Is there anything called GUI standards?

Question

GUIs are one of the important areas in most of the software products. I would like to know whether there is something called GUI Standards that defines the best practices in GUI

Answer 1

I suggest this post : Best Practices & Principles for GUI design

Also, in google search, use "usability".

I also read a good book about it. But sorry, it is in French :-(

Answer 2

Use your users as a standard. What works best for them is what is best, so talk to them, show them prototypes and use their feedback as input to the final product.
Have a look at Jakob Nielsen's Website for a wealth of usability material.

Answer 3

Both Microsoft and Apple have had GUI standards for more than 20 years.

For instance expressed in the books "The Windows Interface. An Application Design Guide" (1987, ISBN 1-55615-439-9) and "Human Interface Guidelines: The Apple Desktop Interface" (1987, ISBN 0-201-17753-6). This information is also online.

Answer 4

The Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines might be what you're looking for...

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx

Answer 5

Depends what you're doing. Nearly every platform has their own official and usually a few unofficial ones.

That's the beauty of standards if you don't like it pick another one

. However GUI is not easy to standardise as there are multiple IO mechanisms - visual, non visual, one way, interactive etc.

No one standard could fit all - except perhaps and ISO or another standards body and that as we know will be obsolete before it's even completed a first draft.

On the other hand there are various psychologically based user experience techniques that are slowly becoming de rigeur standards.

Answer 6

Take a look at the User Experience Patterns (UX Patterns), by Infragistics. It's a nice source of inspiration.