Interaction Patterns

Interaction Patterns are reusable solutions to common interaction challenges in user interfaces. These patterns include elements like sliders, modals, or pagination, which are designed to address frequent usability problems in a consistent way. Interaction patterns ensure that users can easily navigate and perform tasks within a system by leveraging familiar, intuitive design solutions.

Interaction patterns are valuable because they leverage existing user knowledge — if your date picker works like every other date picker users have encountered, they don't need to learn yours. Deviating from established patterns requires a compelling reason, because novelty costs learnability. For enterprise SaaS especially, where users may be reluctant to invest time learning new tools, familiar interaction patterns reduce onboarding friction significantly.

The hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) is a widely adopted interaction pattern for mobile navigation drawers — so universal that even users who can't name it know to tap it. Despite ongoing debate about its discoverability, its ubiquity has made it a reliable pattern for secondary navigation.