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Refactor impeccable skill to reduce monoculture from negative prescriptions
The skill's "don't use Inter / don't use dark / don't center" negatives were creating new attractors (the model picks Fraunces / light / grid instead, every time). Inline always-applicable principles into SKILL.md, add a font selection anti-attractor procedure that forces the model to enumerate AND reject its reflex defaults, switch high-stakes blocks to XML structure, tighten side-tab and gradient-text bans to specific CSS patterns, ban Syne explicitly, and strip named font/color prescriptions from the references. Validated against the internal eval framework on Qwen 3.6 Plus across 7 niches: Fraunces dropped from 92% to 0% on kids reading, side-tabs from 76% to 20% on vintage moto, no theme regressions. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Paul Bakaus
co-authored by
Claude Opus 4.6
Claude Opus 4.6
parent
db4d533228
commit
a5db82143c
@@ -47,55 +47,169 @@ Then implement working code that is:
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## Frontend Aesthetics Guidelines
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### Typography
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→ *Consult [typography reference](reference/typography.md) for scales, pairing, and loading strategies.*
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→ *Consult [typography reference](reference/typography.md) for OpenType features, web font loading, and the deeper material on scales.*
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Choose fonts that are beautiful, unique, and interesting. Pair a distinctive display font with a refined body font.
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**DO**: Use a modular type scale with fluid sizing (clamp)
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**DO**: Vary font weights and sizes to create clear visual hierarchy
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**DON'T**: Use overused fonts like Inter, Roboto, Arial, Open Sans, or system defaults
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**DON'T**: Use monospace typography as lazy shorthand for "technical/developer" vibes
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**DON'T**: Put large icons with rounded corners above every heading. They rarely add value and make sites look templated
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**DON'T**: Use only one font family for the entire page. Pair a distinctive display font with a refined body font
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**DON'T**: Use a flat type hierarchy where sizes are too close together. Aim for at least a 1.25 ratio between steps
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**DON'T**: Set long body passages in uppercase. Reserve all-caps for short labels and headings
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<typography_principles>
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Always apply these — do not consult a reference, just do them:
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- Use a modular type scale with fluid sizing (clamp) for headings on marketing/content pages. Use fixed `rem` scales for app UIs and dashboards (no major design system uses fluid type in product UI).
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- Use fewer sizes with more contrast. A 5-step scale with at least a 1.25 ratio between steps creates clearer hierarchy than 8 sizes that are 1.1× apart.
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- Line-height scales inversely with line length. Narrow columns want tighter leading, wide columns want more. For light text on dark backgrounds, ADD 0.05-0.1 to your normal line-height — light type reads as lighter weight and needs more breathing room.
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- Cap line length at ~65-75ch. Body text wider than that is fatiguing.
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</typography_principles>
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<font_selection_procedure>
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DO THIS BEFORE TYPING ANY FONT NAME.
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The model's natural failure mode is "I was told not to use Inter, so I will pick my next favorite font, which becomes the new monoculture." Avoid this by performing the following procedure on every project, in order:
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Step 1. Read the brief once. Write down 3 concrete words for the brand voice (e.g., "warm and mechanical and opinionated", "calm and clinical and careful", "fast and dense and unimpressed", "handmade and a little weird"). NOT "modern" or "elegant" — those are dead categories.
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Step 2. List the 3 fonts you would normally reach for given those words. Write them down. They are most likely from this list:
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<reflex_fonts_to_reject>
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Fraunces
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Newsreader
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Lora
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Crimson
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Crimson Pro
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Crimson Text
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Playfair Display
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Cormorant
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Cormorant Garamond
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Syne
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IBM Plex Mono
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IBM Plex Sans
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IBM Plex Serif
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Space Mono
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Space Grotesk
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Inter
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DM Sans
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DM Serif Display
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DM Serif Text
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Outfit
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Plus Jakarta Sans
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Instrument Sans
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Instrument Serif
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</reflex_fonts_to_reject>
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Reject every font that appears in the reflex_fonts_to_reject list. They are your training-data defaults and they create monoculture across projects. **Syne in particular is the most overused "distinctive" display font and is an instant AI design tell. Never use it.**
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Step 3. Browse a font catalog with the 3 brand words in mind. Sources: Google Fonts, Pangram Pangram, Future Fonts, Adobe Fonts, ABC Dinamo, Klim Type Foundry, Velvetyne. Look for something that fits the brand as a *physical object* — a museum exhibit caption, a hand-painted shop sign, a 1970s mainframe terminal manual, a fabric label on the inside of a coat, a children's book printed on cheap newsprint. Reject the first thing that "looks designy" — that's the trained reflex too. Keep looking.
