---
title: "Layr Design Reference"
source: "/"
description: "An open reference of interface design rules that people and software agents read from the same source."
---
# Rules for interfaces understood by humans and agents.

An open reference of interface design rules that people and software agents read from the same source.

Each rule combines source-backed guidance, a visual study and practical examples. Agents can read its Markdown representation.

## Categories

- [Perception & Visual Hierarchy](/__layr/pages/reference/perception-visual-hierarchy.md) — Rules for making visual relationships, priority, state, and interaction meaning legible before the user has to read every detail. (8 principles)
- [Memory & Cognition](/__layr/pages/reference/memory-cognition.md) — Rules for reducing unnecessary mental work, supporting recognition, preserving context, and helping users build reliable expectations about the system. (7 principles)
- [Decision, Simplicity & Familiarity](/__layr/pages/reference/decision-simplicity-familiarity.md) — Rules for structuring choices, managing complexity, using familiar conventions, and helping users reach correct decisions without unnecessary interpretation. (7 principles)
- [Interaction, Performance & Error Tolerance](/__layr/pages/reference/interaction-performance-error-tolerance.md) — Rules for responsive controls, reachable targets, resilient input, bounded tasks, and recovery patterns that keep the interface trustworthy under real-world conditions. (4 principles)
- [Motivation, Progress & Experience Memory](/__layr/pages/reference/motivation-progress-experience-memory.md) — Rules for sustaining effort, making progress legible, supporting interrupted work, and designing the moments that shape how an experience is remembered. (4 principles)

## Layr Principles

- [LAYR-001 — The Intentionality Law](/__layr/pages/reference/layr-001-intentionality.md) — Every visible decision should support meaning, action, identity, accessibility, or comprehension. Remove what does none of those.
- [LAYR-002 — The Complete Flow Law](/__layr/pages/reference/layr-002-complete-flow.md) — A feature is complete when the user can enter, understand, act, wait, succeed, fail, recover, and continue through the surrounding task.