> We are in the process of transferring UX documentation to the [design.gitlab.com](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/design.gitlab.com) project. Any updates to these docs should be made in that project. If documentation does not yet exist within [design.gitlab.com](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/design.gitlab.com), [create an issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/design.gitlab.com/issues) and merge request to add your new changes.
The goal of this guide is to provide standards, principles and in-depth information to design beautiful and effective GitLab features. This will be a living document, and we welcome contributions, feedback and suggestions.
## Design
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### [Principles](principles.md)
These guiding principles set a solid foundation for our design system, and should remain relatively stable over multiple releases. They should be referenced as new design patterns are created.
Components are the controls that make up the GitLab experience, including guidance around buttons, links, dropdowns, etc.
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### [Surfaces](surfaces.md)
The GitLab experience is broken apart into several surfaces. Each of these surfaces is designated for a specific scope or type of content. Examples include the header, global menu, side pane, etc.
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### [Features](features.md)
The previous building blocks are combined into complete features in the GitLab UX. Examples include our navigation, filters, search results, and empty states.
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## Research
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### [Users](users.md)
How we think about the variety of users of GitLab, from small to large teams, comparing opensource usage to enterprise, etc.