Human Interface Guidelines

Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) skill

Use this skill as an operational wrapper around Apple's HIG: navigate guideline content quickly, extract the relevant recommendations, and convert them into actionable UI decisions.

Golden rules

• Prefer platform conventions over custom UI.
• Optimize for clarity, deference, and depth.
• Always state platform + context + user goal before recommending UI.
• When uncertain, cite the specific HIG URL.

Workflow

1) Identify design context

Capture:

• Platform(s): iOS / iPadOS / macOS / watchOS / tvOS / visionOS
• Form factor: phone / tablet / desktop / TV / spatial
• Input: touch / keyboard / pointer / crown / remote / gaze and hands
• Environment constraints: motion, lighting, distance, accessibility needs
• Primary user goal and top tasks

2) Find entry points

Start with:

• references/hig_section_map.md for hierarchy
• references/hig_catalog.md for title + abstract browsing

3) Search candidate pages

• Use scripts/search_hig.py to search titles/abstracts by keyword.
• Open candidate URLs for the authoritative content.

4) Fetch canonical page content

When abstract is not enough:

• Run python scripts/fetch_hig_page.py --path "/design/human-interface-guidelines/<slug>"
• The script outputs best-effort Markdown from Apple's DocC JSON.

5) Convert guidance into decisions

Format output as:

• User goal
• Recommended pattern/component (plus what to avoid)
• Platform-specific notes
• Accessibility considerations
• Edge cases (error/empty/loading/offline/permissions)
• HIG references (URLs)

Common tasks

HIG review checklist

1. Navigation: clear hierarchy, predictable back/close behavior
2. Layout: spacing, alignment, typography, Dynamic Type readiness
3. Inputs: touch target, keyboard/pointer behavior, focus model
4. Feedback: loading/progress/success/error/confirmation
5. Accessibility: VoiceOver, contrast, motion sensitivity, localization
6. System integrations: share sheet, Sign in with Apple, Apple Pay, widgets

Deliver feedback with:

• Findings
• Severity (must-fix / should-fix / nice-to-have)
• Suggested fix
• HIG citations

HIG-aligned UI spec outline

• Overview and user stories
• Information architecture
• Screens and states
• Components (with platform variants)
• Motion and transitions
• Copywriting and labels
• Accessibility requirements
• Open questions

Bundled references

• references/hig_section_map.md - hierarchy map
• references/hig_catalog.md - pages with title and abstract

Bundled scripts

• scripts/search_hig.py - keyword search on local catalog
• scripts/fetch_hig_page.py - fetch and render a HIG page to Markdown