Source: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/layout. This file is a structured index of that content, snapshot 2025-02-02. Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc.; this repository provides organization and cross-referencing for AI agent consumption only.
Layout
Best practices
Group related items to help people find the information they want.
Make essential information easy to find by giving it sufficient space.
Extend content to fill the screen or window.
Visual hierarchy
Differentiate controls from content.
Place items to convey their relative importance.
Align components with one another to make them easier to scan and to communicate organization and hierarchy.
Take advantage of progressive disclosure to help people discover content that’s currently hidden.
Make controls easier to use by providing enough space around them and grouping them in logical sections.
Adaptability
Different device screen sizes, resolutions, and color spaces
Different device orientations (portrait/landscape)
System features like Dynamic Island and camera controls
External display support, Display Zoom, and resizable windows on iPad
Dynamic Type text-size changes
Locale-based internationalization features like left-to-right/right-to-left layout direction, date/time/number formatting, font variation, and text length
Design a layout that adapts gracefully to context changes while remaining recognizably consistent.
Be prepared for text-size changes.
Preview your app on multiple devices, using different orientations, localizations, and text sizes.
When necessary, scale artwork in response to display changes.
Guides and safe areas
Respect key display and system features in each platform.
Platform considerations
iOS
Aim to support both portrait and landscape orientations.
Prefer a full-bleed interface for your game.
Avoid full-width buttons.
Hide the status bar only when it adds value or enhances your experience.
iPadOS
As someone resizes a window, defer switching to a compact view for as long as possible.
Test your layout at common system-provided sizes, and provide smooth transitions.
Consider a convertible tab bar for adaptive navigation.
macOS
Avoid placing controls or critical information at the bottom of a window.
Avoid displaying content within the camera housing at the top edge of the window.
tvOS
Be prepared for a wide range of TV sizes.
Adhere to the screen’s safe area.
Include appropriate padding between focusable elements.
Grids
- Two-column
- Three-column
- Four-column
- Five-column
- Six-column
- Seven-column
- Eight-column
- Nine-column
Nine-column grid
Include additional vertical spacing for titled rows.
Use consistent spacing.
Make partially hidden content look symmetrical.
visionOS
Consider centering the most important content and controls in your app or game.
Keep a window’s content within its bounds.
If you need to display additional controls that don’t belong within a window, use an ornament.
Make a window’s interactive components easy for people to look at.
watchOS
Design your content to extend from one edge of the screen to the other.
Avoid placing more than two or three controls side by side in your interface.
Support autorotation in views people might want to show others.
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For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/layout