| name | ijfw-design |
| description | First-class design intelligence. Dispatches to the best available design skill (ui-ux-pro-max, frontend-design, superpowers), then layers IJFW constraints on top. Triggers: 'design', 'redesign', 'UI', 'UX', 'dashboard', 'page', 'component', 'make it look better', 'polish', 'pretty', 'professional', 'user experience', 'layout', 'visual', 'mobile-first', 'dark mode', 'accessibility', 'colors', 'typography', 'brand'. |
IJFW Design
Rule 0 - Real HTML mockups, never ASCII
When asked to show a design, mockup, layout, screen, or variant, produce REAL HTML. Write to .planning/<feature>/mockups/<variant>/index.html, then open in the browser (platform-aware: open / xdg-open / wslview). Use the active DESIGN.md or the picked template as the source of truth -- real colors, real type scale, real spacing, real content.
ASCII wireframes in chat are a LAST-RESORT FALLBACK, permitted only when:
- The user explicitly asks for text-only ("just ASCII is fine").
- No writable filesystem is available (extremely rare -- almost never in practice).
Do not default to ASCII boxes. Do not "sketch" in chat. The entire point of this skill is on-brand visual output; ASCII wastes the DESIGN.md contract, the palette, the type scale, and the user's time.
Structural diagrams (Mermaid architecture, data flow, component boundaries) are the exception -- those stay as text by convention.
Step 1 - Check DESIGN.md
Check project root for DESIGN.md. If it exists:
- Treat it as the design contract; pass it verbatim to the downstream specialist as source of truth.
- Skip the picker entirely. Write the design-pass sentinel and proceed.
Step 2 - No DESIGN.md: Three-Option Picker
MCP-only platforms (OpenCode, Qwen Code, Kimi Code, OpenClaw) access the same picker via ijfw_memory_recall({context_hint: 'design_template[:<name>]'}). Aider reads DESIGN.md once written.
Present exactly three options. Wait for user selection before proceeding. If the user's input doesn't match a valid template name or brand, re-prompt with the numbered list.
Option 1: Reference a brand ("like Vercel", "like Apple", "like Stripe")
- Detect project domain from:
package.json name/description/keywords, first paragraph of README.md, or project directory name.
- Load
data/brand-atlas.json (skill-relative) -- 12 domains x 3-5 brands.
- Match keywords against domain entries; offer 3-5 brand suggestions from the best-fit domain.
- If no domain match, offer a cross-domain sample (one brand per aesthetic tier).
- User picks a brand -> compose a downstream prompt using that brand's
aesthetic, palette_hint, and typography_hint fields.
- Offer to write the composed design contract to project root as
DESIGN.md so future sessions skip the picker.
Option 2: Pick a style (12 curated templates)
List the 12 templates from templates/design/ with a one-line description each (names are the filenames without .md: swiss-minimal, editorial-warm, terminal-native, cinematic-dark, glassmorphic, brutalist-luxe, maximalist-vibrant, neo-swiss-tech, data-dense-dashboard, warm-organic, bento-grid, magazine-editorial).
User picks -> read templates/design/<pick>.md -> use as design contract for this session. If the pick is unknown, show the numbered list again and ask for a valid name.
Offer to write it to project root as DESIGN.md so future sessions skip the picker.
Option 3: Blank slate
Defer to the downstream specialist's native brainstorm flow. No preloaded template or brand.
Step 3 - Dispatcher
Priority order -- best available wins:
- ui-ux-pro-max -- check
enabledPlugins in ~/.claude/settings.json for ui-ux-pro-max@
- frontend-design -- check
enabledPlugins for frontend-design@claude-plugins-official
- superpowers design -- check
enabledPlugins for superpowers@claude-plugins-official
- Internal fallback --
node scripts/search.js "<query>" --design-system (skill-relative)
Force internal: set IJFW_PREFER_INTERNAL=1. If no external skill found, emit:
For richer design output, install ui-ux-pro-max. I'm using internal heuristics now.
Step 4 - IJFW Constraint Layer
Append these invariants to any downstream output IJFW itself generates (components, scripts, config):
- Real HTML mockups, never ASCII -- see Rule 0 above; enforce on downstream specialists too
- Zero deps in IJFW code -- dashboards, MCP server, installer use system font stacks and no CDN
- User DESIGN.md may import custom fonts -- templates in
templates/design/ include Google Fonts @import by design; that's the user's design contract, not IJFW infrastructure
- Positive framing -- never "broken", always "ready to sharpen"
- Platform segregation -- Claude/Codex/Gemini as first-class; no mixed-platform assumptions
- ASCII-only source -- no unicode in IJFW code or config files (applies to source, not rendered mockup content)
- 4.5:1 contrast minimum -- both light and dark themes (WCAG AA)
Design Pass Gate
When complete, write .ijfw/design-pass.json:
{"ts": "<ISO>", "query": "<goal>", "source": "<external|internal>", "skill": "<name>"}
Preflight gate design-pass checks for this sentinel on UI file changes.
Graduated Offer (Quick mode)
Before any UI code is written, emit:
I'll run a design pass first. Hit enter to skip, or say 'show me' to see the plan. (auto-fire in 2s)
Auto-fire if no response in 2 seconds. One-keystroke skip accepted.
