---
name: ai-design
description: "Designs user interfaces and design systems for web, mobile, CLI, and documentation-heavy experiences: aesthetic direction, color palettes, typography, spatial composition, information architecture. Trigger for 'design this page', 'create a design system', 'what style should we use', 'UI for this feature', 'color palette for', 'typography for'. Not for animation; use /ai-animation instead. Not for static visual art (posters, banners); use /ai-visual instead. Not for slide decks; use /ai-slides instead."
effort: high
model_tier: opus
argument-hint: "[UI or design task description]"
tags: [design, ui, ux, design-system, aesthetics]
---

# Design

## Purpose

Master design skill. Aesthetic direction + design systems + component design + UI/UX and information-architecture guidance. Translates user intent into specific, opinionated design decisions -- never vague suggestions. Every output has a clear conceptual direction executed with precision.

## When to Use

- Designing interfaces (web or mobile)
- Creating or extending a design system
- Choosing aesthetic direction for a project
- Structuring text-heavy or CLI-facing information architecture when hierarchy, framing, and flow are design problems
- Component design and layout decisions
- Responsive design strategy
- Typography and color palette selection
- Spatial composition and visual hierarchy

## Process

### Step 1 -- Load Design Thinking Framework

Read `handlers/aesthetics.md` for the full aesthetic direction philosophy. This establishes the design thinking framework (Purpose, Tone, Constraints, Differentiation) and all frontend aesthetics guidelines.

### Step 2 -- Load UX Rules and Design System Intelligence

Read `handlers/design-system.md` for the priority-ranked UX rule database, covering accessibility, touch targets, performance, style selection, layout, typography, animation, forms, navigation, and data visualization.

### Step 3 -- Analyze the Request

Apply the design thinking framework from `handlers/aesthetics.md` (or directly if the handler is unavailable):

1. **Purpose** -- what problem does this interface solve? Who uses it?
2. **Tone** -- choose an extreme direction with clear character (minimalist, maximalist, organic, luxury, playful, editorial, brutalist, etc.)
3. **Constraints** -- technical requirements (framework, performance budget, accessibility level)
4. **Differentiation** -- "What makes this UNFORGETTABLE? What's the one thing someone will remember?"

### Step 4 -- Apply UX Guidelines by Priority

Use the priority ranking from `handlers/design-system.md`:

| Priority | Category            | Gate                   |
| -------- | ------------------- | ---------------------- |
| 1        | Accessibility       | CRITICAL -- never skip |
| 2        | Touch & Interaction | CRITICAL -- never skip |
| 3        | Performance         | HIGH                   |
| 4        | Style Selection     | HIGH                   |
| 5        | Layout & Responsive | HIGH                   |
| 6        | Typography & Color  | MEDIUM                 |
| 7        | Animation           | MEDIUM                 |
| 8        | Forms & Feedback    | MEDIUM                 |
| 9        | Navigation Patterns | HIGH                   |
| 10       | Charts & Data       | LOW                    |

Address P1-P2 as hard gates. P3-P9 as design considerations. P10 only when data visualization is involved.

### Step 5 -- Generate Design Direction

Produce specific choices, not vague guidance:

- Name the fonts (display + body pairing)
- Define the color system (primary, secondary, accent, surface, background, text hierarchy, state colors)
- Specify spacing scale (4pt/8dp system)
- Describe spatial composition with layout strategy
- Choose motion approach (duration, easing, what animates)
- Declare the conceptual direction in one sentence

### Step 6 -- Delegate Specialized Work

- If motion/animation design is needed beyond micro-interactions, invoke `/ai-animation`
- If visual artifacts (posters, banners, illustrations) are needed, invoke `/ai-visual`
- If presentation design, invoke `/ai-slides` (which consumes this skill's output)

### Step 7 -- Pre-Delivery Quality Check

Before delivering any design work, run `handlers/checklist.md` and verify all items pass. Do not deliver with unchecked items.

## Integration

- **Called by**: user directly, `/ai-slides`, `/ai-media`, `/ai-build`
- **Calls**: `handlers/aesthetics.md`, `handlers/design-system.md`, `handlers/checklist.md`, `/ai-animation`, `/ai-visual`
- **Consumed by**: `/ai-slides` (presentation aesthetics), `/ai-media` (visual asset direction)

## Common Mistakes

- Using generic AI aesthetics (the "ChatGPT look" -- purple gradients, Inter font, centered hero)
- Defaulting to Inter, Roboto, or Arial instead of choosing distinctive typography
- Choosing predictable layouts (centered hero, 3-column features, testimonials, CTA)
- Giving vague advice ("use a clean design") instead of specific choices ("use Space Grotesk for headings at 700 weight with 16px Instrument Serif body text")
- Skipping the differentiation question -- every design must answer what makes it unforgettable
- Ignoring accessibility as a hard gate (contrast, touch targets, keyboard nav)
- Treating dark mode as an afterthought instead of designing both themes simultaneously

## Examples

### Example 1 — design system from scratch

User: "create a design system for our internal admin tool"

```
/ai-design create design system for internal admin tool
```

Picks aesthetic direction (with rationale), defines color tokens, typography stack, spatial system; runs the pre-delivery checklist before handing off.

### Example 2 — UI for a specific feature

User: "design the empty state for the search results page"

```
/ai-design empty state for search results page
```

Specific opinionated decisions: layout, micro-copy, illustration vs icon, accessibility checks, light + dark mode simultaneously.

$ARGUMENTS
