mono-color

# Mono-Color Editorial Print Skill Turn any user theme, sentence, or reference photo into an original printed editorial artifact with one stable visual language: adaptive neutral substrate + one or two inks + mechanically reproduced image + typographic tension + concise human voice. This skill designs and generates the image; it does not imitate any one reference, copy a source composition, wording, logo, or artwork, and it never uses more than two printing inks. ## When to Use The user asks for a monochrome editorial poster, duotone print, risograph/zine poster, halftone photo treatment, one-ink or two-ink cover, or names the mono-color style. Chinese trigger vocabulary includes 单色海报、双色印刷、单色调视觉、蓝色/绿色孔版印刷、网点照片、复古或当代编辑排版. Do not trigger merely because a request mentions a color. ## Prerequisites - The Hermes `image_generate` tool (search/describe it via the deferred-tool catalog if not loaded). If image generation is unavailable, deliver prompt-only and say so. - The `design-system/` catalogs bundled with this skill (see Quick Reference). ## Quick Reference Print modes: | Mode | When | |---|---| | Pure one-ink | User explicitly requests one ink, monochrome, or one named ink without a second color | | Chromatic ink + black | Quiet, observational, natural, architectural, long-form subjects; chromatic plate carries the image, carbon/charcoal carries text | | Complementary duotone | General default; dominant plate 70–85%, accent 15–30% with a specific role; fallback pair Cobalt + Terracotta `#2148B8` + `#C65F38` | | Overprint duotone | Two plates deliberately overlap; the darker mixed zone is not a third ink | Catalogs (source of truth — **when an exact value differs, the catalog wins over any prose**; read only the catalog relevant to the current decision): | File | Provides | |---|---| | `design-system/colors.json` | Substrate IDs + exact hex, one-ink palette, approved two-ink pairs | | `design-system/compositions.json` | Layout-family IDs and geometry | | `design-system/typography.json` | Type-hierarchy role IDs | | `design-system/rhythm.json` | Visual tension profiles, focal events, unresolved edges | | `design-system/imperfections.json` | Controlled print-imperfection effect IDs and ranges | | `design-system/carriers.json` | Carrier signals (poster, journal page, cover, etc.) | References: - `references/visual-language.md` — full color/space/image-treatment/typography/tone rules - `references/composition.md` — layout decision flow, layout families, composition grammar, rhythm - `references/quality-gate.md` — originality firewall, hard avoids, inspection checklist ## Procedure 1. **Read the input.** Extract five things: - **Subject:** the one person, object, scene, or idea that must remain recognizable. - **Intent:** poetic observation, announcement, field note, personal statement, cultural poster, or specimen page. - **Words:** preserve exact supplied text verbatim in its original language — never translate or rewrite it. If no text is supplied, invent one English display phrase of 2–8 words and keep it stable across retries. Omit text only on explicit request. - **Image role:** hero photograph, isolated specimen, cropped fragment, texture source, or none. - **Representation:** faithful reproduction (default) or abstract symbol extraction (when the user asks for abstract, artistic, loose, experimental, less realistic, or less photographic treatment). For a complex topic, pick one concrete visual metaphor; do not illustrate every point. If the user supplies an image, preserve its identity and factual content — crop/isolate/halftone it, never replace the subject or invent branded details. 2. **Resolve the recipe manifest.** Fill every field; do not skip any and do not expose the manifest unless the user asks for process details. Look up IDs and exact values in `design-system/`. ````yaml subject: <one recognizable subject> intent: <one intent from Input Reading> exact_text: <user text, generated 2-8 word phrase, or none> text_language: <language of supplied text, otherwise English> representation: <faithful reproduction or abstract symbol extraction> ratio: <explicit ratio or 3:4> carrier: <one carrier ID from design-system/carriers.json or none> substrate: <one substrate ID and exact hex from design-system/colors.json> mode: <pure one-ink, chromatic + black, complementary duotone, or overprint duotone> palette: <one palette ID from design-system/colors.json> inks: <the palette's named ink or approved pair with exact hex values> plate_roles: <one explicit role per ink plate> layout: <one composition ID from design-system/compositions.json> empty_paper: <explicit percentage> visual_tension: <relaxed, balanced, or assertive from design-system/rhythm.json> focal_event: <one strong visual event from design-system/rhythm.json> release_zone: <one deliberately quiet region that gives the focal event room> unresolved_edge: <one optional edge behavior from design-system/rhythm.json or none> image_treatment: <one mechanical reproduction process> type_hierarchy: <one role ID from design-system/typography.json> disruption: <one deliberate disruption> imperfection_seed: <stable hash derived from the resolved recipe> imperfections: <0-2 restrained effect IDs for contemporary work, or 2-3 for tactile/vintage work> ```` Defaults when the user hasn't chosen: ratio `3:4`; substrate Neutral White `#FAFAF7` (Cool Gray `#E9E9E5` for architecture/tech/restrained; Pale Beige `#F5F1E8` only for tactile/archival/nostalgic subjects — never assume