Design Patterns are some of the most over-used concepts in design today. And we all know what happens when you have some ideas all over the place. We start repeating them like parrots and applying them to everything, therefore distorting their meaning. We end up missing the point with over-complicated concepts and lots of fancy words. So here is my humble attempt to bring more clarity to what design patterns are while applying something I live for: Always keep it simple!

设计模式是当今设计中一些最被过度使用的概念。 我们都知道当您到处都有想法时会发生什么。 我们开始像鹦鹉一样重复它们，并将它们应用于所有事物，因此扭曲了它们的含义。 我们最终由于过于复杂的概念和许多花哨的单词而错过了这一点。 因此，这是我谦虚的尝试，以便在应用我所生活的东西时更加清楚地说明什么设计模式：始终保持简单！

把事情简单化 (Keep it Simple)

In my article ‘Understanding the parts of a Design System’ I touch-pointed on patterns with a more ‘neutral’ definition:

在我的文章“ 理解设计系统的各个部分 ”中，我指出了具有更“中性”定义的模式：

Patterns consist of a reusable collection of components that can be defined by their respective interactions when solving a design problem. These need to be adopted and documented as business cases and together build a consistent and robust ecosystem.

模式由可重用的组件集合组成，这些组件可以通过解决设计问题时它们各自的相互作用来定义。 这些需要作为业务案例采用并记录在案，并共同构建一个一致且强大的生态系统。

As mentioned in that same article, and based on this definition we can define 3 key metrics that help us identify and validate what a pattern is:

如同一篇文章中所述，根据此定义，我们可以定义3个关键指标，这些指标可以帮助我们识别和验证模式是什么：

1. A pattern is a solution to a common design problem, always linked to a business case.

   模式是始终与业务案例联系在一起的常见设计问题的解决方案 。

2. A pattern is reusable by nature and always linked to components and other pieces of a design system.

   模式本质上是可重用的 ，并且始终链接到设计系统的组件和其他部分。

3. A pattern must be documented and provide guidelines about how the problem was solved by the product team.

   必须记录模式，并提供有关产品团队如何解决问题的准则。

Paradoxically, in this case, a simple enough definition alone could lead to multiple interpretations and cherry-picking when applying patterns. So how can we explain it better while keeping it simple? The solution I have found is to give a more specific format to this definition. This will help us preserve its simplicity while enabling design systems teams to be on the same page when working with patterns.

矛盾的是，在这种情况下，仅使用一个简单的定义就可以在应用模式时导致多种解释和挑剔。 那么我们如何在保持简单的同时更好地解释它呢？ 我发现的解决方案是为该定义提供更具体的格式。 这将有助于我们保留其简单性，同时使设计系统团队在使用模式时可以处于同一页面上。

将模式视为故事 (Think of Patterns as Stories)

We, humans come from the factory with a strong need to believe in stories in order to cooperate effectively. In the tech world, these stories are translated into values and rules that define who we are and how we work. From companies values to systems structures, the stories are there to guide us and give us meaning. Now, apply this to patterns.

我们人类来自工厂，他们非常需要相信故事才能有效合作。 在科技界，这些故事被转化为价值观和规则，以定义我们是谁以及我们如何工作。 从公司价值到系统结构，这些故事可以引导我们并赋予我们意义。 现在，将其应用于模式。

A pattern is a story about how a common problem was solved and what we can learn from it.

模式是一个关于如何解决常见问题以及我们可以从中学到什么的故事。

Like with every story, there is a narrative structure. It starts with an introduction and the development of the plot and characters, followed by a climax, falling action and a final resolution or conclusion. A lesson learned.

就像每个故事一样，都有叙事结构。 它从情节和人物的介绍和发展开始，然后是高潮，跌倒的动作以及最终的解决方案或结论。 一个教训。

At first, this might seem like something hard to connect with how we define patterns or design systems in general. But if we look closer, we can see how a story gives us not only a format we -humans- love and find easy to digest, it also gives us the structure we need to define, organise and maintain patterns.

