ReferenceAppendix — the UX pattern catalogue
Section 7 says to check both directions: not just "is this manipulative" but "is a good, proven pattern even being used." Most people don't reach for an established pattern simply because they don't know it exists — you can't use what you've never heard of, and you can't ask an agent for it by name either. Section 3's ubiquitous-language point applies here as much as to domain terms: knowing a pattern's actual name turns a vague request into a precise one the agent gets right on the first try. This appendix is a structured catalogue built for both — recognising it and asking for it: ux-pattern-catalogue/ (this guide's companion folder) holds 637 patterns across 21 domains, each with a name, a description, and concrete structured guidance: dark patterns carry a detection heuristic, an ethical alternative, and — where one applies — the specific legal risk; positive patterns carry implementation and accessibility notes instead.
The 21 categories
Every category is an illustrated page — each pattern with its picture, description, and the fields that matter when you build or review it. The matching .json file in ux-pattern-catalogue/ is the raw, agent-readable version.
General interface72
Navigation, layout and feedback patterns.
Data visualisation43
Charts, graphs and dashboards.
Search, filter & sort42
Finding and narrowing things down.
SEO & discoverability39
Being found and ranking well.
Business & conversion37
Pricing, upsell and checkout.
Forms36
Input, validation and submission.
<head> order33
Resource order in the document head.
Mobile32
Touch targets and viewport behaviour.
Media32
Images, video and audio.
Authentication31
Sign-up, sign-in and sessions — see also Section 9.
Notifications31
Alerts, badges and digests.
Collaboration30
Sharing, presence and comments.
Onboarding30
First-run experience and empty states.
Settings30
Preferences and account controls.
Social28
Sharing and social proof.
Responsive22
Breakpoints and layout adaptation.
Error handling19
Errors, recovery and offline — see also Section 7.
Dark patterns16
Deceptive patterns: detection, alternative, legal risk.
Legal & compliance12
Cookie consent and disclosures.
Animation12
Motion, easing and reduced motion.
Internationalisation10
Languages, locales and RTL.
Not from one author — each entry cites its real source where one applies: Nielsen Norman Group, deceptive.design, the Baymard Institute, CXL Institute, the FTC, named behavioural-science and legal sources (Cialdini, Kahneman & Tversky, B.J. Fogg, Dan Ariely, the CJEU's Planet49 cookie-consent ruling). Most entries carry no individual citation — they're established convention, not one person's claim.
Use it two ways: before building a feature, skim the relevant file instead of inventing a pattern from scratch (the same discipline as Section 7's "check the other direction too"); and during review, point an agent at the matching checklist to grade whether the implementation actually matches a known-good pattern, not only whether it avoids a known-bad one. Full detail, schema, and usage notes are in the folder's own README.md.