beige merely because the work uses halftone or risograph language); mode complementary duotone with Cobalt + Terracotta; empty paper `35%`; tension `relaxed` for reflective/leisure/unspecified cultural subjects, `balanced` for editorial information, `assertive` only for forceful declarations; disruption = one off-center image crop, or one oversized word when there is no image. Explicit user choices override defaults unless they violate the two-ink limit or the originality firewall. Identical inputs must resolve to the identical manifest — never vary palette, layout, percentages, or process for novelty. Resolve generic color words consistently: blue→Cobalt, green→Botanical Green, orange→Terracotta Orange, red→Signal Red, purple→Aubergine, black→Charcoal; green+black→Mint Green + Charcoal; blue+orange→Cobalt + Terracotta. Exact named inks always take precedence. 3. **Choose the layout.** Walk the decision flow in `references/composition.md` top to bottom and take the first match (events→ruled information poster; botanical→archival plate; repeated object→object field; crossing layers→overprint collage; supplied photo→image field or editorial cover; isolated objects→specimen annotation; phrase-as-subject→type-led declaration; essay-like→editorial journal; otherwise editorial cover). 4. **Compile the prompt** in five compact paragraphs, in order: 1. **Canvas and ink:** ratio, exact substrate hex and reason, exact one/two-ink palette hexes, print mode, plate roles, flat front-facing page (no mockup, frame, desk, or shadow). 2. **Original composition:** layout family, tension profile, one focal event, one release zone, margins (5–9%), empty-paper percentage (25–55%), grid, dominant object scale (45–80% of page) and edge crop, optional unresolved edge, one manual gesture. 3. **Subject:** what appears; for faithful reproduction, preservation/crop/halftone/paper exposure; for abstract extraction, the 2–4 identity anchors, dominant mass, structural contour, repeated rhythm, and where exposed paper cuts through. 4. **Typography and words:** hierarchy, type voices, exact short display text, and the explicit overlap/crossing/split/tight alignment between headline and dominant object. 5. **Material and avoids:** dots, fibers, bleed, misregistration, plus the hard negative constraints from `references/quality-gate.md`. Describe only visible outcomes. Never mention reference artists, studios, sample posters, or "in the style of." 5. **Generate and inspect.** Call `image_generate` with the compiled prompt. Inspect at full and thumbnail size against the checklist in `references/quality-gate.md`; regenerate once on failure (extra ink, missing plate roles, empty paper outside 25–55%, unrecognizable subject, no ≥5x type scale jump, garbled text, composition copying a reference, no identifiable focal event). If exact text still renders wrong after one retry, generate a text-light base image and state that typography should be overlaid in a layout tool — never pretend distorted text is correct. 6. **Deliver.** Save outputs under `./mono-color-output/` in the user's working directory (create it if needed), or another location the user names. Present: 1. the generated image (path or rendered); 2. the final prompt in a fenced `text` block; 3. a short recipe note: Mode, Ink (exact hexes), Layout, Type (editorial + utility voice), Process, and one Originality sentence naming the structural departures from any supplied reference. Stop at prompt-only only when the user explicitly asks or image generation is unavailable. ## Pitfalls - **Never more than two printing inks.** The substrate is not an ink; overprint mixing and density variation are not extra inks. Gradients, rainbow accents, and full-color photography are always out. - **Catalog wins over prose.** When a hex, ID, range, or geometry in `design-system/` differs from any prose description, use the catalog value. - **Preserve supplied text verbatim** — original language, exact wording, no translation unless asked. Never distort microcopy or factual text with imperfection effects. - **Never copy a source composition, wording, logo, or artwork.** Change at least four structural features from any supplied reference (see the originality firewall). No fake signatures, mastheads, sponsors, URLs, or invented branding. - **Contemporary by default.** Do not add yellowed paper, sepia, distressed borders, or retro props merely because the work uses halftone or limited inks — only when the user asks for vintage/archival mood. - **One focal event, one release zone.** Never center everything, never distribute elements evenly like a template, never fill the quiet zone with decoration. ## Verification - Manifest fully resolved, all IDs present in the `design-system/` catalogs. - Result uses one intentional white/gray/pale-beige substrate and ≤2 inks with clear plate roles. - 25–55% visibly empty paper; one dominant object at 45–80%; headline visibly crosses or locks to it. - Type hierarchy shows a 5–12x scale jump with ≤3 type voices. - Supplied subject and text preserved exactly; ≥4 structural features differ from every supplied reference. - An image was generated (unless prompt-only was requested) and saved under the output directory, and the recipe note was delivered. ## Notice Upstream example artwork is not included: `examples/` in the source repo is all-rights-reserved (see upstream ASSET-LICENSE.md); only MIT-licensed text and design-system catalogs are vendored here. Code and text are MIT (see `LICENSE.txt`).