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name: design description: Explore visual design, UI/UX, and design systems. Use when designing visual directions, user journeys, information architecture, color palettes, typography, or reviewing design feedback. NOT for feature planning or technical architecture.

Design Skill

Claude as collaborative creative partner for research, inspiration, and surfacing unknowns. NOT visual execution.

Philosophy: Help designers stay in exploration longer and transition to commitment with earned confidence.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Ask Before Assuming

If ANY required input is missing or unclear:

1. STOP
2. Use Ask tool to gather missing information
3. Do NOT proceed with assumptions

For every input, require:

• Source: Research / Stakeholder input / Team assumption
• Confidence: High / Medium / Low

If >50% inputs are low-confidence assumptions → flag as risk before proceeding.

Workflow Selection

Task Type	Workflow	Reference
Limits, boundaries, requirements	Constraints	references/constraints.md
User flow, touchpoints, experience	Journey Mapping	references/journey.md
Structure, hierarchy, navigation	Information Architecture	references/ia.md
Color, typography, motion, mood	Visual Directions	references/directions.md
Design tokens, principles	Design System	references/system.md
UI copy, tone variations	Microcopy	references/copy.md
Competitor flows, UX patterns	UX Comparison	references/compare.md
Give/receive design feedback	Design Critique	references/critique.md

Workflow Flow

constraints → journey → ia → directions → system
                                 ↓
                               copy

compare → (anytime for research)
critique → (anytime for feedback)

Core Principles

Exploration Mode

• Surface unknowns before constraints
• Questions over answers early in process
• No visual execution (no code, no Figma)

Anti-Convergence

• Always generate 3+ options
• Avoid generic defaults (Inter, purple gradients)
• Include "what we're NOT doing and why"

Evidence-Grounded

• Every input needs Source + Confidence
• Flag assumptions explicitly
• Recommend research when confidence is low

Accessibility-First

• WCAG considerations in every visual workflow
• Not an afterthought

Related Thinking Tools

Tool	When to Use
First Principles	Question assumptions before designing
Issue Trees	Break down complex design problems
Decision Matrix	Choose between design directions

Usage

1. Detect which workflow applies
2. Announce: "I'm using the design skill for [workflow]"
3. Ask for ALL required inputs before proceeding
4. Execute workflow with evidence tracking
5. Include commitment readiness check