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name: frontend-design description: Create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces. Use when building web components, pages, or applications to avoid generic AI aesthetics and make memorable UIs.

Frontend Design

This skill guides creation of distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics.

Design Direction

Commit to a BOLD aesthetic direction:

• Purpose: What problem does this interface solve?
• Tone: Pick an extreme: brutally minimal, maximalist, retro-futuristic, organic, luxury, playful, editorial, brutalist, art deco, soft, industrial
• Differentiation: What's the one thing someone will remember?

CRITICAL: Choose a clear conceptual direction and execute with precision.

Typography

See typography reference for scales and pairing.

DO: Use a modular type scale with fluid sizing (clamp) DO: Vary font weights and sizes for clear hierarchy DON'T: Use overused fonts—Inter, Roboto, Arial, Open Sans DON'T: Use monospace as lazy shorthand for "technical"

Color & Theme

See color reference for OKLCH and palettes.

DO: Use modern CSS color functions (oklch, color-mix, light-dark) DO: Tint neutrals toward your brand hue DON'T: Use gray text on colored backgrounds DON'T: Use pure black (#000) or pure white (#fff) DON'T: Use the AI palette: cyan-on-dark, purple-to-blue gradients, neon accents

Layout & Space

See spatial reference for grids and rhythm.

DO: Create visual rhythm through varied spacing DO: Use fluid spacing with clamp() DO: Use asymmetry and break the grid intentionally DON'T: Wrap everything in cards DON'T: Nest cards inside cards DON'T: Center everything

Visual Details

DO: Use intentional, purposeful decorative elements DON'T: Use glassmorphism everywhere DON'T: Use rounded rectangles with generic drop shadows DON'T: Use modals unless truly necessary

Motion

See motion reference for timing and easing.

DO: Use motion to convey state changes DO: Use exponential easing (ease-out-quart/quint/expo) DON'T: Animate layout properties DON'T: Use bounce or elastic easing—they feel dated

The AI Slop Test

Critical check: If someone said "AI made this," would they believe it immediately? If yes, that's the problem.

Review the DON'T guidelines—they are fingerprints of AI-generated work from 2024-2025.

Implementation

Match complexity to aesthetic vision. Maximalist designs need elaborate code. Minimalist designs need restraint and precision.

Interpret creatively. Make unexpected choices. No design should be the same.