Style guides
Summary
Style guides are used to provide a consistent look and feel.
They should be defined as part of usability
requirements and conformance should be monitored during
development.
Benefits
- Style guides embody good practice in interface design.
- Following a style guide will increase the consistency
between screens.
- Using a style guide can reduce the development time.
- Following general usability guidelines will improve the
quality of the interface.
Method
- For a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as Windows,
develop and adhere to a GUI style guide based on good GUI
design principles:
 Microsoft
Windows User Experience. Microsoft Press, 1999. [Official
Microsoft guidelines for creating well-designed, visually
and functionally consistent user interfaces, also available
on
the web.]
GUI
Design Handbook Susan Fowler. McGraw Hill. About Face:
The Essentials of User Interface Design Alan Cooper.
IDG Books
GUI
Design for Dummies Laura Arlov. IDG Books
- For web pages, develop and adhere to a style guide
based on good web design principles:
Designing
Web Usability Jakob Nielsen. New Riders. 1999.
Web
Site Usability Jared Spool, Terri DeAngelo, Tara Scanlon,
Will Schroeder, Carolyn Snyder. Morgan Kaufmann, 1998.
- Developers should also be familiar with and apply general
user interface guidelines, for example see the guidelines
in the RESPECT
Handbook
- Someone familiar with the style guides and usability guidelines
should review the user interfaces to check for conformity
with the guidelines. Although style guides can speed development
by simplifying detailed design, developers are often reluctant
to use a style guide unless compliance is enforced.
Outputs
A more consistent look and feel, and a list of any deviations
from the style guide.
Next steps
Evaluate early working prototypes.
Case studies
Background reading
List
of User Interface Design Style Guides |
