Navigation system
The main navigation for an app.
When to use
- The main navigation of an app with enough places to need grouping.
- Navigation that should stay visible while people work, rather than being opened each time.
When not to use
- Moving between views of one page. That is tabs.
- A handful of destinations, which fit in a top bar.
- Actions. Navigation takes people to places. Put controls that do something on the page.
Guidance
Do
Group destinations under headings that say what the group is for, and show people where they are.
Don't
Do not mix an action into navigation, and do not leave the current place unmarked. People lose track of where they are.
Intensity
How much attention each of this component's grounds uses, scored against the ladder in both themes.
| Appearance | Ground | Light | Dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| side-nav | selected | 0.042Ambient | 0.062Substrate |
| side-nav | surface | 0.000Substrate | 0.000Substrate |
Substrate, Ambient and Marked are measured. Directed depends on what else is in the region. Demanded is declared, and its use is limited. So neither of those two depends on the component alone. See intensity.
Content
What to write, and what to leave out.
- Nouns for destinations, because each one is a place.
- Short enough not to wrap at the panel width.
- Group headings name the area, not the items under them.