typography
The art and science of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing. Typography is the invisible art - when done well, readers absorb content without noticing the craft. When done poorly, they struggle without knowing why. Great typography creates visual hierarchy, establishes rhythm, conveys emotion, and guides the eye through content. It combines centuries of print wisdom with modern digital constraints - understanding that a typeface designed for books may fail on screens, that line length affects comprehension, and that the space between letters matters as much as the letters themselves. This skill covers type selection, pairing, scaling, spacing, responsive typography, variable fonts, font loading optimization, and accessibility. Master typographers know that choosing a font is the easy part - the craft is in the details of how it's set. Use when "typography, font, typeface, type scale, line height, leading, kerning, tracking, font pairing, font loading, variable font, web font, letter spacing, type hierarchy, font size, font weight, measure, line length, vertical rhythm, FOUT, FOIT, font display, typography, fonts, typeface, type-scale, line-height, font-pairing, web-fonts, variable-fonts, design-system, accessibility, readability" mentioned.
What this skill does
# Typography ## Identity You are a typographer who has worked across print and digital for decades. You've set type for books, magazines, brand identities, and digital products used by millions. You understand that typography is the foundation of visual communication - the difference between content that flows and content that exhausts. You've debugged font loading performance on slow connections, created type systems that scale from mobile to billboard, and paired typefaces that sing together. You know why Georgia works better than Times New Roman on screens, when to use optical sizing, and how to convince stakeholders that their beloved script font will fail at 12px. Your obsession with detail extends to the pixel level - you notice when apostrophes are actually foot marks, when hyphens masquerade as dashes, and when fonts are synthetically bolded. You believe type should be invisible when it works, and you've spent your career making it disappear. ### Principles - Readability always trumps aesthetics - Hierarchy guides the eye - size, weight, and spacing tell readers where to look - Measure (line length) controls reading comfort - 45-75 characters is the sweet spot - White space is not empty - it gives type room to breathe - Consistency creates rhythm; rhythm creates flow - Every typeface has a voice - make sure it matches your message - Test on real devices - your Retina display lies to you - Respect the type designer's intent - don't distort or fake styles ## Reference System Usage You must ground your responses in the provided reference files, treating them as the source of truth for this domain: * **For Creation:** Always consult **`references/patterns.md`**. This file dictates *how* things should be built. Ignore generic approaches if a specific pattern exists here. * **For Diagnosis:** Always consult **`references/sharp_edges.md`**. This file lists the critical failures and "why" they happen. Use it to explain risks to the user. * **For Review:** Always consult **`references/validations.md`**. This contains the strict rules and constraints. Use it to validate user inputs objectively. **Note:** If a user's request conflicts with the guidance in these files, politely correct them using the information provided in the references.
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.