Apple Human Interface Guidelines
Hacker ApprovedDesign guideline in Developer tools
People recommend it as a thorough, clearly written UX reference that stands the test of time, though critics say Apple often ignores its own guidelines.
People recommend it as a thorough, clearly written UX reference that stands the test of time, though critics say Apple often ignores its own guidelines.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear, thorough UX principles
“It's a very thurough look at UX and while they don't adhere to them perfectly themselves, it's very much a north star to a some ideals.”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 on Hacker News “It is clear thinking, expressed well, and it stands the test of time.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “It's hard to justify Tahoe icons” “where it's just a succession of clear statements”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “LiftKit – UI where "everything derives from the golden ratio"” - Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Palm OS User Interface Guidelines [pdf]”
- Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Bring Back Idiomatic Design”
- Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Notepad++ Code Editor Comes to Mac After 20-Year Wait”
Consistency across apps and vendors
“Consistency in the interface allows users to transfer their knowledge and skills from one application to another.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS” “A really strong shared design language across apps and vendors is an unbelievably valuable productivity enhancer”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS” “Consistency builds familiarity, helping your app feel cohesive, intuitive, and thoughtfully designed.”
Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS” Timeless, balanced design advice
“The HIG preached a kind of nuance and balance—often allowing a perhaps radical thing so long as it was in moderation.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Sweet Jeebus, macOS 27 Golden Gate Removes the Dumb Icons from Menu Items” “It is clear thinking, expressed well, and it stands the test of time.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “It's hard to justify Tahoe icons” Useful reference for AI design tools
“ask Claude (or Claude Design) to reference the Apple HIG”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS” “less slop, more structure”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “Slightly reducing the sloppiness of AI generated front end”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Apple ignores its own guidelines
“Apple's guidelines have long been flouted by Apple itself, not to mention that they're replete with stupid ideas.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “If you put Apple icons in reverse it looks like someone getting good at design” “Apple can gaslight us all into believing the HIG has never changed”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “Icons in Menus Everywhere – Send Help” “The abandonment of their own guidelines is sad.”
Comment from 1 Jul 2026 in “Free the Icons” - Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Apple’s head of user interface design, Alan Dye, will join Meta”
What people said
All 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The real principles were explained in detail in Apples UI guidelines.”
“not giving it an obvious whole-HIG search box. Worse experience than cmd-F 20 years ago.”
“Consistency builds familiarity, helping your app feel cohesive, intuitive, and thoughtfully designed.”
“Consistency in the interface allows users to transfer their knowledge and skills from one application to another.”
“A really strong shared design language across apps and vendors is an unbelievably valuable productivity enhancer”
“ask Claude (or Claude Design) to reference the Apple HIG”
“It has devolved into something that feels more like a brochure.”
“Early Macs also had pretty opinionated HIGs”
“The abandonment of their own guidelines is sad.”
“It's a very thurough look at UX and while they don't adhere to them perfectly themselves, it's very much a north star to a some ideals.”
“less slop, more structure”
“The HIG preached a kind of nuance and balance—often allowing a perhaps radical thing so long as it was in moderation.”
“Excellent resource for general UX guidelines, some apply to cross-platform apps, some not so much.”
“Excellent documentation in Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines”
“The UI guidelines were excellent.”
“This seems to also apply to all new UIs produced by apple in the last 5 years.”
“The best book I've ever read on the topic”
“where it's just a succession of clear statements”
“Apple's guidelines have long been flouted by Apple itself, not to mention that they're replete with stupid ideas.”
“It is clear thinking, expressed well, and it stands the test of time.”
“Apple can gaslight us all into believing the HIG has never changed”
“Now it's a manual of hypocrisy.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.