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Step 4. Cross-check the result. The right font for an "elegant" brief is NOT necessarily a serif. The right font for a "technical" brief is NOT necessarily a sans-serif. The right font for a "warm" brief is NOT Fraunces. If your final pick lines up with your reflex pattern, go back to Step 3.
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</font_selection_procedure>
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<typography_rules>
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DO use a modular type scale with fluid sizing (clamp) on headings.
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DO vary font weights and sizes to create clear visual hierarchy.
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DO vary your font choices across projects. If you used a serif display font on the last project, look for a sans, monospace, or display face on this one.
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DO NOT use overused fonts like Inter, Roboto, Arial, Open Sans, or system defaults — but also do not simply switch to your second-favorite. Every font in the reflex_fonts_to_reject list above is banned. Look further.
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DO NOT use Syne. Ever. It is an instant AI design tell.
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DO NOT use monospace typography as lazy shorthand for "technical/developer" vibes.
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DO NOT put large icons with rounded corners above every heading. They rarely add value and make sites look templated.
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DO NOT use only one font family for the entire page. Pair a distinctive display font with a refined body font.
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DO NOT use a flat type hierarchy where sizes are too close together. Aim for at least a 1.25 ratio between steps.
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DO NOT set long body passages in uppercase. Reserve all-caps for short labels and headings.
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</typography_rules>
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### Color & Theme
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→ *Consult [color reference](reference/color-and-contrast.md) for OKLCH, palettes, and dark mode.*
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→ *Consult [color reference](reference/color-and-contrast.md) for the deeper material on contrast, accessibility, and palette construction.*
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Commit to a cohesive palette. Dominant colors with sharp accents outperform timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
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**DO**: Use modern CSS color functions (oklch, color-mix, light-dark) for perceptually uniform, maintainable palettes
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**DO**: Tint your neutrals toward your brand hue. Even a subtle hint creates subconscious cohesion
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**DON'T**: Use gray text on colored backgrounds; it looks washed out. Use a shade of the background color instead
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**DON'T**: Use pure black (#000) or pure white (#fff). Always tint; pure black/white never appears in nature
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**DON'T**: Use the AI color palette: cyan-on-dark, purple-to-blue gradients, neon accents on dark backgrounds
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**DON'T**: Use gradient text for "impact," especially on metrics or headings. It's decorative rather than meaningful
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**DON'T**: Default to dark mode with glowing accents. It looks "cool" without requiring actual design decisions
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<color_principles>
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Always apply these — do not consult a reference, just do them:
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- Use OKLCH, not HSL. OKLCH is perceptually uniform: equal steps in lightness *look* equal, which HSL does not deliver. As you move toward white or black, REDUCE chroma — high chroma at extreme lightness looks garish. A light blue at 85% lightness wants ~0.08 chroma, not the 0.15 of your base color.
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- Tint your neutrals toward your brand hue. Even a chroma of 0.005-0.01 is perceptible and creates subconscious cohesion between brand color and UI surfaces. The hue you tint toward should come from THIS brand, not from a "warm = friendly" or "cool = tech" formula. Pick the brand's actual hue first, then tint everything toward it.
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- The 60-30-10 rule is about visual *weight*, not pixel count. 60% neutral / surface, 30% secondary text and borders, 10% accent. Accents work BECAUSE they're rare. Overuse kills their power.
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</color_principles>
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<theme_selection>
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Theme (light vs dark) should be DERIVED from audience and viewing context, not picked from a default. Read the brief and ask: when is this product used, by whom, in what physical setting?
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- A perp DEX consumed during fast trading sessions → dark
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- A hospital portal consumed by anxious patients on phones late at night → light
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- A children's reading app → light
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- A vintage motorcycle forum where users sit in their garage at 9pm → dark
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- An observability dashboard for SREs in a dark office → dark
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- A wedding planning checklist for couples on a Sunday morning → light
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- A music player app for headphone listening at night → dark
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- A food magazine homepage browsed during a coffee break → light
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Do not default everything to light "to play it safe." Do not default everything to dark "to look cool." Both defaults are the lazy reflex. The correct theme is the one the actual user wants in their actual context.
