ios-styleguide

name	ios-styleguide
description	Design and UI style guide for iOS apps. Premium consumer aesthetic, brand-forward native. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"edfenton"}

Purpose

Enforce taste, restraint, and platform excellence. Complements security, NFR, and coding standards skills.

For brand identity (colors, fonts, design direction, anti-patterns), see /shared-brand.

Platform addition: brand-forward native — unmistakably crafted, never templated.

Typography (iOS-specific)

• System font (San Francisco) preferred for body and controls
• Display typography may be brand-forward and expressive
• Must survive Dynamic Type increases without layout failure

Liquid Glass (Apple's material system)

Appropriate uses

• Navigation chrome (top bars, tab bars)
• Sheets, modals, transient overlays
• Elevated surfaces conveying depth
• Hero/focus containers reinforcing hierarchy

Never use on

• Dense lists
• Primary reading surfaces
• Form fields and input-heavy views
• Backgrounds for long-form text

Rule: Liquid Glass must convey hierarchy or focus, not decoration. If the purpose isn't clear, don't use it.

iOS-specific anti-patterns

• Default SwiftUI previews shipped unchanged
• Boilerplate list-card patterns across screens
• iPhone layouts scaled up for iPad
• Decorative transitions or over-animated navigation
• Translucency that reduces legibility

Device support (mandatory)

• iPhone and iPad
• Adaptive layouts using size classes
• Support split view and multitasking
• Design for portrait and landscape

If a screen looks identical on iPhone and iPad, it likely underuses the platform.

Reference

For Swift tokens, adaptive layout patterns, and Liquid Glass examples, see reference/ios-styleguide-reference.md

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