Design Standards Guide
What is it?
The Design Standards Guide (also referred to as a style guide) describes a common set of design principles derived during the design or redesign process. It is essential for content authors, web designers, information architects and web developers to frame their thought processes when adding or changing content.
A standards guide is successful if the end user moves from one page to another and has the experience that “Yes! I have seen a page like this before. And it works the way I expect.”
Who uses it?
UI designers create it, and then edit it as new content types and features are introduced.
Designers and Developers use it to create views and visuals that follow the design standards.
QA Testers uses it to make sure the system is consistent throughout in its presentation.
How It Works
- Identify the 10–20 types (roughly, could be more or less) of pages that account for 85-90% of the pages that will be designed. We then create standard page templates for each of these. It is like having good DNA in the system/site, which brings unity and sense to the end result.
- The guide is used in the building of actual HTML/CSS templates and in making sure that scope or feature creep does not muddle the clear design of the system or site.
Getting More Information
This post is an edited extract from Leah Buley’s site IA One Sheeters with contributions from Tom Dell’Aringa. I am using the One Sheeter concepts here to showcase what I do as an IA and show examples of my work.
