Learn HMI design, by engineers, for engineers
Practical articles on the standards (ISA-101, ISA-5.1) that actually matter when you sit down to build an HMI screen. Written by people who ship operator displays, not consultants who sell PowerPoint.
Standards reference
The two standards every HMI engineer reads, condensed.
ISA-101 HMI design standard — complete guide
Lifecycle, situation awareness, calm color philosophy, alarm priorities, display hierarchy, typography. The standard, in plain English.
Read → Standard · 10 minISA-5.1 instrumentation symbols reference
Tag format, letter codes (P, T, F, L, A, W, S, V, Z), modifiers, mounting bubbles (field, DCS, PLC, shared). Cheat sheet style.
Read → Reference · 11 minP&ID symbols explained
Equipment, valves, ISA-5.1 instrument bubbles and line types — what each P&ID symbol means and how to download or build them as PNG/SVG.
Read → Reference · 9 minP&ID valve symbols
Gate, globe, ball, butterfly, check and control valves — drawn in ISA style — plus actuators, fail-safe positions (FC/FO/FL) and tags.
Read → Reference · 10 minHMI symbols & SCADA symbol libraries
What HMI/SCADA symbols are, how they differ from static P&ID symbols, the calm ISA-101 color rule, and vendor-neutral PNG/SVG export for Weintek, WinCC, FactoryTalk, Ignition and AVEVA.
Read → Reference · 9 minInstrument symbols (ISA-5.1)
The instrument bubble and its outline (field, DCS, PLC, shared), the XX-NNN tag format and letter codes — drawn in ISA style, with PNG/SVG download.
Read → Reference · 8 minP&ID pump symbols
Centrifugal, positive-displacement, vacuum pumps and fans — drawn in ISA style — plus motor + VFD pairing and turning a pump into a multi-state HMI object.
Read →Practitioner guides
Concrete techniques you can apply on your next project.
The 9 motor states every HMI should show
Stopped, starting, running, no feedback, manual, disabled, +P1 alarm, +P2 alarm, fault. PLC tag mapping + implementation in Weintek, WinCC, FactoryTalk, Ignition.
Read → Practitioner · 9 minThe calm HMI color palette: why gray wins
The two-axis color rule, the canonical palette, color blindness considerations, anti-patterns. With before/after example.
Read →Glossary & quick reference
Terms you'll find in tender specs, vendor docs and training material.
HMI / SCADA / P&ID glossary
30+ terms — HMI, SCADA, DCS, PLC, P&ID, ISA-101, ISA-5.1, alarm priorities, OPC UA, multi-state lamp, MCC, VFD, OEE — with cross-references.
Read → Cheat sheet · 1 pageISA-101 cheat sheet (printable A4)
9 motor states + canonical alarm palette + ISA-5.1 letter codes + mounting bubbles. Print and pin to your panel.
Open / print →Try the 900+ symbol catalog free
Browse, customize palette and font live, export PNG/SVG. 12 symbols unlocked without signup.