Reference library

The library

Reference resources you come back to while designing: standards, design systems, tools and more. Every entry links to its original and shows a licence check. Nothing here is rehosted. It is a reference set, not a news feed.

Licence Free to share open licence or public material Licence not confirmed link out only until you have checked the source Link out only never host or copy

All topics Clinical vs Patient Interfaces Health Literacy & Plain Language Trust, Ethics & Safety Design for Vulnerable Users Accessibility & Regulation UX Patterns for Health Data Visualisation & Health Metrics Process & Research Search Clear filters

Showing 7 of 54 resources

Design systems 7

Component libraries and patterns you can build on.

Design system Licence not confirmed Apple Human Interface Guidelines developer.apple.com Apple's design guidelines for apps across its platforms, covering layout, controls and interaction patterns. The reference for native iPhone and Apple Watch health apps, and a source for what platform users already expect from controls and navigation. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Free to share GOV.UK Design System design-system.service.gov.uk The UK government's design system of styles, components and patterns for building consistent, accessible services. It is not health-specific, but it is the shared foundation for how UK public services are designed, which makes it useful context alongside the NHS design system. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Licence not confirmed Material Design (M3) m3.material.io Not health-specific, but the baseline most Android health apps inherit whether the team chose it or not. Useful as a reference for what accessible "default" behaviour looks like before deviating for clinical needs. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Free to share NHS design system service-manual.nhs.uk The most complete health design system in the open. Steal the content patterns before the components. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Licence not confirmed Nordhealth Design System nordhealth.design A health-specific design system with components built around clinical workflows rather than generic SaaS patterns. A more relevant reference than Carbon or Polaris for anything clinician-facing. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Licence not confirmed U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) designsystem.digital.gov The design system for US federal government websites: reusable components, design tokens and guidance, built to be accessible and work well on mobile. Relevant for teams building for US agencies or health programmes that follow federal design standards. Patterns Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab) Design system Licence not confirmed Why Accessibility Is An Operational Capability, Not A Feature Smashing Magazine Checked Oct 2026 (opens in a new tab)