Patterns as Tools for User Interface Design

This document discusses patterns as tools for user interface design and proposes a structure for user interface design patterns. [1] Patterns are presented as a potential solution to some of the problems with guidelines, which can be too abstract, conflicting, and lack context. [2] A simple example pattern is provided to illustrate how patterns describe a problem, context, and proven solution instead of just rules. [3] The document argues that a proper structure for user interface design patterns needs to be developed to effectively capture usability knowledge for designers.