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Artifact

Design principles

A short set of rules, drawn from research and the project's values, that guide design decisions so they are consistent.

In Spanish
Principios de diseño
Origin
Widespread practice; a much-cited example: GOV.UK (2012)

What it’s for

It helps many people make consistent decisions without having to check everything.

Key elements

  • Few

    A short set the team can remember.

  • Grounded in research

    They come from the project’s insights and values.

  • Useful for choosing

    Each one helps decide between two real options.

An example

A large team redesigns a government's digital services.

Without principles
Each team decides in its own way: different tones, steps and priorities. Inconsistent.
With principles10 shared principles
Ten shared rules, starting with “Start with user needs”. Consistent.

The UK Government Digital Service published ten design principles in 2012 that still guide GOV.UK.

How it’s done

  1. They are drawn from insights and from the project's values.

  2. Write only a few, clear and easy to apply.

  3. They are used to decide and to review the work.

Applications in design

  • When to use it

    When several teams make decisions about the same product and those decisions start not to fit together.

  • Avoid

    Writing principles so general that anyone would agree (“be easy to use”).

  • Don’t fall for it

    Test each principle against a real project decision: if it doesn’t help you choose, rewrite it. And review them when you learn something new.

Connections

Builds on

Related to

Authors and works

  1. 2012

    Government Digital Service

    Published the UK Government's ten design principles.

Sources

Original sources

Last reviewed: