Introduction
Patterns are preferred solutions to specific user needs, ensuring consistency in design, behavior, and interaction.
Our pattern documentation is evolving.
Join the discussion (available to Elastic employees only) to make it better.What are patterns?
Patterns offer practical solutions that can be applied repeatedly to address frequent design issues, ensuring alignment with our principles and guidelines. They serve as building blocks for creating consistent and cohesive user interfaces.
How do patterns differ from guidelines?
Guidelines serve as a roadmap for the effective and consistent use of our components and design elements. They provide:
- High-level recommendations on how to utilize our EUI components.
- Insights into the visual and functional aspects of components.
- Guidance on where a component can be implemented with practical examples, such as "Dashboard Good Practices" and "How to Deal with Colors in Data Visualization."
- Specific rules to follow when implementing a given design element.
Patterns represent a set of best practices, interpreting guidelines to ensure consistency at scale.
What are the defining attributes of effective design patterns?
Task/Goal driven - Each pattern is driven by user intent. It offers a useful solution tied to a specific user goal and can be associated with a broader concept or theme.
Opinionated - Patterns are opinionated solutions tailored to address specific user challenges within Elastic. They represent a set of best practices, interpreting guidelines to ensure consistency at scale.
Reusable/consistent - Patterns are designed for repeatability, suitable for similar situations across different contexts. They are instantly recognizable, practical, and aim to reduce the cognitive load for users.
Validated - Ideally, patterns should undergo validation to ensure their usability. They should be demonstrated to work effectively with a representative sample of users.
Evolving - Patterns are not set in stone, but rather, do evolve over time as problem and solution spaces shift over time.
Contributing
The content available here reflects collective insights and best practices. If you see opportunities for improvement or have new ideas, we encourage contributions. Your expertise helps ensure our design system remains relevant and user-focused.
Archived documentation
We are in the process of re-organizing previously documented guidelines. In the mean time, you can find a collection of UX guidelines on EUI and the (now deprecated) product design manual.