Proposes a systematic process for the design of user interfaces for hypertext systems, within the context of a general-purpose semantic framework for hypertext functionality. Although a number of guidelines exist to enhance the usability of interactive systems, there has been no systematic and comprehensive approach to the design of self-evident interfaces for hypertext systems. We believe that there is a strong need for such an approach to user interface design for hypertext systems that should also include the semantic types of the underlying objects. This will not only reduce functional opacity but also system opacity. We present examples from a screen prototype to illustrate our design methodology.