Summary
A pattern library’s aim is to create a uniform user interface (UI), reduce the production cost, and help the team to focus on better user experience, not user interface design.
What is a pattern library?
Digital products are becoming more complex day-by-day and teams need to invest in more manageable ways to approach solving design problems. To increase speed to market, organizations should start taking a more systematic approach to design. And that begins with assembling a pattern library.
First, let’s distinguish the difference between a style guide and a pattern library. A style guide is brand guidelines that contain information about an entity’s logo, its use, brand colors, and typography. A pattern library is documentation of all the reusable elements that you use to build a digital product. For example, a pattern library will include elements such as:
- Buttons
- Drop-downs
- Input Fields
- Navigation
- Alerts
- Icons
Similar to style guides, pattern libraries establish a shared digital brand across teams, allows everyone to collaborate more effectively, and more importantly creates a single source of truth. So when design challenges arise and you work towards a solution, everyone is referencing the same documentation.
Why are pattern libraries important?
Pattern library’s are important because:
- They create a single source of design truth;
- Help to establish a consistent user interface;
- They are easier to maintain;
- Makes production faster and easier.
Essentially a pattern library helps provide standards for how you will communicate through interactions and how a user experiences your system. And they also provide designers with standards for review and evaluation, guidance for solving specific design problems, and are a great starting point when you need to create new design elements.
A pattern library can help:
- Quickly finding the right element, pattern, or style;
- Identifies where and how to use an element;
- Promotes reuse (of those elements);
- Instill confidence you are using up to date designs.
A pattern library provides guidance to the team when solving recurring design issues. Input fields are a good example of a recurring issue. In this case solving the problem shouldn’t be about how the input fields look rather it should be about how the fields are arranged that’s important. A designer can either directly use the resources from the library to complete an interface design with existing elements or they could use it as guidance to create new elements to solve a new design problem.
Pattern libraries reduce production time
The use of a pattern library can also significantly reduce your time-to-market. Instead of focusing on the design elements needed to create the interface, the team can focus instead on the user experience.
This way the design process moves forward with confidence on a part of the Product and Engineering teams because they know all the designs used are coming from a reviewed and approved library. This allows the product team to plan ahead because they are familiar or have already worked with the elements and styles they will be building.
An important thing about having a pattern library is that through it you are creating a consistent appearance and interactions. You’re creating patterns and familiarity for your user which will reduce the difficulty of them learning your system. This creates a better workflow for your users and increases the perceived value of your system.
Pattern libraries help everyone
A pattern library’s aim is to create a uniform user interface (UI), reduce the production cost, and help the team to focus on better user experience, not user interface design. The goal of a pattern library is to support the entire team’s efforts of building a product whose focus is user-centered and intent on creating a meaningful experience.