Patterns as tools for user interface design

Designing usable systems is difficult and designers need effective tools that are usable themselves. Effective design tools should be based on proven knowledge of design. Capturing knowledge about the successful design of usable systems is important for both novice and experienced designers and traditionally, this knowledge has largely been described in guidelines. However, guidelines have shown to have problems concerning selection, validity and applicability. Patterns have emerged as a possible solution to some of the problems from which guidelines suffer. Patterns focus on the context of a problem and solution thereby guiding the designer in using the design knowledge. Patterns for architecture or software engineering are not identical in structure and user interface design also requires its own structure for patterns, focusing on usability. This paper explores how patterns for user interface design must be structured in order to be effective and usable tools for designers. A structure for user interface design patterns is proposed and is illustrated with an example.