navigation-patterns
Select and design a navigation pattern — tabs, drawer, hierarchy, or hub — matched to product structure and user tasks. Use when choosing how users move between sections. For the underlying content structure, use information-architecture (ux-strategy).
- Installs
- 1.9K
- Last 24h
- +24
- Trending rank
- #5030
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills --skill navigation-patterns- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads navigation-patterns automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Navigation Patterns
You are an expert in designing navigation systems that make products legible, traversable, and orientating.
What You Do
You select and design the right navigation patterns for a product's information architecture, platform, and usage patterns — so users always know where they are, where they can go, and how to get back.
Navigation Types
Global Navigation
Present on every screen; provides access to top-level sections.
- Tab bar (mobile): 3–5 destinations at bottom of screen; icons + labels; always visible
- Bottom navigation (Android/web mobile): Material equivalent; same rules as tab bar
- Top navigation bar (desktop/web): horizontal links in header; works for 4–7 destinations
- Side navigation / sidebar (desktop apps): vertical list of destinations; scales to more items; supports nested structure
- Hamburger / drawer: hides navigation behind a menu icon; reduces discoverability; reserve for secondary nav or screen-constrained contexts
Local Navigation
Scoped to the current section.
- Tabs: switch between parallel views within a section; all tabs same hierarchy level
- Segmented control: compact tab variant for 2–4 tightly related views
- Sidebar within section: sub-navigation within a section (settings categories, doc chapters)
- Breadcrumbs: show path from root to current page; essential in deep hierarchies
Utility Navigation
High-reach, low-frequency: account, notifications, search, settings, help.
- Separate from primary navigation visually (typically top-right on desktop)
- Should not compete with primary nav for visual attention
Contextual Navigation
Links between related content.
- In-line links within body content
- Related items (recommended articles, related products)
- "Also in this section" links
Choosing the Right Pattern
| Situation | Recommended pattern |
|---|---|
| Mobile, 3–5 primary destinations | Tab bar |
| Desktop app, many destinations or nested structure | Side navigation |
| Simple marketing site or docs | Top nav bar |
| Deep content hierarchy | Breadcrumbs + local sidebar |
| Parallel views of the same content | Tabs or segmented control |
| Occasional, non-primary access | Utility nav or overflow menu |
Navigation Design Principles
- Orientation: users should always know where they are (active state, breadcrumb, page title)
- Wayfinding: users should be able to predict where a destination will take them before clicking
- Reachability: on mobile, primary destinations must be in thumb reach (bottom of screen)
- Consistency: navigation structure and placement must not change between screens
- Scent: labels must accurately describe their destinations — test with first-click tests
Active States
Every navigation item needs a clear active/selected state that survives:
- Default and active
- Hover and focus
- Disabled
- Notification badge (when applicable) Active state must be distinguishable by more than color alone (weight, underline, indicator bar).
Common Mistakes
- Using a hamburger menu for primary navigation on desktop — it hides critical paths
- Mixing navigation levels (global + local) in the same visual component
- Inconsistent active states across different sections
- Navigation labels that use internal product names users don't recognize
- Too many top-level destinations (more than 7 creates choice paralysis; revisit IA before adding nav items)
Best Practices
- Validate navigation labels with first-click tests before building
- Match platform conventions — users carry expectations from the OS and other apps
- Design navigation before designing individual screens; navigation errors compound across the product
- Test navigation with tasks that require users to cross sections — inter-section navigation is where IA breaks show up
FAQ
What does the navigation-patterns skill do?
Select and design a navigation pattern — tabs, drawer, hierarchy, or hub — matched to product structure and user tasks. Use when choosing how users move between sections. For the underlying content structure, use information-architecture (ux-strategy).
How do I install navigation-patterns?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills --skill navigation-patterns in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/navigation-patterns/ (personal) or .claude/skills/navigation-patterns/ (project).
Which AI agents can use navigation-patterns?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is navigation-patterns safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains navigation-patterns?
It is published by owl-listener in owl-listener/designer-skills. It has 1,850 recorded installs.
More from owl-listener/designer-skills
presentation-deck
owl-listener/designer-skills
Structure a design presentation for a specific audience and decision. Use when presenting internally. For a portfolio narrative use case-study; for the written argument use design-rationale.
typography-scale
owl-listener/designer-skills
Create a modular type scale with size, weight, and line-height relationships. Use when establishing typographic structure. For line length only use readable-measure; for judging type on an existing screen use critique-typography (visual-critique).
illustration-style
owl-listener/designer-skills
Define an illustration style guide — visual language, colour usage, and application rules. Use when commissioning or standardising illustration. For icons, use icon-system (design-systems).
visual-hierarchy
owl-listener/designer-skills
Establish hierarchy through size, weight, colour, spacing, and position so the eye lands in the intended order. Use when composing new work. For judging an existing screen, use critique-visual-hierarchy (visual-critique).
color-system
owl-listener/designer-skills
Build a product colour system — tonal scales, semantic roles, and contrast compliance. Use when defining or rebuilding colour from scratch. For dark-mode adaptation use dark-mode-design; for chart palettes use data-visualization; for multi-brand token architecture use theming-system (design-systems).
dark-mode-design
owl-listener/designer-skills
Adapt an existing palette to dark mode — surface elevation, contrast rebalancing, and desaturation rules. Use when you already have a light palette to translate. For building the base palette first, use color-system.
Popular frontend & design skills
setup-matt-pocock-skills
mattpocock/skills
Configure this repo for the engineering skills: set up its issue tracker, triage label vocabulary, and domain doc layout. Run once before first use of the other engineering skills.
frontend-design
anthropics/skills
Guidance for distinctive, intentional visual design when building new UI or reshaping an existing one. Helps with aesthetic direction, typography, and making choices that don't read as templated defaults.
hyperframes-animation
heygen-com/hyperframes
All animation knowledge for HyperFrames — atomic motion rules, multi-phase scene blueprints, scene transitions, broader motion-design techniques, AND the seven runtime adapters (GSAP default, plus Lottie, Three.js, Anime.js, CSS keyframes, Web Animations API, TypeGPU). Use for any motion or animation task: pick 2-4 rules and compose, or load a blueprint, or look up runtime-specific API (e.g. GSAP eases / Lottie player / Three.js mixer). Also covers auditing an existing composition's choreography (animation map) and 24 named text-animation effects. HyperFrames-native: single paused timeline, seek-safe, deterministic.
prototype
mattpocock/skills
Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model or logic feels right, or explore what a UI should look like.
hyperframes-core
heygen-com/hyperframes
The HyperFrames composition contract — build one renderable project. Use for composition structure, the data- timing attributes, class="clip", tracks, sub-compositions, variables, framework-owned media playback, deterministic-render rules, and validation. Read before writing composition HTML.
vercel-react-best-practices
vercel-labs/agent-skills
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. This skill should be used when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization, or performance improvements.