Interaction Design Pattern (Wikipedia)
An encyclopedia article on interaction design patterns — design patterns applied to human-computer interaction and graphical user interfaces. Wikipedia articles are continuously edited, so year above reflects the access date (2026-08-06), not a fixed publication year.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Key points
- Pattern library vs. pattern language: Alexander’s original vision was a language — a structured system where the semantic relationships between patterns form a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Many real-world pattern collections don’t build those structural relationships and are more accurately called pattern libraries — a repository of reusable solutions, organized by hierarchical category (navigational, input, feedback, content structure) with tagging/metadata for findability, rather than an interlocking language.
- A generic pattern-documentation template distinct from van Duyne’s own six-part format, with eight commonly-used elements: pattern name, description, problem statement (in user-centered language), “use when” (the context of use — when the pattern applies and when it doesn’t), solution, rationale (why it works), examples, and comments (a place for a team to keep discussing the pattern). Optional elements some libraries add: implementation specifications (a style guide’s font/color/spacing detail), supporting usability research, related/similar patterns, and reusable source code.
- Patterns vs. guidelines: guidelines are more useful for stating requirements; patterns are more useful for translating a requirement into an actual solution. Abstract guidelines (Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules) don’t say how to solve a problem and don’t support cross-disciplinary communication; concrete guidelines (Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines) are tailored to one specific platform and don’t generalize well to others. The two aren’t in conflict — guidelines can identify the problem and patterns can supply the solution.