diagram-design-editorial
Generate editorial-quality HTML+SVG diagrams (13 types) for blog posts and documentation using Claude Code, with brand-matched styling and no external dependencies.
What this skill does
# Diagram Design — Editorial HTML+SVG Diagrams > Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Daily 2026 Skills collection. Editorial-quality diagrams for blog posts and documentation. 13 types, self-contained HTML+SVG, no build step, no Mermaid, no shadows. Brand-matched in 60 seconds by reading your website. --- ## Installation ```bash git clone [email protected]:cathrynlavery/diagram-design.git ~/.claude/skills/diagram-design # restart Claude Code — skill registers as `diagram-design` ``` Or symlink from another location: ```bash git clone [email protected]:cathrynlavery/diagram-design.git ~/code/diagram-design ln -s ~/code/diagram-design ~/.claude/skills/diagram-design ``` Browse all 13 types locally: ```bash open ~/.claude/skills/diagram-design/assets/index.html ``` --- ## The 13 Diagram Types | Type | Use when… | |---|---| | **Architecture** | Components + connections (services, APIs, infra) | | **Flowchart** | Decision logic, yes/no branches | | **Sequence** | Messages over time (OAuth, API calls, user flows) | | **State machine** | States + transitions (order lifecycle, auth states) | | **ER / data model** | Entities + fields + relationships | | **Timeline** | Events on a horizontal or vertical axis | | **Swimlane** | Cross-functional flows (who does what, when) | | **Quadrant** | Two-axis positioning (impact vs effort, risk vs value) | | **Nested** | Hierarchy by containment (layers inside layers) | | **Tree** | Parent → children (org chart, file tree, decision tree) | | **Layer stack** | Stacked abstractions (OSI model, tech stack) | | **Venn** | Set overlap (2–3 circles) | | **Pyramid / funnel** | Ranked hierarchy or conversion drop-off | **Selection rule:** ask "would a reader learn more from this than from a well-written paragraph?" If no, don't draw. Default to deletion over addition. --- ## Quickstart ``` # In Claude Code — just describe what you need: "Make me an architecture diagram: frontend, backend, Postgres, Redis cache." "I need a quadrant of Q2 projects by impact vs effort." "Give me a sequence diagram of the OAuth 2.0 handshake." "Draw a state machine for an e-commerce order: pending → paid → shipped → delivered." "Timeline of the Roman Empire's key turning points." ``` Claude picks the right type, builds HTML, saves the file. To use a template directly: ```bash cp assets/template.html my-diagram.html # minimal light cp assets/template-full.html my-diagram.html # editorial with summary cards ``` --- ## Brand Onboarding (60 seconds) Without onboarding, diagrams render in neutral stone + rust (warm off-white paper, charcoal ink, rust-orange accent). Run onboarding to match your site: ``` "onboard diagram-design to https://yoursite.com" ``` Claude will: 1. Fetch your homepage 2. Extract dominant palette + font stack 3. Map values to semantic roles: `paper`, `ink`, `muted`, `accent`, `link` 4. Run WCAG AA contrast checks (auto-adjusts failures) 5. Show a proposed diff → write tokens to `references/style-guide.md` ### What gets extracted | Detected from your site | Becomes | |---|---| | `<body>` background | `paper` token | | Primary text color | `ink` token | | Secondary / caption text | `muted` token | | Cards or containers | `paper-2` token | | Most-used brand color (CTA, link, heading) | `accent` token | | `<h1>` font family | `title` font | | `<body>` font family | `node-name` font | | `<code>` / `<pre>` font | `sublabel` font | ### Manual token override Edit `references/style-guide.md` directly: ```markdown | Token | Value | Role | |------------|-----------|-------------------------------| | paper | #F8F5F0 | diagram background | | ink | #1A1A1A | primary text, borders | | muted | #6B6560 | secondary labels, grid lines | | paper-2 | #EEEAE4 | card fills, lane backgrounds | | accent | #B5523A | focal nodes, 1–2 per diagram | | accent-fg | #FFFFFF | text on accent-colored nodes | ``` **First-run gate:** on first use in a new project, if `style-guide.md` is still at default, Claude pauses and asks: *"Run onboarding, paste tokens manually, or proceed with default?"* --- ## Design System Rules Every diagram generated by this skill follows these non-negotiable constraints: ### Grid - All coordinates, widths, gaps divisible by **4px** — prevents the AI-generated jitter - No shadows anywhere - Max border-radius: **10px** - Borders: **1px hairline** only ### Typography (three families, three roles) ``` Instrument Serif → titles, italic editorial callouts Geist Sans → node names, labels (primary UI text) Geist Mono → technical sublabels (ports, URLs, field types, IDs) ``` Mono is for technical content specifically — not a blanket "dev aesthetic." ### Color discipline - **One accent color** per diagram - Accent reserved for **1–2 focal nodes** — the things the reader looks at first - Everything else: `ink`, `muted`, `paper-2` - Target visual density: **4/10** — ruthlessly sparse ### Focal nodes (coral tint) ```html <!-- Accent node — use sparingly, 1–2 per diagram --> <rect width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--accent)"/> <text fill="var(--accent-fg)" font-family="Geist, sans-serif" font-size="13"> Primary Component </text> <!-- Standard node --> <rect width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--paper-2)" stroke="var(--ink)" stroke-width="1"/> <text fill="var(--ink)" font-family="Geist, sans-serif" font-size="13"> Secondary Component </text> ``` --- ## Code Examples ### Architecture Diagram (minimal structure) ```html <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <style> :root { --paper: #F8F5F0; --ink: #1A1A1A; --muted: #6B6560; --paper-2: #EEEAE4; --accent: #B5523A; --accent-fg:#FFFFFF; } body { background: var(--paper); margin: 0; padding: 40px; } svg { display: block; } </style> </head> <body> <svg width="640" height="400" viewBox="0 0 640 400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" font-family="Geist, system-ui, sans-serif"> <!-- Background --> <rect width="640" height="400" fill="var(--paper)"/> <!-- Title --> <text x="32" y="40" font-size="15" font-weight="600" fill="var(--ink)"> Application Architecture </text> <!-- Focal node: API Gateway (accent) --> <rect x="240" y="80" width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--accent)"/> <text x="320" y="100" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" font-weight="600" fill="var(--accent-fg)">API Gateway</text> <text x="320" y="116" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" fill="var(--accent-fg)" opacity="0.8">:443</text> <!-- Standard node: Frontend --> <rect x="60" y="196" width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--paper-2)" stroke="var(--ink)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="140" y="216" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" font-weight="600" fill="var(--ink)">Frontend</text> <text x="140" y="232" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" font-family="'Geist Mono', monospace" fill="var(--muted)">Next.js</text> <!-- Standard node: Auth Service --> <rect x="420" y="196" width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--paper-2)" stroke="var(--ink)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="500" y="216" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" font-weight="600" fill="var(--ink)">Auth Service</text> <text x="500" y="232" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" font-family="'Geist Mono', monospace" fill="var(--muted)">JWT / OAuth</text> <!-- Standard node: Database --> <rect x="240" y="312" width="160" height="48" rx="6" fill="var(--paper-2)" stroke="var(--ink)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="320" y="332" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" font-weight="600" fill="var(--ink)">Postgres</text> <text x="320" y="348" text-anchor="middle" font-size="10" font-family="'Geist Mono', monospace" fill="var(--muted)">:5432</text> <!-- Connections — 1px hairline, muted -->
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