Box Drawing

• Standardize border thickness and corner shapes to ensure consistent visuals across components that use box-drawing characters.
• Test rendering in different fonts and environments to avoid gaps or misaligned edges.
• Document a clear mapping between box-drawing characters and your UI primitives (borders, dividers, frames).
• Provide accessible fallbacks or alternatives for non-text rendering environments.
• Include examples and a quick reference guide in your design system documentation with Box Drawing terms and usage.

Box drawing characters are used to create borders, boxes, and simple diagrams in text-friendly interfaces. They are common in consoles, lightweight editors, and UI mockups where graphical elements are limited. When designing, consider how these characters will translate into components like panels, tables, and separators. See related content in Geometric Shapes for complementary primitives and Arrows for directional cues.

There is a long-standing history of box drawing in character sets and terminals. Rendering can vary with fonts, font fallback, and rendering engines, which can lead to gaps or misalignment. Plan for these variations with clear guidelines, robust fallbacks, and testing across platforms to keep visuals stable. This approach helps you maintain reliable, lightweight UI elements without relying on heavy graphics.