Macintosh human interface guidelines
by Apple Computer Inc · first published 1992
37mentions
10recommended by
21HN commenters
2008–2026first – last mentioned
48% recommend52% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Classic reference for principled desktop UI design, explaining the reasoning behind specific behaviors such as menu timing and drag-and-drop; recommended for anyone building a GUI who wants concrete design principles.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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The peak of systematic thinking about UX in tech was arguably the 1984 Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201622165/guidebook...). Unfortunately it only took a few years for Apple to start sliding away from their own guidelines, and Windows was always less rigorous…
on “Designing Windows 95's User Interface (2018)” ↗Another great link if you're interested in Apple's design insights: "Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines" , from 1995 or so. I keep a copy on my desk at work as it's a great conversation piece and full of fascinating HCI insights. You can download a PDF here: http://interface.free.fr/Archives/Apple_HIGuidelines.pdf…
on ““Origins of the Apple human interface” lecture – an annotated transcription” ↗Are you the "Hinkley" who created HL? More on-topic, you're totally right. I keep a copy of "Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines" on my desk and show it to designers sometimes when they want to suggest interaction patterns that are unnecessarily novel. Very handy! haha :)
on “Why isn't the internet more fun and weird?” ↗…Personally I believe the desktop operating system of the future will be one that draws from some ideas from the past that have never been fully realized. The high-level interface will be inspired by the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines, preferably those from the classic Mac era (I admit, as much as I like Mac OS X, I believe that the classic Mac OS era was actually superior from a usability standpoint, even if its infrastructure wasn't…
on “Apple of 2019 is the Linux of 2000” ↗I'm building a new GUI for my project, after realizing my old one confuses everyone. I read about the theory of building good GUIs for a few hours, but the resource I keep coming back to is Apple's Macintosh human interface guidelines from '92. Now, I have little nostalgia for System 7, it mainly brings back memories of gym class, RPGs, and complicated spitwad launchers. Still, the philosophy that underlaid System 7 seems to lend…
on “Everything I need to build Web 2.0 interfaces Apple knew in '92” ↗Read any real-world user interface specification like Apple's classic Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines [1]. It specifies all kinds of complex behaviors, like how pull-down submenus don't pop up immediately as you move the cursor over them, and how dragging and dropping text handles the white space at the…
on “The State of JavaScript – Survey results” ↗…one of those most dedicated to making computers 'obvious' to use. His manifesto ("The Humane Interface") has to be a good source of ideas on which to base your 'front end mantra', as would the book "Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines" by Apple.
on “Ask HN: What should a Principal Front end Engineer do?” ↗…operating systems textbook intended for undergraduates. It's also great for grad students and practitioners who need a refresher on OS topics. Another book that is dear to me is the 1995 version of the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines. I personally think that the classic Mac OS and the Windows Classic (introduced in Windows 95) interfaces and their respective UI guidelines for applications were the high water mark for well-designed…
on “Influential books on Computer Science and programming” ↗If you want to design high quality UIs, read this book (Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines)[0] and ingest the concepts it explains. Even though it's not 100% applicable to a brand new software product, it may as well be -- most of the principles are totally applicable, and if you grasp the…
on “Rules for developers to design beautiful UIs without a designer” ↗Old MacOS was good, until they started gradually making it phonelike. The original Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines¹ was solid work. (The big flaw, as usual, forced on the professionals from above: the form-over-function one-button mouse, requiring the undiscoverable double-click — it's almost forgotten now, but originally…
on “Scrollbars Are Becoming a Problem” ↗Must have been something in the air in 1995. I often hear people mention: Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines - http://interface.free.fr/Archives/Apple_HIGuidelines.pdf
on “Calculator Construction Set” ↗…The reason people favored certain older OS UIs is because they were substantially more principled in their designs, not because the executions of those principles looked a particular specific way. The Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines were seriously well thought out. Apple just doesn't follow them anymore, and that leads to demonstrably poor design choices. "Consistency" is still one of the three banner concepts (see https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline...),…
on “It's hard to justify Tahoe icons” ↗There was a lot of good work done by Apple in the days of classic Mac OS - see eg pages 103, 196-7, 201 and 206-7 from the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines, available eg at http://interface.free.fr/Archives/Apple_HIGuidelines.pdf Some of the reasons behind the suggestions (which are clearer when you view the associated pictures in the pdf): "The Western…
on “Ok-Cancel versus Cancel-Ok” ↗…testament: http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Inside-Macintosh-Volumes-III/dp/... The new testament: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Macintosh-Apple-Computer-Inc/dp... The book of common prayer: http://www.amazon.com/Macintosh-Human-Interface-Guidelines-C... The dead sea scrolls: http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Reference-Manual-Computers-030-0... The Apocrypha: http://www.amazon.com/Newton-2-0-User-Interface-Guidelines/d... Deuterocanonical: http://www.amazon.com/OpenDoc-Programmers-Guide-Apple-Comput...…
on “Steve Jobs' reality distortion takes its toll on truth” ↗…matters where you take cues from, so long as you are internally consistent, and apps carry on that consistency. [1] http://www.amazon.com/AMIGA-User-Interface-Style-Guide/dp/02... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Macintosh-Human-Interface-Guidelines-C...
on “Backslash must die” ↗