SXSWi: Design Patterns: Defining and Sharing Web Interface Design Languages
Speaker: Luke Wroblewski, Yahoo!
Luke filled the place, too (and then some). This and Bullet Tooth should have been in a bigger room with more time.
Why design patterns?
- Shared language
- Giving things a name is a stron way of communicating ideas between designers and developers
- Pattern recognition
Yahoo opened the Yahoo! Design Pattern Library.
What are design patterns?
- Repeatable solutions to common problems in context
- Work “positively” for specific problems in specific contexts
- Capture best practices that solve real user needs
- Between principles and guidelines
- A design vocabulary
Examples of design patterns:
- drag & drop, re-order, inline edit, auto-complete, progress, hover preview… etc.
What’s in a design pattern?
- Title
- Problem (situation)
- Use When (constraints)
- Solution
- Why (rationale)
- How (to apply)
- Examples
- Related Patterns
- Accessibiltiy
- Code Samples
How are desing patterns used?
- Style guide replacements
- The style guide is obsolete as soon as it is finished
- Sharing best practices
Does it work for clients?
- Focus on solutions, not rules
- Encourages good behavior
- Reusable