ios-hig
Use when designing iOS interfaces, implementing accessibility (VoiceOver, Dynamic Type), handling dark mode, ensuring adequate touch targets, providing animation/haptic feedback, or requesting user permissions. Apple Human Interface Guidelines for iOS compliance.
When & Why to Use This Skill
The iOS Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) skill is a specialized tool designed to help developers and designers build intuitive, accessible, and high-quality applications for the Apple ecosystem. It provides expert guidance on visual design, interaction patterns, and accessibility standards, ensuring that apps feel native and meet Apple's rigorous App Store requirements. By leveraging this skill, users can avoid common design pitfalls, optimize for Dark Mode, and implement complex features like Dynamic Type and haptic feedback with precision.
Use Cases
- Accessibility Compliance: Auditing UI components to ensure they support VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, and proper color contrast for inclusive design.
- Interface Validation: Verifying that touch targets meet the minimum 44x44 point requirement and that navigation hierarchies follow native iOS patterns.
- Dark Mode Optimization: Refining color palettes and materials to ensure legibility and aesthetic consistency across system-wide appearance changes.
- Interaction & Feedback Design: Calibrating haptic feedback and animation durations to provide meaningful user responses without causing motion sickness or battery drain.
- Privacy & Permission UX: Crafting clear, user-centric permission requests for system resources (camera, location, etc.) to improve trust and App Store approval rates.
| name | ios-hig |
|---|---|
| description | Use when designing iOS interfaces, implementing accessibility (VoiceOver, Dynamic Type), handling dark mode, ensuring adequate touch targets, providing animation/haptic feedback, or requesting user permissions. Apple Human Interface Guidelines for iOS compliance. |
iOS Human Interface Guidelines
Apple's Human Interface Guidelines define the visual language, interaction patterns, and accessibility standards that make iOS apps feel native and intuitive. The core principle: clarity and consistency through thoughtful design.
Overview
- Interaction - Touch targets, navigation, layout, hierarchy
- Content - Empty states, writing copy, typography
- Visual Design - Colors, materials, contrast, dark mode
- Accessibility - VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion
- Feedback - Animations, haptics, loading states, errors
- Performance - Responsiveness, system components
- Privacy - Permission requests, data handling
Common Mistakes
Touch targets smaller than 44x44 points — Buttons and interactive elements must be at least 44x44 points (iOS) to accommodate thumbs. Smaller targets cause frustrated users and accessibility failures.
Ignoring Dynamic Type constraints — Text with fixed sizes doesn't respect user accessibility settings. Use Dynamic Type sizes, test with Large or Extra Large settings, and avoid hardcoded font sizes.
Insufficient color contrast in dark mode — Colors that work in light mode may fail accessibility in dark mode. Test with Reduce Contrast accessibility setting enabled for both modes.
Over-animating transitions — Animations that feel smooth at 60fps can trigger motion sickness in users with vestibular issues. Respect Reduce Motion settings and keep animations under 300ms.
Missing VoiceOver labels on custom controls — Custom buttons, toggles, or interactive views need
.accessibilityLabel()and.accessibilityHint()or they're completely unusable to screen reader users.Haptic overuse — Every action does NOT need haptic feedback. Reserve haptics for confirmations (purchase, critical action) and errors. Excessive haptics are annoying and drain battery.