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</theme_selection>
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<color_rules>
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DO use modern CSS color functions (oklch, color-mix, light-dark) for perceptually uniform, maintainable palettes.
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DO tint your neutrals toward your brand hue. Even a subtle hint creates subconscious cohesion.
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DO NOT use gray text on colored backgrounds; it looks washed out. Use a shade of the background color instead.
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DO NOT use pure black (#000) or pure white (#fff). Always tint; pure black/white never appears in nature.
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DO NOT use the AI color palette: cyan-on-dark, purple-to-blue gradients, neon accents on dark backgrounds.
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DO NOT use gradient text for impact — see <absolute_bans> below for the strict definition. Solid colors only for text.
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DO NOT default to dark mode with glowing accents. It looks "cool" without requiring actual design decisions.
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DO NOT default to light mode "to be safe" either. The point is to choose, not to retreat to a safe option.
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</color_rules>
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### Layout & Space
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→ *Consult [spatial reference](reference/spatial-design.md) for grids, rhythm, and container queries.*
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→ *Consult [spatial reference](reference/spatial-design.md) for the deeper material on grids, container queries, and optical adjustments.*
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Create visual rhythm through varied spacing, not the same padding everywhere. Embrace asymmetry and unexpected compositions. Break the grid intentionally for emphasis.
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**DO**: Create visual rhythm through varied spacing: tight groupings, generous separations
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**DO**: Use fluid spacing with clamp() that breathes on larger screens
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**DO**: Use asymmetry and unexpected compositions; break the grid intentionally for emphasis
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**DON'T**: Wrap everything in cards. Not everything needs a container
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**DON'T**: Nest cards inside cards. Visual noise; flatten the hierarchy
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**DON'T**: Use identical card grids (same-sized cards with icon + heading + text, repeated endlessly)
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**DON'T**: Use the hero metric layout template (big number, small label, supporting stats, gradient accent)
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**DON'T**: Center everything. Left-aligned text with asymmetric layouts feels more designed
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**DON'T**: Use the same spacing everywhere. Without rhythm, layouts feel monotonous
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**DON'T**: Let body text wrap beyond ~80 characters per line. Add a max-width like 65–75ch so the eye can track easily
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<spatial_principles>
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Always apply these — do not consult a reference, just do them:
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- Use a 4pt spacing scale with semantic token names (`--space-sm`, `--space-md`), not pixel-named (`--spacing-8`). Scale: 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96. 8pt is too coarse — you'll often want 12px between two values.
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- Use `gap` instead of margins for sibling spacing. It eliminates margin collapse and the cleanup hacks that come with it.
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- Vary spacing for hierarchy. A heading with extra space above it reads as more important — make use of that. Don't apply the same padding everywhere.
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- Self-adjusting grid pattern: `grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(280px, 1fr))` is the breakpoint-free responsive grid for card-style content.
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- Container queries are for components, viewport queries are for page layout. A card in a sidebar should adapt to the sidebar's width, not the viewport's.
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</spatial_principles>
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<spatial_rules>
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DO create visual rhythm through varied spacing: tight groupings, generous separations.
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DO use fluid spacing with clamp() that breathes on larger screens.
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DO use asymmetry and unexpected compositions; break the grid intentionally for emphasis.
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DO NOT wrap everything in cards. Not everything needs a container.
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DO NOT nest cards inside cards. Visual noise; flatten the hierarchy.
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DO NOT use identical card grids (same-sized cards with icon + heading + text, repeated endlessly).
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DO NOT use the hero metric layout template (big number, small label, supporting stats, gradient accent).
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DO NOT center everything. Left-aligned text with asymmetric layouts feels more designed.
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DO NOT use the same spacing everywhere. Without rhythm, layouts feel monotonous.
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DO NOT let body text wrap beyond ~80 characters per line. Add a max-width like 65–75ch so the eye can track easily.
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</spatial_rules>
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### Visual Details
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**DO**: Use intentional, purposeful decorative elements that reinforce brand
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**DON'T**: Use glassmorphism everywhere (blur effects, glass cards, glow borders used decoratively rather than purposefully)
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**DON'T**: Use rounded elements with thick colored border on one side. A lazy accent that almost never looks intentional
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**DON'T**: Use sparklines as decoration. Tiny charts that look sophisticated but convey nothing meaningful
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**DON'T**: Use rounded rectangles with generic drop shadows. Safe, forgettable, could be any AI output
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**DON'T**: Use modals unless there's truly no better alternative. Modals are lazy
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<absolute_bans>
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These CSS patterns are NEVER acceptable. They are the most recognizable AI design tells. Match-and-refuse: if you find yourself about to write any of these, stop and rewrite the element with a different structure entirely.
