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name: modern-ui-quality-gate description: Enforces modern, minimal, professional UI standards and rejects outdated or visually noisy web design patterns.

Modern UI Quality Gate

When to use this skill

• Generating UI components
• Writing CSS or Tailwind
• Designing layouts
• Styling pages or design systems

Priority

Critical (must never violate):

• Mobile-first layout
• Keyboard operable + visible focus
• Respect prefers-reduced-motion
• No pre-2020 aesthetics

High:

• Whitespace > decoration
• Minimal shadows/borders/gradients
• Hit targets ≥44px mobile / ≥24px desktop

UI Enforcement Rules

• Prefer whitespace, alignment, and typography over decoration.
• Avoid gradients unless subtle and clearly justified.
• Avoid glow, neon, glassmorphism, or novelty effects.
• Avoid heavy shadows; if used, keep them soft and minimal.
• Use borders sparingly and consistently.
• Visual hierarchy must be created via spacing and font weight, not effects.

Web Interface Guidelines

Interfaces succeed because of hundreds of choices. This is a living, non-exhaustive list of those decisions. Most guidelines are framework-agnostic, some specific to React/Next.js.

Interactions

• All flows are keyboard-operable & follow the WAI-ARIA Authoring Patterns.
• Every focusable element shows a visible focus ring. Prefer :focus-visible.
• Use focus traps, move & return focus according to WAI-ARIA Patterns.
• Exception: if visual target <24px, expand hit target to ≥24px. On mobile ≥44px.
• <input> font size ≥16px on mobile. Or set viewport meta to prevent zoom.
• Never disable browser zoom.
• Inputs must not lose focus or value after hydration.
• Never disable paste.
• Loading buttons: show indicator & keep label.
• Spinner/skeleton: add ~150–300ms delay & ~300–500ms minimum visible time.
• Persist state in URL (e.g., nuqs).
• Optimistic updates with rollback or Undo.
• Menu/loading states end with ellipsis (e.g., "Saving…").
• Confirm destructive actions or provide Undo.
• Set touch-action: manipulation.
• Set webkit-tap-highlight-color.
• Generous hit targets, clear affordances.
• Tooltip: delay first, no delay for subsequent peers.
• Set overscroll-behavior: contain intentionally.
• Back/Forward restores scroll.
• Autofocus primary input on desktop only.
• No dead zones on controls.
• Deep-link everything.
• Clean drag: disable selection & apply inert.
• Use <a> or <Link> for navigation.
• Use polite aria-live for toasts & validation.
• Internationalize keyboard shortcuts.

Animations

• Honor prefers-reduced-motion.
• Prefer CSS > Web Animations API > JS libraries.
• Use transform, opacity; avoid reflow triggers.
• Animate only for cause/effect or delight.
• Easing fits the subject.
• Interruptible and input-driven.
• Correct transform origin.
• Never transition: all.
• For SVG: apply to <g> wrapper, set transform-box: fill-box.

Layout

• Optical alignment (±1px when needed).
• Deliberate alignment to grid/baseline/edge.
• Balance contrast in lockups.
• Verify responsive on mobile/laptop/ultra-wide.
• Respect safe-area variables.
• No excessive scrollbars.
• Prefer flex/grid/intrinsic over JS measurement.

Content

• Inline help first; tooltips last.
• Stable skeletons mirror final content.
• Accurate <title>.
• No dead ends; all states designed.
• Typographic quotes, ellipsis character ….
• Avoid widows/orphans.
• Tabular numbers for comparisons.
• Redundant status cues (text + icon).
• Icons have labels.
• Don’t ship the schema.
• Anchored headings with scroll-margin-top.
• Resilient to user-generated content.
• Locale-aware formats.
• Prefer language settings over location.
• Accessible content (aria-label, aria-hidden).
• Icon-only buttons have aria-label.
• Semantics before ARIA.
• Hierarchical headings + skip link.
• Brand resources from logo right-click.
• Non-breaking spaces for glued terms (  or ⁠).

Forms

• Enter submits (single control or last).
• Textarea: ⌘/⌃+Enter submits.
• Labels everywhere; clickable.
• Submit enabled until in-flight; disable + spinner.
• Don’t block typing; validate after.
• Don’t pre-disable submit.
• No dead zones on checkboxes/radios.
• Errors next to fields; focus first on submit.
• Set autocomplete & meaningful name.
• Selective spellcheck.
• Correct type & inputmode.
• Placeholders end with ellipsis; show example.
• Warn on unsaved changes.
• Password manager & 2FA compatible.
• Don’t trigger password managers incorrectly.
• Trim input whitespace.
• Set background/color on native <select> for Windows.

Performance

• Test iOS Low Power & Safari.
• Measure without extensions.
• Track re-renders (React DevTools).
• Throttle CPU/network when profiling.
• Minimize layout work.
• Network budgets: <500ms for mutations.
• Prefer uncontrolled inputs.
• Virtualize large lists.
• Preload above-fold images; lazy-load rest.
• No image CLS (explicit dimensions).
• Preconnect to origins.
• Preload/subset fonts.

Design

• Layered shadows (ambient + direct).
• Crisp borders with semi-transparent.
• Nested radii concentric.
• Hue-consistent borders/shadows.
• Accessible charts.
• Prefer APCA contrast.
• Interactions increase contrast.
• Set <meta name="theme-color">.
• Set color-scheme.
• Animate wrapper for text anti-aliasing.
• Avoid gradient banding (use masks if needed).

Copywriting

• Active voice.
• Title Case for headings/buttons.
• Clear & concise.
• Prefer & over and.
• Action-oriented.
• Consistent nouns.
• Second person.
• Consistent placeholders.
• Numerals for counts.
• Consistent currency decimals.
• Space between numbers & units ( ).
• Positive language.
• Error messages guide fix.
• Avoid ambiguity.