SGDS Patterns
This skill catalogs all reusable UI patterns available in SGDS. Patterns are production-ready templates that combine SGDS components and utilities to solve common UI needs.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill whenever you need to:
- Implement a typography pattern (page headings, content headers, lists, paragraphs with specific sizing/weight)
- Build a form pattern (multi-field forms, validation patterns, input groupings)
- Create page layouts (login page, empty states, data tables, search interfaces)
- Display notifications, reviews, or data visualizations with SGDS
- Find the exact HTML markup and SGDS utility classes for a UI pattern
Prerequisites
Before implementing any pattern, ensure you have:
- sgds-getting-started: Initial application setup (Inter font, foundation CSS imports, component registration)
- sgds-utilities: Understanding of SGDS utility classes (spacing, typography, color, grid, etc.)
- sgds-components: Knowledge of SGDS web components used within patterns
Refer to these skills before asking how to implement a pattern.
Current Patterns: Typography
Typography patterns define semantic, reusable layouts for text content. All patterns use SGDS utilities for consistent styling and respect the design token hierarchy.
Use the category links below to find specific patterns:
- Heading - Page and section headings with optional overlines (6 patterns)
- Display - Large, prominent display typography (12 patterns)
- Content - Card titles and subsection headings (6 patterns)
- List - Ordered and unordered lists in three sizes (6 patterns)
- Paragraph - Body text styles for longer-form content (3 patterns)
How to Use a Pattern
- Find the pattern you need using the category links above or the specific pattern reference files
- Get the raw HTML template from the GitHub URL in the reference file
- Extract the template (the
const XxxTemplate = () => html\....`` part) — this is the markup to implement - Adapt to your content — replace placeholder text and adjust SGDS utility classes as needed for your use case
- Combine with sgds-components if the pattern includes interactive elements (buttons, forms, dropdowns, etc.)
Pattern Naming Convention
Pattern files follow this naming scheme:
stories/patterns/[Category]/[Subcategory]/[PatternName]-[variant].stories.jsExamples:
Typography/Heading/h1.stories.js→ H1 pattern (default weight)Typography/Heading/h1-light.stories.js→ H1 pattern (light weight)Typography/Display/display-lg-center.stories.js→ Large display, center-alignedTypography/List/ul-body-md.stories.js→ Unordered list, body-medium size
Variants indicate:
- Weight:
-lightsuffix for light font-weight variants - Alignment:
-centersuffix for center-aligned variants - Size: Built into the name (e.g.,
display-sm,body-md)
Integration Example
Here's a quick example of how to use a typography pattern:
<!-- Import SGDS foundation styles and components -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="@govtechsg/sgds-web-component/lib/index.css" />
<script type="module" src="@govtechsg/sgds-web-component/lib/index.js"></script>
<!-- Use the H1 pattern template -->
<div class="sgds:flex sgds:flex-col sgds:items-start sgds:text-left" style="max-width: var(--sgds-text-max-width);">
<div class="sgds:text-overline-md sgds:font-semibold sgds:leading-2-xs sgds:tracking-wide sgds:uppercase sgds:text-label-default sgds:mb-xs">
Overline Label
</div>
<h1 class="sgds:text-heading-xl sgds:font-bold sgds:leading-xl sgds:tracking-tight sgds:text-heading-default">
Page Heading Goes Here
</h1>
<p class="sgds:text-body-lg sgds:leading-md sgds:tracking-normal sgds:text-body-subtle">
Supporting body text that provides context and detail for the page or section above.
</p>
</div>Copy the template, substitute your content, and the pattern is ready to use.
Accessing Pattern Files
All patterns are stored in the repository at stories/patterns/ and available on GitHub. Use the typography category links above to find the exact URL for any pattern:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GovTechSG/sgds-web-component/master/stories/patterns/Typography/[Subcategory]/[PatternName].stories.jsEach category reference file contains a table with direct links to all patterns in that category.