COMMON GROUND: A Pattern Language for Human-Computer Interface Design

“Each pattern description defines a context of use, a problem the designer needs to solve, a set of ‘forces’ pushing the designer in different directions, and a primary rule — and sometimes additional secondary rules — on how those forces might be resolved to best solve the problem. Examples are also provided, both good and bad; sometimes the bad examples show inappropriate uses of the pattern, and other times they show a situation in which the pattern should have been used but wasn’t.”