===================== User Interface Design ===================== .. epigraph:: Start with the User Need User Interface Design, at least at the levels of "I want my small Enterprise App to be useful", is pretty simple. It needs four components 1. Visual Style 2. Consistent base HTML elements 3. Higher Level Design patterns incl. behaviour 4. That extra dash of style We have three levels, style-core, style-pkg, style-xp This way we have manageable paths for different discussions to grow. eXPerimental styles, or interactions, the CSS and the JS for them go into these packages. If after a tryout the XP stuff works, it I have several different bits in different levels. My core is used everywhere, for each client. pkgs usually get pulled in, but are there to overwrite things like bootstrap date pickers. Visual Style ------------ CSS, color theory, logo etc Consistent base HTML elements ----------------------------- Design Elements --------------- Handling higher level elements. Extra Dash of Something ----------------------- Here is where I bow out. I can do an "alright" job with the leverage of things like colorwheels, bootstrap, and a bit of common sense. But I am not pixel perfect obessive with a mental memory of thousands of interactive sites, the deep understanding of design, trade-offs, a finger on the pulse of the `zeitgeist` and the ability to mix all these into one intuitive expression of your company's essence. That's why you hire a professional. But you can do a lot before you get there, which is lucky, 'cos the good ones are expensive :-) Living guides ------------- Enhancement Proposals --------------------- Not changing stuff willy-nilly Biblio ------ http://govuk-elements.herokuapp.com/ http://alistapart.com/article/creating-style-guides