Principles

1. Task first

A screen leads with the job it exists for. Secondary controls move into menus, inspectors and sheets, so the main task is never crowded out.

2. People stay in control

Guidance can be skipped, destructive work is confirmed or can be undone, and nothing acts without being asked.

3. Clarity over decoration

Legible type, purposeful colour and room to breathe. Content comes before chrome, and every visual element earns its place.

4. One vocabulary

The same job uses the same control, in the same place, with the same words, everywhere in a product and across products.

5. Depth with purpose

Content sits on opaque surfaces. Controls and navigation float above it on Glass, so people always know what they can act on and what they are reading.

6. Adapts to people and places

Light and dark, text size, pointer or touch, keyboard-only use and accessibility settings are first-class, not afterthoughts.

7. Fast where work is frequent

Actions people repeat all day happen instantly, without animation, with the cursor where they need it and a shortcut for the command.

8. Trustworthy with data

Say what will happen before it happens, and make the consequences for money, records and people explicit.

9. Crafted details

Shared design values only, concentric corners, aligned figures, consistent motion, and real empty, loading and error states.