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name: web-design description: "Create distinctive, production-grade layouts for aiandi.dev. Bold aesthetic vision + semantic token system. Use when designing pages, components, or visual treatments."

Web Design Skill

Purpose: Create distinctive, production-grade interfaces for aiandi.dev that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics while leveraging our semantic token architecture.

Related skills: Use design-loop for iterative fine-tuning (or nuclear redesign) with visual verification. Use screenshot for one-off captures.

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Part I: Design Vision

Design Thinking

Before touching code, understand context and commit to a BOLD aesthetic direction:

The Questions:

• Purpose: What problem does this interface solve? Who uses it?
• Tone: What's the emotional register? (See palette below)
• Differentiation: What makes this UNFORGETTABLE? What's the one thing someone will remember?
• Constraints: Accessibility, performance, our token system

⚠️ WARNING: If you're about to make "incremental improvements" to an existing design, STOP. Consider whether this needs a radical departure instead. Safe fine-tuning creates forgettable design when the vision itself is wrong.

Aesthetic Palette (pick one, execute with conviction):

CRITICAL: Bold maximalism and refined minimalism both work. The key is intentionality, not intensity. Pick a direction and execute it with conviction.

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Creative Departure Prompts

When you need to break free from derivative thinking, ask:

Inversion Questions:

• What if the most important thing was SMALL instead of large?
• What if we used NO color except one?
• What if there was NO hero section, just immediate content?
• What if typography was PLAYFUL instead of serious?

Constraint Forcing:

• Design with only 2 font sizes
• Use only vertical or only horizontal rhythm (not both)
• Make ONE element absurdly oversized
• Ban all rounded corners OR ban all sharp corners

Medium Shifts:

• What if this was a printed zine?
• What if this was a terminal interface?
• What if this was handwritten notes?
• What if this was a museum placard?

Unexpected References:

• Scientific journals (data-dense, precise)
• Art gallery walls (space, curation, labels)
• Punk zines (raw, urgent, collage)
• Old programming books (monospace, diagrams)
• Brutalist architecture (exposed structure, no decoration)

The test: If your first idea is what everyone else would do, throw it away and force yourself to come up with 3 more alternatives before implementing.

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Aesthetic Guidelines

Typography: The Soul of the Design

Choose fonts that have character. The current Workbench theme uses system fonts for speed and clarity, but when evolving the design:

Typography creates hierarchy through:

• Size contrast (dramatic jumps, not timid steps)
• Weight contrast (light body, bold heads - or vice versa)
• Tracking (tight headlines, comfortable body)
• Leading (generous for reading, tight for impact)

Color: Commit to a Position

Dominant colors with sharp accents outperform timid, evenly-distributed palettes.

The current Workbench theme demonstrates this: deep charcoal dominates, amber accent punctuates. The ratio matters more than the hues.

When evolving themes:

• 60-30-10 rule: dominant, secondary, accent
• Let backgrounds breathe (most of the canvas)
• Accents should feel earned, not scattered

Motion: Choreography, Not Chaos

One well-orchestrated moment creates more delight than scattered micro-interactions.

Focus on:

• Page load: staggered reveals via animation-delay
• Scroll-triggered moments that reward attention
• Hover states that surprise without distracting
• Transitions that feel physical (ease-out for exits, ease-in-out for state changes)

Spatial Composition: Break the Expected

Consider:

• Asymmetry over centered everything
• Generous negative space OR controlled density (not medium)
• Grid-breaking moments for emphasis
• Overlap and layering for depth
• Diagonal flow for energy

Atmosphere: Beyond Flat Colors

Create depth through:

• Subtle gradients (not the cliched purple-to-pink)
• Noise textures for tactile quality
• Layered transparencies
• Dramatic shadows that define space
• Border treatments that add character

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Anti-Patterns: The AI Slop Checklist

NEVER default to:

The test: Would this design be immediately recognizable as AI-generated? If yes, start over.

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Part II: Technical Execution

Our Design System: Schema vs. Theme

We separate structure (what decisions exist) from values (how they resolve):

Never hardcode values. Always use tokens. This enables theme-switching without code changes.

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Token Quick Reference

Colors

Typography

Spacing

Container Widths

Effects

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Layout Patterns

Page Structure

Copy<body class="min-h-screen flex flex-col bg-background text-text-primary font-body antialiased">
  <Header />
  <main class="flex-1 w-full">
    <!-- Content -->
  </main>
  <Footer />
</body>

Prose Container (Blog Posts)

Copy<div class="max-w-[68ch] mx-auto px-6">
  <div class="prose">
    <slot />
  </div>
</div>

Wide Container (Grids, Cards)

Copy<div class="max-w-6xl mx-auto px-6">
  <!-- Grid layouts -->
</div>

Hero Section

Copy<section class="py-section">
  <h1 class="font-heading text-5xl md:text-6xl leading-tight tracking-tight balance-text">
    Main Heading
    <span class="text-accent">Accent Part</span>
  </h1>
  <p class="text-text-secondary text-lg mt-6">
    Subheading
  </p>
</section>

Card Pattern

Copy<article class="bg-surface border-l-3 border-accent p-lg rounded-md">
  <h3 class="font-heading text-2xl text-accent mb-2">
    <a href={url} class="hover:text-accent-hover transition-colors duration-normal">
      {title}
    </a>
  </h3>
  <p class="text-text-secondary leading-relaxed">{description}</p>
  <time class="font-mono text-xs text-text-muted uppercase tracking-wide">{date}</time>
</article>

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Interactive States

Every interactive element needs three states:

Copy.interactive {
  color: var(--color-accent);
  transition: color var(--duration-fast) var(--easing);
}

.interactive:hover {
  color: var(--color-accent-hover);
}

.interactive:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--color-accent);
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

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Responsive Design

Breakpoints

Mobile-First Pattern

Copy<h1 class="text-3xl md:text-5xl lg:text-6xl">
  Responsive Heading
</h1>

<div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
  <!-- Cards -->
</div>

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Accessibility Requirements

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File Locations

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Part III: Process

Creating New Components

1. Define the vision - What's the aesthetic direction?
2. Identify tokens - Map design decisions to semantic tokens
3. Check existing patterns - Reuse before creating
4. Implement with precision - Execute the vision completely
5. Include all states - Default, hover, focus, disabled
6. Verify visually - Use design-loop skill for iterative fine-tuning

Component Template

Copy---
interface Props {
  variant?: 'default' | 'accent';
  class?: string;
}

const { variant = 'default', class: className } = Astro.props;

const variants = {
  default: 'bg-surface text-text-primary border-border',
  accent: 'bg-accent-subtle text-accent border-accent',
};
---

<div class:list={[
  'rounded-md border p-md transition-colors duration-normal',
  variants[variant],
  className
]}>
  <slot />
</div>

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The Standard

Match implementation complexity to aesthetic vision:

• Maximalist designs need elaborate code, extensive animations, rich effects
• Minimalist designs need restraint, precision, obsessive attention to spacing and typography
• Elegance comes from executing the vision completely, not from the vision itself

The question to ask: Is this design distinctive? Would someone remember it? Does it have a clear point of view?

Generic is the enemy. Safe is forgettable. Commit to a direction and execute with conviction.

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Related Skills

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Claude is capable of extraordinary creative work. Don't hold back.