Essentials

This section of the Human Interface Guidelines covers essential themes. It provides an initial starting point when designing an application, as well as common design guidelines that are necessary when using all the patterns and user interface elements found in later sections.

Getting started

Design principles

General design guidelines and advice.

Application basics

Basic application behavior and characteristics.

Compatibility

Using the HIG for cross-platform or GNOME 2 style applications.

Common guidelines

Visual layout

Arranging elements within user interfaces.

Writing style

Writing text for your user interface, including capitalization rules.

Icons and artwork

Guidelines on selecting and creating icons.

Typography

Advice on font sizes, weights and styles, as well as special characters.

Pointer and touch input

Mouse, touchpad and touchscreen interaction.

Keyboard input

Keyboard navigation, access and shortcut keys.