figma-expert
Figma design expert for components, auto-layout, design systems, and developer handoff
What this skill does
# Figma Expert A product designer and design systems architect with deep expertise in Figma's component system, auto-layout, prototyping, and developer handoff workflows. This skill provides guidance for building scalable design systems, creating maintainable component libraries, and ensuring smooth collaboration between designers and engineers through precise specifications and token-driven design. ## Key Principles - Build components with auto-layout from the start; it ensures consistent spacing, responsive resizing, and alignment with how CSS flexbox renders in production - Use variants and component properties to reduce component sprawl; a single button component with size, state, and icon properties replaces dozens of separate frames - Establish design tokens (colors, typography, spacing, radii) as Figma variables and reference them everywhere instead of hardcoding values - Separate styles (visual appearance) from variables (semantic tokens); variables enable theming and mode switching (light/dark, brand A/brand B) - Design with real content and edge cases; placeholder text hides layout issues that surface when actual data varies in length and complexity ## Techniques - Configure auto-layout with padding (top, right, bottom, left), gap between items, and primary axis alignment (packed, space-between) for flexible container behavior - Create component variants using the variant property panel: define axes like Size (sm, md, lg), State (default, hover, disabled), and Type (primary, secondary) - Define a type scale using Figma text styles with consistent size, weight, and line-height ratios; map them to semantic names (heading-lg, body-md, caption) - Build interactive prototypes with smart animate transitions between component variants for micro-interaction demonstrations - Use the Figma Plugin API to automate repetitive tasks: batch-renaming layers, generating color palettes, or exporting design tokens to JSON - Leverage Dev Mode for handoff: inspect spacing, export assets, and copy CSS/iOS/Android code snippets directly from the design - Structure design system files with a cover page, a changelog page, and dedicated pages per component category (buttons, inputs, navigation, feedback) ## Common Patterns - **Atomic Design Structure**: Organize the library into atoms (icons, colors, typography), molecules (inputs, badges), organisms (cards, headers), and templates (page layouts) - **Theme Switching**: Use Figma variable modes to define light and dark color sets; components reference semantic variables that resolve differently per mode - **Responsive Components**: Use auto-layout with fill-container width and min/max constraints to create components that adapt across breakpoints without separate mobile variants - **Documentation Pages**: Embed component instances alongside usage guidelines, do/don't examples, and property tables directly in the Figma file for designer self-service ## Pitfalls to Avoid - Do not use absolute positioning inside auto-layout frames unless the element genuinely needs to break out of flow; it defeats the purpose of responsive layout - Do not create one-off detached instances when a variant or property would serve the use case; detached instances become stale when the source component updates - Do not skip naming and organizing layers; engineers inspecting in Dev Mode rely on meaningful layer names to map designs to code components - Do not embed raster images at full resolution without optimizing; large assets slow down Figma file performance and create unnecessarily heavy exports
Related in Design
contribute
IncludedLocal-only OSS contribution command center. Auto-refreshes the user's in-flight PR and issue state on invoke so conversations start with full context — no need to brief Claude on what's in flight. Helps the user find issues to contribute to on GitHub, builds per-repo dossiers of what each upstream expects (CLA, DCO, branch convention, AI policy, draft-first, review bots, issue templates), runs deterministic gates before any external action so AI-assisted contributions don't reach maintainers as slop. State is markdown-only: candidate files at ~/.contribute-system/candidates/, repo dossiers at ~/.contribute-system/research/, append-only event log at ~/.contribute-system/log.jsonl. No database, no cloud calls. Use when the user asks about their PRs / issues / contributions, wants to find new work to take on, claim an issue, build/refresh a repo's dossier, or draft a Design Issue or PR. Trigger with "/contribute", "what's my PR status", "find a contribution", "claim issue X", "draft a Design Issue for Y", "refresh dossier for Z".
architectural-analysis
IncludedUser-triggered deep architectural analysis of a codebase or scoped subtree across eight modes — information architecture, data flow, integration points, UI surfaces, interaction patterns, data model, control flow, and failure modes. This skill should be used when the user asks to "diagram this codebase," "map the architecture," "show the data flow," "give me an ERD," "trace control flow," "find the integration points," "verify the layout pattern," "audit the UX architecture," or any similar request whose primary deliverable is mermaid diagrams plus cited reports under docs/architecture/. Dispatches haiku/sonnet sub-agents in parallel for per-mode exploration, then verifies every citation mechanically before any node lands in a diagram. Not for one-off prose explanations of code (use code-explanation) or for high-level system design from scratch (use system-design).
mcp
IncludedModel Context Protocol (MCP) server development and tool management. Languages: Python, TypeScript. Capabilities: build MCP servers, integrate external APIs, discover/execute MCP tools, manage multi-server configs, design agent-centric tools. Actions: create, build, integrate, discover, execute, configure MCP servers/tools. Keywords: MCP, Model Context Protocol, MCP server, MCP tool, stdio transport, SSE transport, tool discovery, resource provider, prompt template, external API integration, Gemini CLI MCP, Claude MCP, agent tools, tool execution, server config. Use when: building MCP servers, integrating external APIs as MCP tools, discovering available MCP tools, executing MCP capabilities, configuring multi-server setups, designing tools for AI agents.
react-native-skia
IncludedDesign, build, debug, and optimise high-polish animated graphics in React Native or Expo using @shopify/react-native-skia, Reanimated, and Gesture Handler. Use when the user wants canvas-driven UI, shaders, paths, rich text, image filters, sprite fields, Skottie, video frames, snapshots, web CanvasKit setup, or performance tuning for custom motion-heavy elements such as loaders, hero art, cards, charts, progress indicators, particle systems, or gesture-driven surfaces. Also use when the user asks for fluid, glow, glass, blob, parallax, 60fps/120fps, or GPU-friendly animated effects in React Native, even if they do not explicitly say "Skia". Do not use for ordinary form/layout work with standard views.
plaid
IncludedProduct Led AI Development — guides founders from idea to launched product. Six capabilities: Idea (discover a product idea), Validate (pressure-test the idea against fatal flaws, problem reality, competition, and 2-week MVP feasibility), Plan (vision intake + document generation), Design (translate image references into a design.md spec), Launch (go-to-market strategy), and Build (roadmap execution). Use when someone says "PLAID", "plaid idea", "help me find an idea", "product idea", "idea from my business", "idea from my expertise", "plaid validate", "validate my idea", "pressure-test", "is this idea good", "find fatal flaws", "validate the problem", "plan a product", "define my vision", "generate a PRD", "product strategy", "plaid design", "design from image", "translate image to design", "create design.md", "extract design tokens", "plaid launch", "go-to-market", "launch plan", "GTM strategy", "launch playbook", "plaid build", "build the app", "start building", or "execute the roadmap".
nextjs-framer-motion-animations
IncludedAdds production-safe Motion for React or Framer Motion animations to Next.js apps, including reveal, hover and tap micro-interactions, whileInView, stagger, AnimatePresence, layout and layoutId transitions, reorder, scroll-linked UI, and lightweight route-content transitions. Use when the user asks to add, refactor, or debug Motion or Framer Motion in App Router or Pages Router codebases, especially around server/client boundaries, reduced motion, LazyMotion, bundle size, hydration, or route transitions. Avoid for GSAP-style timelines, WebGL or 3D scenes, heavy scroll storytelling, or CSS-only effects unless Motion is explicitly requested.