over two hundred research studies and papers on pervasive technology, human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, retail strategy, inclusive design, and related fields.

• React Design Principles

  React

  React's design philosophy emphasizing composition, escape hatches, and practical solutions for building maintainable, scalable user interfaces through component-based architecture.

• Responsive Principles

  Paul Robert Lloyd

  Three principles for building a web that remains accessible to all, starting from adaptability and embracing user diversity.

• SOLID Design Principles

  Robert C. Martin

  In object-oriented computer programming, SOLID is a mnemonic acronym for five design principles intended to make software designs more understandable, flexible and maintainable.

• Shopify Polaris Principles

  Shopify

  Design principles from Shopify's Polaris design system, guiding how they build tools for merchants of all experience levels.

• Slack Product Principles

  Slack

  Slack's product principles guide the creation of human-centric workplace tools that make work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive through five essential guidelines.

• Spotify Design Principles

  Spotify

  Spotify's design framework emphasizing relevance, human-centered experiences, and unified design to create personalized, intuitive music streaming experiences that feel coherent across all platforms.

• Sprout Social Seeds Principles

  Sprout Social

  Four core principles guiding Sprout Social's Seeds design system, focusing on storytelling, purpose, and emotional connection.

• Sunrise Solar Design System Principles

  Sunrise

  Seven design principles acting as a compass for designing Sunrise interfaces, keeping the team aligned throughout the design process.

• Tailwind Design Principles

  Tailwind

  Four design principles created collaboratively by the Tailwind team to guide design decisions across brand and product.

• Teamleader Ahoy Design Principles

  Ahoy

  Three foundational design principles guiding Teamleader's Ahoy design system, focusing on intuitive, adaptable, and seamless user experiences.

• Terra UX Principles

  VTS

  Five UX principles guiding VTS's Terra design system, ensuring products are intuitive, productive, and feel part of a cohesive ecosystem.

• The Building Blocks of Sustainable Web Design

  Mightybytes

  According to the March 1, 2015 run of the HTTP Archive, the average web page is now over 2 megabytes (2008 kb, to be precise). Bloated websites lead to slow load times, frustrated users and wasted energy. Mightybytes has identified four key areas where sustainability principles can be applied to the process of creating websites that are speedy, user-friendly and energy-efficient.

• The Zen of GitHub

  GitHub

  GitHub's design philosophy focuses on creating a cohesive, inclusive, and efficient platform experience that enables developers to focus on their work through familiar patterns, accessibility, and thoughtful design that encourages flow and productivity.

• The Zero (0) Complexity Business IT Design principles

  Maikel Mardjan

  Architecture and design principles for preventing unnecessary complexity in business IT systems, focusing on simplicity, human needs, and maintainability.

• Thumbprint Design Principles

  Thumbtack

  Three principles guiding how Thumbtack's design system team works, focusing on process, documentation, and collaboration.

• Tractie — NS Design System

  NS Dutch Railways

  Design principles for NS Tractie design system that guide internal employee applications, focusing on context, craftsmanship, trust, clarity, and delightful experiences.

• Twilio Paste Design System Principles

  Twilio

  Three principles the Twilio Design Systems team follows before shipping anything, ensuring inclusive, scalable, and well-documented work.

• U.S. Web Design System

  Technology Transformation Services

  Technology Transformation Services' federal design system framework emphasizing accessibility, ease of use, and modern web practices for creating effective government digital services.

• Washington Post Design System Principles

  Washington Post

  Five principles guiding the Washington Post Design System, focusing on reusability, functionality, adaptability, predictability, and accessibility.

• Watson Design Principles

  Watson (Docplanner)

  Design principles for Watson design system that guide their philosophical framework and design choices across all products.

• Škoda Flow Design System Guiding Principles

  Škoda

  Six guiding principles for digital experience design, distilled from Škoda's brand tonality pillars of Clear, Joyful, and Empowering.