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BAN 1: Side-stripe borders on cards/list items/callouts/alerts
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- PATTERN: `border-left:` or `border-right:` with width greater than 1px
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- INCLUDES: hard-coded colors AND CSS variables
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- FORBIDDEN: `border-left: 3px solid red`, `border-left: 4px solid #ff0000`, `border-left: 4px solid var(--color-warning)`, `border-left: 5px solid oklch(...)`, etc.
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- WHY: this is the single most overused "design touch" in admin, dashboard, and medical UIs. It never looks intentional regardless of color, radius, opacity, or whether the variable name is "primary" or "warning" or "accent."
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- REWRITE: use a different element structure entirely. Do not just swap to box-shadow inset. Reach for full borders, background tints, leading numbers/icons, or no visual indicator at all.
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BAN 2: Gradient text
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- PATTERN: `background-clip: text` (or `-webkit-background-clip: text`) combined with a gradient background
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- FORBIDDEN: any combination that makes text fill come from a `linear-gradient`, `radial-gradient`, or `conic-gradient`
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- WHY: gradient text is decorative rather than meaningful and is one of the top three AI design tells
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- REWRITE: use a single solid color for text. If you want emphasis, use weight or size, not gradient fill.
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</absolute_bans>
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DO: Use intentional, purposeful decorative elements that reinforce brand.
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DO NOT: Use border-left or border-right greater than 1px as a colored accent stripe on cards, list items, callouts, or alerts. See <absolute_bans> above for the strict CSS pattern.
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DO NOT: Use glassmorphism everywhere (blur effects, glass cards, glow borders used decoratively rather than purposefully).
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DO NOT: Use sparklines as decoration. Tiny charts that look sophisticated but convey nothing meaningful.
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DO NOT: Use rounded rectangles with generic drop shadows. Safe, forgettable, could be any AI output.
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DO NOT: Use modals unless there's truly no better alternative. Modals are lazy.
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### Motion
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→ *Consult [motion reference](reference/motion-design.md) for timing, easing, and reduced motion.*
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@@ -4,36 +4,19 @@
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**Stop using HSL.** Use OKLCH (or LCH) instead. It's perceptually uniform, meaning equal steps in lightness *look* equal—unlike HSL where 50% lightness in yellow looks bright while 50% in blue looks dark.
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```css
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/* OKLCH: lightness (0-100%), chroma (0-0.4+), hue (0-360) */
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--color-primary: oklch(60% 0.15 250); /* Blue */
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--color-primary-light: oklch(85% 0.08 250); /* Same hue, lighter */
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--color-primary-dark: oklch(35% 0.12 250); /* Same hue, darker */
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```
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The OKLCH function takes three components: `oklch(lightness chroma hue)` where lightness is 0-100%, chroma is roughly 0-0.4, and hue is 0-360. To build a primary color and its lighter / darker variants, hold the chroma+hue roughly constant and vary the lightness — but **reduce chroma as you approach white or black**, because high chroma at extreme lightness looks garish.
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**Key insight**: As you move toward white or black, reduce chroma (saturation). High chroma at extreme lightness looks garish. A light blue at 85% lightness needs ~0.08 chroma, not the 0.15 of your base color.
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The hue you pick is a brand decision and should not come from a default. Do not reach for blue (hue 250) or warm orange (hue 60) by reflex — those are the dominant AI-design defaults, not the right answer for any specific brand.
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## Building Functional Palettes
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### The Tinted Neutral Trap
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### Tinted Neutrals
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**Pure gray is dead.** Add a subtle hint of your brand hue to all neutrals:
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**Pure gray is dead.** A neutral with zero chroma feels lifeless next to a colored brand. Add a tiny chroma value (0.005-0.015) to all your neutrals, hued toward whatever your brand color is. The chroma is small enough not to read as "tinted" consciously, but it creates subconscious cohesion between brand color and UI surfaces.
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```css
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/* Dead grays */
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--gray-100: oklch(95% 0 0); /* No personality */
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--gray-900: oklch(15% 0 0);
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The hue you tint toward should come from THIS project's brand, not from a "warm = friendly, cool = tech" formula. If your brand color is teal, your neutrals lean toward teal. If your brand color is amber, they lean toward amber. The point is cohesion with the SPECIFIC brand, not a stock palette.
