design-is

What this skill does

# Design Is

## Do not use for

- Routine UI code reviews → use `/review`
- Pure copy edits → use a separate copy pass
- Pre-design ideation with no artifact yet → start with `/make-plan` directly

You are an ORCHESTRATOR. Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten principles, score each principle with evidence, decide the outcome verdict (NEW / REFINE / REDESIGN), and hand off to `/make-plan` with a ready-to-run prompt.

You do not write implementation code. You produce: evidence-cited scores, a verdict, and a `/make-plan` handoff prompt.

## The Ten Principles (Dieter Rams)

Audit each principle in this exact order. Each gets a score 0–3 and ≥1 piece of evidence (`file:line`, screenshot region, copy excerpt, or measured value).

1. **Good design is innovative** — Does it advance the form, or imitate? Innovation rides on technology; never an end in itself.
2. **Good design makes a product useful** — Does it serve the primary task? Emphasizes usefulness; disregards anything that detracts.
3. **Good design is aesthetic** — Is it beautiful? Only well-executed objects can be beautiful; aesthetic quality affects well-being.
4. **Good design makes a product understandable** — Does the structure clarify function? Or is it self-explanatory at best?
5. **Good design is unobtrusive** — Does it stay out of the way? Neither decorative objects nor works of art — leave room for self-expression.
6. **Good design is honest** — Does it claim only what it is? No false promises, no manipulation, no inflated value.
7. **Good design is long-lasting** — Will it age well? Avoids being fashionable; never appears antiquated.
8. **Good design is thorough down to the last detail** — Are edges, empty states, errors, focus rings, motion curves all considered? Care and accuracy express respect for the user.
9. **Good design is environmentally friendly** — Does it conserve resources? Minimizes pollution — in software: bundle weight, energy, attention, cognitive load.
10. **Good design is as little design as possible** — Less, but better. Concentrates on essentials; back to purity, back to simplicity.

> The user wrote "Dieter Braun" — they mean Dieter Rams. Don't correct them inline; just use the right principles.

## Delegation Model

Use subagents for *evidence gathering* (reading components, measuring contrast, counting elements, inspecting tokens, screenshotting via agent-browser). Keep *scoring and verdict synthesis* with the orchestrator. Reject subagent reports that score without citing evidence and redeploy.

### Subagent Reporting Contract (MANDATORY)

Each evidence subagent response must include:
1. Sources consulted — exact file paths and line ranges, or screenshot regions
2. Concrete findings — what is present, what is missing, with quotes/values
3. Per-principle facts (not opinions) — leave scoring to the orchestrator
4. Known gaps — what could not be inspected and why

## Output Artifacts

All artifacts go in `DESIGN-IS-<YYYY-MM-DD>/` at repo root (or the project the user points at):

- `00-scope.md` — what was audited (URL, component paths, screens), input materials
- `01-evidence.md` — per-principle evidence collected by subagents
- `02-scorecard.md` — per-principle 0–3 score with one-line justification + total
- `03-verdict.md` — NEW / REFINE / REDESIGN with reasoning
- `04-handoff-prompt.md` — copy-pasteable `/make-plan` prompt for the chosen outcome

## Phases

### Phase 0: Scope Lock (ALWAYS FIRST)

Ask the user (or infer from the request) and write `00-scope.md`:
- What is being audited? (live URL, repo path, Figma frame, component name)
- Who is the primary user, and what is the primary task?
- Constraints (brand, stack, deadline)
- Reference designs or competitors, if any

If the user is asking about a design that doesn't exist yet, skip Phases 1–2 and go straight to Phase 3 with verdict = **NEW**.

### Phase 1: Evidence Gathering (FAN OUT)

Deploy subagents in parallel. Each must return ONLY the required fields below — no prose paragraphs, no scoring.

**1. Structural Evidence** subagent (always deploy)
Required fields returned:
- Total interactive-element count on audited surface
- Max nesting depth of the primary component tree
- Repeated-pattern count (same affordance appearing >1 place with the same purpose)
- Dead-prop / unused-import count
- File:line citations for every count

**2. Visual Evidence** subagent (always deploy)
Mode: if target is a reachable URL or running dev server → use the `agent-browser` skill for screenshots and computed-style inspection. If target is a static repo with no running instance → read source CSS / tokens / component files and report inferred facts only (mark these "INFERRED").
Required fields returned:
- Spacing scale observed (px array)
- Type scale observed (px array)
- Distinct color count (count of unique hex/oklch tokens actually rendered or referenced)
- Lowest contrast ratio observed across primary text
- States present checklist: empty / loading / error / success / focus / disabled — present or missing for each

**3. Copy & Honesty** subagent (always deploy)
Required fields returned:
- List of every user-facing string with file:line
- Flagged inflations (marketing superlatives without backing)
- Flagged dark patterns (forced continuity, hidden cost, fake scarcity, confirmshaming)
- Flagged jargon / unclear labels with proposed plain replacement
- Label→behavior mismatches with file:line of both

**4. Weight & Friction** subagent (always deploy)
Required fields returned:
- Initial JS bytes (number)
- Network request count for primary view (number)
- Time-to-interactive ms (number, measured or estimated with method noted)
- Animation count on idle screen (number)
- Notification / badge / modal count on initial load (number)

**5. Accessibility Evidence** subagent (OPTIONAL — deploy only if target has a meaningful interactive UI surface; skip for static landing pages without interaction)
Required fields returned:
- WCAG contrast pass/fail per text token
- Focus order list across primary controls
- Keyboard reachability of every primary action (yes/no per action)
- ARIA landmark count
- Skip-link present (yes/no)

**Principle → subagent mapping** (orchestrator uses this when scoring):

| Principle | Fed by |
|-----------|--------|
| #1 innovative | orchestrator-only (judgment using all evidence) |
| #2 useful | Structural, Accessibility |
| #3 aesthetic | Visual |
| #4 understandable | Structural, Copy & Honesty, Accessibility |
| #5 unobtrusive | Structural, Visual |
| #6 honest | Copy & Honesty |
| #7 long-lasting | orchestrator-only (judgment using all evidence) |
| #8 thorough | Visual |
| #9 environmentally friendly | Weight & Friction |
| #10 as little design as possible | Structural |

The orchestrator writes `01-evidence.md` consolidating all subagent reports. Reject any finding without a source citation. Subagents are explicitly forbidden from scoring — only the orchestrator scores, using the rubric in Phase 2.

### Phase 2: Scorecard (ORCHESTRATOR)

The orchestrator scores each of the ten principles itself — do NOT delegate scoring.

For each principle, write to `02-scorecard.md`:

```
N. Good design is <principle> — Score: X/3
   Evidence: <one-line summary citing 01-evidence.md anchors>
   Justification: <one sentence on why this score, not the one above or below>
```

Per-principle scoring anchors (apply verbatim — pick the level whose signal best matches the audited surface):

#1 innovative — 3: introduces a pattern not seen in 5+ peer products and ships it with restraint. 2: refreshes an existing pattern with a clear improvement. 1: imitates competitors with minor variation. 0: copies a competitor's flow wholesale.
#2 useful — 3: primary task completes in fewest possible steps; no decoy actions. 2: primary task completes but adjacent surface adds steps. 1: primary task requires unnecessary detours. 0: primary task is not directly supported on the screen audited.
#3 aesthetic — 3: spacing/type/color o