C03: Style guide

A “Style Guide” documents the detailed design of the use concept and, normally, consists of several parts: a set of rules, a glossary, and a dialog library.

• A set of rules (information) is compiled for the most important principles of ergonomic design of a user-friendly and functional interface, as well as, an interface that is uniform throughout the company.

• The glossary is a collection of terms and explanations used in the client’s business sector. To the maximum extent practical, these terms are accompanied by images and/or the abbreviation and are often translated into other languages.

• Dialogs describe the most common dialogs found in all devices of this type and standardize the basic structure of the user dialogs.

The style guide is especially practical when the project results are to be applied not only to one product, but rather are to serve as the basis for designing several product lines. The final composition is determined in close cooperation between ZMMI, the client, and the participating designers.