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Paul BakausandClaude Fable 5
051f856113
Answering the obvious question the family-depth framing dodged: with modes derived per task, files named for the old two-register taxonomy had no architectural reason to exist. brand.md's surviving depth (lane test + inverse test, reflex-reject lanes, color discipline, layout moves, permissions) folds into new-work.md, where all of it belonged: it is new-identity Persuade/Experience guidance. product.md's content moves unchanged to operate.md, its true name. Both old files remain as one-line redirect stubs because register: brand|product in existing PRODUCT.md files and older links point there. All cross-references retargeted (SKILL.md modes intro, context.mjs REGISTER hint, live.md, typeset.md); 85 tests green. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
61 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
61 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
# Operate mode depth (and Read notes)
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When design SERVES the product: app UIs, admin dashboards, settings panels, data tables, tools, authenticated surfaces, anything where the user is in a task. The essentials live in SKILL.md (modes, craft floor); this file is extended depth, written for Operate surfaces. Read surfaces (docs, guides, long-form) take SKILL.md's Read mode plus this file's typography and consistency rules; their prose measure and navigation matter more than component density.
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## The product slop test
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Not "would someone say AI made this." Familiarity is often a feature here. The test is: would a user fluent in the category's best tools (Linear, Figma, Notion, Raycast, Stripe come to mind) sit down and trust this interface, or pause at every subtly-off component?
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Product UI's failure mode isn't flatness, it's strangeness without purpose: over-decorated buttons, mismatched form controls, gratuitous motion, display fonts where labels should be, invented affordances for standard tasks. The bar is earned familiarity. The tool should disappear into the task.
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## Typography
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- **One family is often right.** Product UIs don't need display/body pairing. A well-tuned sans carries headings, buttons, labels, body, data. <!-- rule:product-typo-one-family -->
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- **Fixed rem scale, not fluid.** Clamp-sized headings don't serve product UI. Users view at consistent DPI, and a fluid h1 that shrinks in a sidebar looks worse, not better. <!-- rule:product-typo-fixed-rem-scale -->
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- **Tighter scale ratio.** 1.125–1.2 between steps is typical. More type elements here than on brand surfaces; exaggerated contrast creates noise. <!-- rule:product-typo-tighter-ratio -->
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- **Line length still applies for prose** (65–75ch). Data and compact UI can run denser; tables at 120ch+ are fine. <!-- rule:product-typo-line-length -->
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## Color
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Product defaults to Restrained. A single surface can earn Committed (a dashboard where one category color carries a report, an onboarding flow with a drenched welcome screen), but Restrained is the floor. <!-- rule:product-color-restrained-default -->
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- State-rich semantic vocabulary: hover, focus, active, disabled, selected, loading, error, warning, success, info. Standardize these. <!-- rule:product-color-state-vocab -->
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- Accent color used for primary actions, current selection, and state indicators only, not decoration. <!-- rule:product-color-accent-only -->
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- A second neutral layer for sidebars, toolbars, and panels (slightly cooler or warmer than the content surface). <!-- rule:product-color-second-neutral -->
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## Layout
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- Responsive behavior is structural (collapse sidebar, responsive table, breakpoint-driven columns), not fluid typography. <!-- rule:product-layout-responsive-structural -->
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## Components
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Every interactive component has: default, hover, focus, active, disabled, loading, error. Don't ship with half of these. <!-- rule:product-components-all-states -->
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- Skeleton states for loading, not spinners in the middle of content. <!-- rule:product-components-skeleton-loading -->
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- Empty states that teach the interface, not "nothing here." <!-- rule:product-components-empty-states -->
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- Consistent affordances across the surface. Same button shape. Same form-control vocabulary. Same icon style. <!-- rule:product-components-consistent-affordances -->
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## Motion
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- 150–250 ms on most transitions. Users are in flow; don't make them wait for choreography. <!-- rule:product-motion-quick-transitions -->
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- Motion conveys state, not decoration. State change, feedback, loading, reveal: nothing else. <!-- rule:product-motion-state-not-decoration -->
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- No orchestrated page-load sequences. Product loads into a task; users don't want to watch it load. <!-- rule:product-motion-no-page-load-sequence -->
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## Product bans (on top of the shared absolute bans)
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- Decorative motion that doesn't convey state. <!-- rule:product-ban-decorative-motion -->
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- Inconsistent component vocabulary across screens. If the "save" button looks different in two places, one is wrong. <!-- rule:product-ban-inconsistent-components -->
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- Display fonts in UI labels, buttons, data. <!-- rule:product-ban-display-fonts-ui -->
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- Reinventing standard affordances for flavor (custom scrollbars, weird form controls, non-standard modals). <!-- rule:product-ban-reinvented-affordances -->
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- Heavy color or full-saturation accents on inactive states. <!-- rule:product-ban-heavy-inactive-color -->
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- Modal as first thought. Modals are usually laziness. Exhaust inline / progressive alternatives first. <!-- rule:product-ban-modal-first-thought -->
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## Product permissions
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Product can afford things brand surfaces can't.
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- System fonts and familiar sans defaults (Inter, SF Pro, system-ui stacks).
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- Standard navigation patterns: top bar + side nav, breadcrumbs, tabs, command palettes.
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- Density. Tables with many rows, panels with many labels, dense information when users need it.
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- Consistency over surprise. The same visual vocabulary screen to screen is a virtue; delight is saved for moments, not pages.
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