frontend-design

Frontend Design

Create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics. This skill combines design philosophy guidance with practical TypeScript tooling for analyzing existing designs and generating design system artifacts.

Core Principle: Choose a clear aesthetic direction and execute it with precision. Bold maximalism and refined minimalism both work - the key is intentionality, not intensity.

When to Use This Skill

Use when:

• Building web components, pages, or applications
• Auditing existing CSS for design inconsistencies
• Extracting design tokens from legacy codebases
• Generating color palettes and typography systems
• Creating component templates across frameworks
• Checking accessibility compliance for design elements

Don't use when:

• Simple text content changes
• Backend-only work
• Non-visual functionality

Prerequisites

• Deno runtime (for script execution)
• Optional: Existing CSS/design files for analysis
• Optional: Design tokens file for reference

Quick Start

This skill operates in three modes:

1. Analyze Mode

Audit existing styles, extract tokens, check accessibility.

# Audit CSS for design patterns and inconsistencies
deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-styles.ts styles.css

# Extract design tokens from existing CSS
deno run --allow-read scripts/extract-tokens.ts ./src --format css

# Check accessibility (contrast, focus states)
deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-accessibility.ts component.tsx

2. Specify Mode

Create JSON specifications defining what to generate. See assets/ for schema examples.

3. Generate Mode

Create palettes, typography systems, tokens, and components.

# Generate a color palette
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-palette.ts --seed "#2563eb" --theme warm

# Generate typography system
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-typography.ts --display "Playfair Display" --body "Source Sans Pro"

# Generate design tokens file
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-tokens.ts tokens-spec.json ./output/

# Generate a component
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-component.ts --name Button --framework react --styling tailwind

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Instructions

Phase 1: Analysis (Optional but Recommended)

Before creating new designs, audit existing code to understand current patterns.

1a. Style Analysis

Analyze CSS files to identify colors, typography, spacing, and inconsistencies:

deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-styles.ts <input> [options]

Options:
  --tokens <file>    Compare against existing design tokens
  --pretty           Pretty-print JSON output
  --format <type>    Output format: json (default), summary

Output includes:

• Color usage inventory with hex normalization
• Typography patterns (fonts, sizes, weights)
• Spacing value distribution
• Inconsistencies and recommendations

1b. Token Extraction

Extract design tokens from CSS files into standardized formats:

deno run --allow-read scripts/extract-tokens.ts <input> [options]

Options:
  --format <type>    Output: css, scss, tailwind, style-dictionary, tokens-studio
  --output-css       Also output CSS variables file

1c. Accessibility Audit

Check design-related accessibility issues:

deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-accessibility.ts <input> [options]

Options:
  --format <type>    Output: json, summary
  --level <AA|AAA>   WCAG conformance level (default: AA)

Checks include:

• Color contrast ratios
• Focus indicator presence
• Touch target sizes
• Motion preference respect

---

Phase 2: Generation

2a. Color Palette Generation

Generate cohesive color palettes from seed colors or themes:

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-palette.ts [options] <output>

Options:
  --seed <color>     Primary seed color (hex)
  --theme <type>     warm, cool, neutral, vibrant, muted, dark, light
  --style <type>     minimalist, bold, organic, corporate, playful
  --shades           Generate 50-950 shade scale
  --semantic         Generate success/warning/error colors
  --contrast <lvl>   Target contrast: AA (default), AAA
  --format <type>    css, scss, tailwind, tokens, json

Example specification (palette-spec.json):

{
  "seedColors": {
    "primary": "#2563eb",
    "accent": "#f59e0b"
  },
  "theme": "cool",
  "generateShades": true,
  "generateSemantics": true,
  "contrastTarget": "AA",
  "outputFormat": "css"
}

2b. Typography System Generation

Generate typography systems with font stacks and scales:

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-typography.ts [options] <output>

Options:
  --display <font>   Display/heading font family
  --body <font>      Body text font family
  --mono <font>      Monospace font family
  --scale <type>     minor-second, major-second, minor-third, major-third, perfect-fourth, golden-ratio
  --base <px>        Base font size (default: 16)
  --line-height      tight, normal, relaxed
  --responsive       Generate responsive breakpoints
  --format <type>    css, scss, tailwind, tokens

Type scales: | Scale | Ratio | Character | |-------|-------|-----------| | minor-second | 1.067 | Subtle, conservative | | major-second | 1.125 | Balanced, professional | | minor-third | 1.200 | Clear hierarchy | | major-third | 1.250 | Strong presence | | perfect-fourth | 1.333 | Bold, impactful | | golden-ratio | 1.618 | Dramatic, artistic |

2c. Design Token Generation

Generate comprehensive design token files in multiple formats:

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-tokens.ts <spec> <output-dir>