首先，这似乎与我们通常定义模式或设计系统的方式联系起来有些困难。 但是，如果我们仔细观察，我们会发现故事不仅为我们提供了一种人类喜欢且易于消化的格式，而且还为我们提供了定义，组织和维护模式所需的结构。

And now, let’s apply this narrative structure to a documentation hierarchy:

现在，让我们将此叙述结构应用于文档层次结构：

这个故事中的教训 (The lessons in this story)

Like with every story, this is the part where we arrive at a resolution. Understanding patterns as the stories of our system gives us some benefits worth mentioning here as key take-aways:

像每个故事一样，这是我们达成解决方案的部分。 将模式理解为我们系统的故事会给我们带来一些好处，在这里值得一提的关键要点：

1. It turns the spotlight on documentation. As Nathan Curtis -one of the most important voices in the design systems arena- presented it once: ‘Patterns are made of lots of words’. Thinking of patterns as stories brings the focus to how we tell these stories. Applying this to our design system results on understanding your documentation repositories as the natural place for patterns to live and to evolve.

   它将焦点放在文档上。 正如设计系统舞台上最重要的声音之一内森·柯蒂斯(Nathan Curtis)所说的那样：“模式是由很多单词组成的”。 将模式视为故事，将重点放在我们讲这些故事的方式上。 将其应用到我们的设计系统中，就可以将您的文档存储库理解为模式生存和发展的自然场所。

2. Just the right format. A narrative structure gives us an excellent format to document and read patterns. Starting with introducing the problem to be solved and its impact (conflict), to the system dependencies (characters of the story), the visuals (climax) and the final guidelines (falling action and resolution).

   正确的格式。 叙事结构为我们提供了记录和读取模式的出色格式。 从介绍要解决的问题及其影响(冲突)开始，到系统依存关系(故事的特征)，视觉效果(高潮)和最终准则(下降的行动和解决方案)。

3. It creates a clean-cut between patterns and components. Thinking of patterns as stories put them on a completely different level based on its very nature while preserving their links to components and other elements of the system. This will prevent us from treating patterns as ‘more complex components’, something that can lead to over-complex templates hard to use and maintain.

   它在图案和组件之间创建了清晰的边界。 将模式视为故事，根据其性质将它们置于完全不同的级别，同时保留它们与系统组件和其他元素的链接。 这将阻止我们将模式视为“更复杂的组件”，这可能会导致难以使用和维护的过于复杂的模板。

4. It brings clarity to our design system. A design system with the right combination of a well-defined structure and a story-based documentation strategy is a more usable system. Easier to read, understand, and adopt by multiple teams and individuals across the organisation.

   它使我们的设计系统更加清晰。 具有良好定义的结构和基于故事的文档编制策略的正确组合的设计系统是更实用的系统。 组织中的多个团队和个人更易于阅读，理解和采用。

Building patterns like we build stories opens the door to create more and better stories, not only about complex solutions but about simpler parts of the system. In the same way, we can enjoy a variety of stories, from long non-fiction projects to short graphic novels, the same could apply to the patterns in our system. Investing in the idea that patterns can explain more than complex problems, allows us to build a well-structured system based on good stories. Among the already mentioned benefits, it also brings a more human touch to an already methodical construction.

像构建故事一样的构建模式为创建更多更好的故事打开了大门，不仅涉及复杂的解决方案，而且涉及系统的更简单的部分。 同样，我们可以欣赏各种各样的故事，从长篇非小说作品到短篇小说作品，同样的故事也可以应用于我们系统中的模式。 投资于模式可以解释的不仅仅是复杂问题的思想，这使我们能够基于好的故事构建结构良好的系统。 在已经提到的好处中，它还为已经有条不紊的结构带来了更人性化的感觉。

Disclaimer: In 2017 I wrote an article about storytelling to serve as a word of caution when it comes to discussing and creating stories. Everything I have covered here is an intent to create systems and products that serve better the users. When getting excited about storytelling, always remember: The stories of our system/product are for us -the curators- to write, but for them -our users- to tell.

免责声明： 2017年， 我写了一篇有关讲故事的文章 ，在讨论和创作故事时要谨慎。 我在这里介绍的所有内容都是为了创建可以为用户提供更好服务的系统和产品。 当对讲故事感到兴奋时，请始终记住：我们的系统/产品的故事是由我们(策展人)编写的，但对于他们(我们的用户)要讲的。

Thank you for reading!

感谢您的阅读！

This article was written with the Writty app✏️

本文是使用Writty应用编写的