10 GUI DESIGN ELEMENTS BUILD EVERY USER INTERFACE

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

Nielsen identifies 10 fundamental GUI elements—buttons, forms, menus, links, dialogs, alerts, icons, checkboxes/radio buttons, tabs, and search—that form the basic vocabulary underlying nearly every interface built over 40+ years. The article traces each element's history, explains its usability role, and offers 86 evidence-based design guidelines plus bonus coverage of windows and pointers. It argues designers should master this established alphabet rather than invent new conventions, since familiarity, tested through Jakob's Law and decades of use, consistently outperforms novelty.