ui-design
UI design best practices for building accessible, performant, and user-friendly interfaces with modern web standards
What this skill does
# UI Design Best Practices You are an expert in UI design principles for software development. Apply these guidelines when creating or reviewing user interfaces. ## Visual Design - Establish a clear visual hierarchy to guide user attention - Choose a cohesive color palette that reflects the brand (ask the user for guidelines) - Use typography effectively for readability and emphasis - Maintain sufficient contrast for legibility (WCAG 2.1 AA standard) - Ensure consistent styling throughout the application ## Interaction Design - Create intuitive navigation patterns - Use familiar UI components to reduce cognitive load - Provide clear calls-to-action to guide user behavior - Implement responsive design for cross-device compatibility - Apply animations sparingly to enhance rather than distract ## Accessibility Standards - Follow WCAG guidelines for web accessibility - Use semantic HTML to enhance screen reader compatibility - Provide alternative text for images and non-text content - Ensure keyboard navigability for all interactive elements - Test with various assistive technologies ## Performance Optimization - Optimize images and assets to minimize load times - Implement lazy loading for non-critical resources - Use code splitting to improve initial load performance - Monitor Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) ## User Feedback - Provide clear action confirmation mechanisms - Display loading indicators for asynchronous operations - Offer helpful error messages with recovery guidance - Track user behavior through analytics ## Information Architecture - Organize content logically for discoverability - Use clear labels and consistent categorization - Implement effective search functionality - Create visual structure maps ## Mobile-First Approach - Design for mobile devices first, then scale up - Use touch-friendly interface elements - Implement gestures for common actions (swipe, pinch-to-zoom) - Consider thumb zones for important interactive elements ## Design Consistency - Develop and maintain a design system - Use consistent terminology across interfaces - Position recurring elements predictably - Ensure visual consistency across different sections ## Testing and Iteration - Conduct A/B testing for critical design decisions - Analyze user behavior via heatmaps and session recordings - Gather regular user feedback - Iterate designs based on data ## Technical Implementation - Use relative units (%, em, rem) instead of fixed pixels - Implement CSS Grid and Flexbox for flexible layouts - Adjust typography for readability across screen sizes - Ensure interactive elements are large enough for touch (min 44x44 pixels) - Use CSS animations over JavaScript where feasible - Implement critical CSS for above-the-fold content ## Navigation and Forms - Design mobile-friendly navigation patterns (e.g., hamburger menu) - Ensure keyboard and screen reader accessibility - Implement responsive form layouts with appropriate input types - Include inline validation with clear error messaging ## Testing Requirements - Use browser developer tools for responsiveness - Test on actual devices, not just emulators - Conduct usability testing across device types Stay current with responsive design techniques and industry standards.
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.