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/* Warm-tinted grays (add brand warmth) */
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--gray-100: oklch(95% 0.01 60); /* Hint of warmth */
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--gray-900: oklch(15% 0.01 60);
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/* Cool-tinted grays (tech, professional) */
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--gray-100: oklch(95% 0.01 250); /* Hint of blue */
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--gray-900: oklch(15% 0.01 250);
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```
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The chroma is tiny (0.01) but perceptible. It creates subconscious cohesion between your brand color and your UI.
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**Avoid** the trap of always tinting toward warm orange or always tinting toward cool blue. Those are the two laziest defaults and they create their own monoculture across projects.
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### Palette Structure
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@@ -107,17 +90,7 @@ You can't just swap colors. Dark mode requires different design decisions:
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| Vibrant accents | Desaturate accents slightly |
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| White backgrounds | Never pure black—use dark gray (oklch 12-18%) |
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```css
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/* Dark mode depth via surface color, not shadow */
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:root[data-theme="dark"] {
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--surface-1: oklch(15% 0.01 250);
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--surface-2: oklch(20% 0.01 250); /* "Higher" = lighter */
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--surface-3: oklch(25% 0.01 250);
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/* Reduce text weight slightly */
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--body-weight: 350; /* Instead of 400 */
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}
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```
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In dark mode, depth comes from surface lightness, not shadow. Build a 3-step surface scale where higher elevations are lighter (e.g. 15% / 20% / 25% lightness). Use the SAME hue and chroma as your brand color (whatever it is for THIS project — do not reach for blue) and only vary the lightness. Reduce body text weight slightly (e.g. 350 instead of 400) because light text on dark reads as heavier than dark text on light.
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### Token Hierarchy
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@@ -34,11 +34,20 @@ Use `ch` units for character-based measure (`max-width: 65ch`). Line-height scal
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**Avoid the invisible defaults**: Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Montserrat. These are everywhere, making your design feel generic. They're fine for documentation or tools where personality isn't the goal—but if you want distinctive design, look elsewhere.
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**Better Google Fonts alternatives**:
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- Instead of Inter → **Instrument Sans**, **Plus Jakarta Sans**, **Outfit**
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- Instead of Roboto → **Onest**, **Figtree**, **Urbanist**
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- Instead of Open Sans → **Source Sans 3**, **Nunito Sans**, **DM Sans**
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- For editorial/premium feel → **Fraunces**, **Newsreader**, **Lora**
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**Pick the font from the brief, not from a category preset.** The most common AI typography failure is reaching for the same "tasteful" font for every editorial brief, the same "modern" font for every tech brief, the same "elegant serif" for every premium brief. Those reflexes produce monoculture across projects. The right font is one whose physical character matches *this specific* brand, audience, and moment.
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A working selection process:
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1. Read the brief once. Write down three concrete words for the brand voice. Not "modern" or "elegant" — those are dead categories. Try "warm and mechanical and opinionated" or "calm and clinical and careful" or "fast and dense and unimpressed" or "handmade and a little weird."
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2. Now imagine the font as a physical object the brand could ship: a typewriter ribbon, a hand-lettered shop sign, a 1970s mainframe terminal manual, a fabric label on the inside of a coat, a museum exhibit caption, a tax form, a children's book printed on cheap newsprint. Whichever physical object fits the three words is pointing at the right *kind* of typeface.
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3. Browse a font catalog (Google Fonts, Pangram Pangram, Adobe Fonts, Future Fonts, ABC Dinamo) with that physical object in mind. **Reject the first thing that "looks designy."** That's your trained-everywhere reflex. Keep looking.
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4. Avoid your defaults from previous projects. If you find yourself reaching for the same display font you used last time, make yourself pick something else.
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**Anti-reflexes worth defending against**:
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- A technical/utilitarian brief does NOT need a serif "for warmth." Most tech tools should look like tech tools.
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- An editorial/premium brief does NOT need the same expressive serif everyone is using right now. Premium can be Swiss-modern, can be neo-grotesque, can be a literal monospace, can be a quiet humanist sans.
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- A children's product does NOT need a rounded display font. Kids' books use real type.
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- A "modern" brief does NOT need a geometric sans. The most modern thing you can do in 2026 is not use the font everyone else is using.
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**System fonts are underrated**: `-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", system-ui` looks native, loads instantly, and is highly readable. Consider this for apps where performance > personality.
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user