Reference — Layr Design Reference

01

Perception & Visual Hierarchy

Rules for making visual relationships, priority, state, and interaction meaning legible before the user has to read every detail.

8 principles

01.01Aesthetic-Usability EffectPeople often approach a polished interface with more patience and a stronger initial expectation that it will be easy to use.
01.02Law of Common RegionElements enclosed by the same visible boundary are usually interpreted as belonging together.
01.03Law of ProximityItems placed near one another are commonly read as a group, even when no border connects them.
01.04Law of PrägnanzWhen a visual structure is ambiguous, people tend to resolve it into the simplest coherent interpretation available.
01.05Law of SimilarityElements that look alike are likely to be interpreted as sharing a role, state, or category.
01.06Law of Uniform ConnectednessVisible connections make elements feel more strongly related than elements that merely share space.
01.07Selective AttentionPeople allocate attention toward a limited subset of what is visible, usually guided by their current goal, expectations, and salient cues.
01.08Von Restorff EffectA distinctive item within a group is more likely to attract attention and be remembered than neighboring items that look alike.

02

Memory & Cognition

Rules for reducing unnecessary mental work, supporting recognition, preserving context, and helping users build reliable expectations about the system.

7 principles

03

Decision, Simplicity & Familiarity

Rules for structuring choices, managing complexity, using familiar conventions, and helping users reach correct decisions without unnecessary interpretation.

7 principles

04

Interaction, Performance & Error Tolerance

Rules for responsive controls, reachable targets, resilient input, bounded tasks, and recovery patterns that keep the interface trustworthy under real-world conditions.

4 principles

05

Motivation, Progress & Experience Memory

Rules for sustaining effort, making progress legible, supporting interrupted work, and designing the moments that shape how an experience is remembered.

4 principles

Navigation

Design principles and Layr rules.

Layr Principles

Perception & Visual Hierarchy

Memory & Cognition

Decision, Simplicity & Familiarity

Interaction, Performance & Error Tolerance

Motivation, Progress & Experience Memory

Design principles and Layr rules.

Layr Principles

Perception & Visual Hierarchy

Memory & Cognition

Decision, Simplicity & Familiarity

Interaction, Performance & Error Tolerance

Motivation, Progress & Experience Memory