About
UI-Patterns.com is a library of proven solutions to the design problems you meet every day. Since 2007, it has helped designers, developers and product teams stop reinventing the wheel – and get better at explaining why a design works.
Every pattern describes the problem it solves, when to use it (and when not to), how it works, and why. Each one is backed by real-world examples, so you can see the solution in action before you build it.
What you'll find here
- User interface design patterns – around 90 recurring solutions for getting input, navigation, dealing with data, onboarding and social features.
- Persuasive design patterns – nearly 80 patterns grounded in psychology and behavioral science, describing how people perceive, decide and act.
- Screenshots – close to 3,000 examples from real products, organized by pattern and collection.
- Articles – more than 130 articles on UX, design psychology and building products people use.
Why design patterns?
Software developers have long relied on recurring solutions to common problems. The idea goes back to Christopher Alexander's pattern language for architecture, and it was programming patterns in now legendary books that inspired UI-Patterns.com.
Collections of software design patterns are standard reference points for experienced programmers. UI-Patterns.com does the same for interface designers, who keep solving problems that many designers have solved before them.
Patterns give a team a shared vocabulary. Instead of debating opinions, you can discuss a named solution, its trade-offs and the context it fits. That helps end feature debates and makes it clear why you're doing what you're doing – and why you're not doing what you're not doing.
A short history
UI-Patterns.com was started in 2007 by Anders Toxboe, a Danish web developer who wanted to bring order to what had seemed like ad hoc approaches to building web applications. At the time, the Yahoo! Design Pattern Library was the talk of the town. It was very useful, but far from complete, and UI-Patterns.com set out to fill the gaps.
In 2015, persuasive design patterns joined the library, moving beyond how interfaces work to why people respond to them the way they do. The patterns have since grown into the Persuasive Patterns and UI Patterns card decks, used by product teams in workshops around the world.
Get in touch!
Have an idea for how UI-Patterns.com can be improved? Want to contribute, or send hate mail or praise mail? You're more than welcome to write to anders (at) learningloop (dot) io.
Legal
The UI-Patterns.com brand and content is owned and operated by Learning Loop ApS (VAT: DK-38497901). Our physical products sold through shop.learningloop.io are produced and sold by Learning Loop ApS. The company is fully owned by Anders Toxboe Holding ApS (VAT: DK-38465678).
License
UI-Patterns.com by Anders Toxboe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Denmark License.
Acknowledgements
A big thank you to everyone who has, time and time again, suggested corrections and additions to the patterns. UI-Patterns.com is better because of you.
Privacy
UI-Patterns.com will keep any private information you provide to us safe and will never sell it to any third parties unless explicitly expressed and with your consent in each case.