typecraft-guide

name	typecraft-guide
description	Use for typography evaluation, cleanup, and composition guidance across web, iOS, Android, print, and presentations.

Typecraft Guide

0) When to use this skill

Use this skill whenever you need to:

• review typography quality in prose, UI copy, docs, slides, or style guides,
• convert rough copy into typography-correct copy quickly,
• generate platform-specific recommendations for text rendering.

1) Scope

The source playbook is in typography-reference.md. Source references live in the root README under Sources. This skill applies the following workflow to avoid over-correcting:

1. Identify platform + medium (web, iOS, android, print, presentation).
2. Pick goal: evaluation, improvement, or creation.
3. Apply the strongest rules first: body size, line-height, measure, contrast, and accessibility.
4. Report issues by severity (critical, important, recommended).

Reference loading policy

• Read typography-reference.md for nearly every typography task unless the request is only for a tiny stylistic rewrite.
• Read ../../README.md sources section when you need to justify a contested/platform-specific recommendation or include source-backed rationale.
• Read neither if the task is purely mechanical (e.g., “fix only one typo in body text already marked for correction”).

2) Operating rules

Core defaults

• Start with body typography first; all other styles derive from it.
• Keep confidence tags: [STRONG], [MODERATE], [CONTESTED], [PLATFORM].
• Prefer short, testable edits. Avoid style churn unless it changes readability or accessibility.

Severity definitions

• critical: violates legal/accessibility requirements or makes content hard to read.
• important: materially reduces readability, hierarchy, or consistency.
• recommended: improves polish, consistency, or maintainability.

Default evaluation sequence

1. Body size / line-height / measure.
2. Punctuation marks and special characters.
3. Emphasis (bold/italic/all-caps/small-caps/links).
4. Color contrast and hierarchy.
5. Spacing, tables, lists, platform constraints.
6. Accessibility and platform-specific checks.

3) Required output

For each pass, emit:

• Verdict: pass/fail/needs work.
• Top 3 findings with severity and exact rule.
• Before/after snippets where a concrete edit is beneficial.
• Short rationale tied to the platform context.
• Final check: contrast, scaling, and spacing tolerance.

When ambiguity exists, ask one targeted follow-up before making irreversible editorial changes (for example: copy tone constraints, brand style, legal typography requirements).

4) Platform and policy triggers

• Always read: ./typography-reference.md
• Always reference: ../../README.md#sources-with-publicationupdate-dates
• For strict code tasks, keep changes minimal and preserve existing copy intent.
• If a request is purely factual and asks for a rule table, provide the concise checklist and no narrative.

5) End condition

Stop when:

• all critical findings are addressed or explicitly deferred with rationale,
• the resulting result preserves original meaning,
• and accessibility thresholds are met (WCAG 2.2 requirements in the reference).