Specification structure:

{
  "name": "my-design-system",
  "tokens": {
    "color": { "primary": "#2563eb", "secondary": "#64748b" },
    "spacing": { "xs": "0.25rem", "sm": "0.5rem", "md": "1rem" },
    "typography": {
      "fontFamilies": { "display": "Playfair Display", "body": "Inter" },
      "fontSizes": { "sm": "0.875rem", "base": "1rem", "lg": "1.125rem" }
    },
    "shadow": { "sm": "0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.05)" },
    "border": { "radius": { "sm": "0.25rem", "md": "0.5rem" } },
    "animation": { "duration": { "fast": "150ms", "normal": "300ms" } }
  },
  "outputFormats": ["css", "scss", "tailwind", "ts"]
}

2d. Component Generation

Generate component templates with design-focused styling:

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-component.ts [options] <output-dir>

Options:
  --name <name>      Component name (required)
  --type <type>      button, card, input, modal, navigation, hero, custom
  --framework <fw>   react, vue, svelte, html
  --styling <type>   css, tailwind, css-modules, styled-components, emotion
  --aesthetic <type> minimal, bold, organic, brutalist, glassmorphism, neumorphism
  --animation <lvl>  none, subtle, expressive
  --dark-mode        Include dark mode support
  --tokens <file>    Use design tokens file

Framework output examples:

React with Tailwind:

export function Button({ variant = 'primary', children }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <button className="px-4 py-2 rounded-lg font-medium transition-all">
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

Vue with scoped CSS:

<template>
  <button :class="['btn', `btn--${variant}`]"><slot /></button>
</template>
<script setup lang="ts">
defineProps<{ variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary' }>();
</script>
<style scoped>.btn { /* styles */ }</style>

Svelte:

<script lang="ts">
  export let variant: 'primary' | 'secondary' = 'primary';
</script>
<button class="btn btn--{variant}"><slot /></button>
<style>.btn { /* styles */ }</style>

---

Examples

Example 1: Audit and Modernize Legacy CSS

# 1. Analyze existing styles
deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-styles.ts ./legacy/styles.css --pretty > audit.json

# 2. Extract tokens from the analysis
deno run --allow-read scripts/extract-tokens.ts ./legacy/styles.css --format css > tokens.css

# 3. Generate improved palette from dominant color
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-palette.ts --seed "#336699" --shades --format css palette.css

Example 2: Create Design System from Scratch

# 1. Generate color palette
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-palette.ts \
  --seed "#8b5cf6" --theme vibrant --shades --semantic --format css colors.css

# 2. Generate typography system
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-typography.ts \
  --display "Space Grotesk" --body "Inter" --scale major-third --responsive --format css typography.css

# 3. Generate comprehensive tokens
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-tokens.ts design-spec.json ./tokens/

Example 3: Generate Component Library

# Generate button component for React with Tailwind
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-component.ts \
  --name Button --framework react --styling tailwind --aesthetic bold ./components/

# Generate card component for Vue with CSS modules
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-component.ts \
  --name Card --framework vue --styling css-modules --aesthetic glassmorphism ./components/

# Generate input for Svelte
deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-component.ts \
  --name Input --framework svelte --styling css --aesthetic minimal ./components/

Example 4: Accessibility Check Before Launch

# Audit all components
deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-accessibility.ts ./src/components --level AAA --format summary

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Script Reference

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Design Philosophy

Avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics. See references/design-philosophy.md for detailed guidance.

Key principles:

• Typography: Choose distinctive fonts, not defaults (avoid Arial, Inter, Roboto)
• Color: Dominant colors with sharp accents, not timid palettes
• Motion: Orchestrated reveals over scattered micro-interactions
• Composition: Asymmetry, overlap, grid-breaking elements
• Texture: Gradients, noise, patterns - not flat solid colors

Never converge on:

• Purple gradients on white backgrounds
• System fonts or overused families
• Predictable card-based layouts
• Cookie-cutter Bootstrap aesthetics

---

Common Issues

"CSS parsing failed"

• Ensure valid CSS syntax
• SCSS/PostCSS may need preprocessing first

"Color contrast check failed"

• Check for CSS variables that couldn't be resolved
• Provide the actual color values or tokens file

"Unknown framework"

• Supported: react, vue, svelte, html
• Check spelling and lowercase

"Token format not supported"

• Supported: css, scss, tailwind, style-dictionary, tokens-studio, json, ts

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Additional Resources

• references/design-philosophy.md - Detailed anti-slop aesthetics guide
• references/token-formats.md - Design token format specifications
• references/framework-templates.md - Framework-specific patterns
• assets/*.json - JSON schema files for specifications

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Related Skills

• web-search - Research design inspiration and trends
• research-workflow - Deep dive into design systems