Most people take it for granted that design is a hotbed for creative thinking and uncommon approaches to common problems. However, user interface (ui) designers also have to balance their ingenuity with respect for the reliable elements users expect in their on-screen tools. Mess around with the expected behavior of a search form or even a registration process and people get frustrated quickly. To paraphrase
Jacob Nielsen, it's not only acceptable for ui designers to borrow from their forebears, it's a necessity.
Thankfully, Blink Interactive is working to make it easier with their new
design library blog. Thanks Blink!
Yahoo's Design Pattern Library is also really useful.
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About Joe Eastham
Joe Eastham arrived at Seattle University in August 2002 to work as a web developer and support technician for SU's Office of Information Technology. He joined the Marketing and Communications group in July 2003 and has been happily producing web content ever since. After earning a bachelor's degree from the Evergreen State College in 1995, Joe worked for local non-profit arts organizations. Later, he landed at PACCAR Inc., where he developed web sites, acquired a pocket protector, and fulfilled his lifelong dream to drive the big-rigs (not really.)
An unrepentant geek, Joe survives on a steady diet of movies, comic books, weird fiction, and the occasional novel. He lives with his lovely wife and two dogs in the soggy tundra of Seattle's northern reaches.