Source: This is the part of the app from which the notification originates. The architecture of an application can have several buckets in which information is categorized, and these buckets would be the sources of notifications.

Information: This is the message that needs to be conveyed to the user by the means of a notification. Some examples are “Daenerys Targaryen sent you a friend request” or “Lord Varys started following you”.

Type: Notifications can be mainly of two types: informational and actionable. Both these types could have further subtypes depending on the context of the app.

Notification Badge: These are visual indicators that direct the user to the notification. Notification indicators can be as plain as a dot, or they can also have a count on it which would show the number of unread notifications.

Anchor: Anchor is the visual component of the app where the notifications surface on the interface. To put it simply, this is the component on which the user will see the notification indicator/badge. Note that anchors are not necessarily sources of notifications, but only the component where the notification surfaces. An anchor could house notifications from multiple sources or just one. Think of it like this, sources are more on the architectural/informational level, but anchors are the visual component where you see the notification badges.

Notifications are one of the mediums via which an application communicates with the user and possibly brings them back to the application. Hence, they’re a really important part of the app. Let me introduce you to some of the most popular notification models that exist and also when it makes sense to use one over the other.

1. Notification Center

In this model, there’s a defined place where all your notifications land. The notification center could be a dedicated screen or a flyout depending on the real estate available. In this model, all the notifications are anchored to the notification center regardless of their source. From the notification center, you can then navigate to the source of the notification. Medium uses this model for notifications. A badge shows up on the bell icon which is the entry point to all your notifications. It is also important that the read and unread notifications differ visually to allow the user to differentiate between them.