bolder

name	bolder
description	Amplify safe or boring Puree UI designs to make them more visually interesting and stimulating. Increases impact while maintaining usability.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	Describe the component or panel section to amplify (e.g. "header bar", "action buttons")

Increase visual impact and personality in designs that are too safe, generic, or visually underwhelming, creating more engaging and memorable Puree interfaces.

MANDATORY PREPARATION

Use the frontend-design skill — it contains design principles, anti-patterns, and the Context Gathering Protocol. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no design context exists yet, you MUST run teach-impeccable first.

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Assess Current State

Analyze what makes the design feel too safe or boring:

1. Identify weakness sources:

   • Generic choices: Default fonts, basic colors, standard layouts
   • Timid scale: Everything is medium-sized with no drama
   • Low contrast: Everything has similar visual weight
   • Static: No hover states, no transitions, no life
   • Predictable: Standard patterns with no surprises
   • Flat hierarchy: Nothing stands out or commands attention

2. Understand the context:

   • What's the brand personality? (How far can we push?)
   • What's the purpose? (Creative tools can be bolder than data panels)
   • Who's the audience? (What will resonate?)
   • What are the constraints? (Blender addon context, panel sizes)

If any of these are unclear from the codebase, ask the user directly to clarify what you cannot infer.

CRITICAL: "Bolder" doesn't mean chaotic or garish. It means distinctive, memorable, and confident. Think intentional drama, not random chaos.

WARNING - AI SLOP TRAP: When making things "bolder," AI defaults to the same tired tricks: cyan/purple gradients, glassmorphism, neon accents on dark backgrounds, gradient text on metrics. These are the OPPOSITE of bold—they're generic. Review ALL the DON'T guidelines in the frontend-design skill before proceeding. Bold means distinctive, not "more effects."

Plan Amplification

Create a strategy to increase impact while maintaining coherence:

• Focal point: What should be the hero moment? (Pick ONE, make it amazing)
• Personality direction: Maximalist chaos? Elegant drama? Playful energy? Dark moody? Choose a lane.
• Risk budget: How experimental can we be? Push boundaries within constraints.
• Hierarchy amplification: Make big things BIGGER, small things smaller (increase contrast)

IMPORTANT: Bold design must still be usable. Impact without function is just decoration.

Amplify the Design

Systematically increase impact across these dimensions:

Typography Amplification

• Replace generic fonts: Swap default fonts for distinctive choices loaded via YAML font: attribute from the fonts/ directory
• Extreme scale: Create dramatic size jumps (3x-5x differences, not 1.5x)
• Weight contrast: Pair bold with light weights, not semibold with regular
• Unexpected choices: Display fonts for headlines, condensed/extended widths

# Bold headline with dramatic scale
hero_title:
  font: NeueMontreal-Bold
  class: hero_title

.hero_title {
  font-size: 64px;
  color: $accent;
  letter-spacing: -1px;
}

.body_text {
  font-size: 14px;
  font-weight: normal;
  color: $text-secondary;
}

Color Intensification

• Increase saturation: Shift to more vibrant, energetic colors (but not neon)
• Bold palette: Introduce unexpected color combinations — avoid the purple-blue gradient AI slop
• Dominant color strategy: Let one bold color own 60% of the design
• Sharp accents: High-contrast accent colors that pop
• Tinted neutrals: Replace pure grays with tinted grays that harmonize with your palette
• Rich gradients: Intentional multi-stop gradients (not generic purple-to-blue)

$bold-accent: #e74c3c;
$surface-tinted: #1a1a2e;

.feature_card {
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, $surface-tinted, darken($surface-tinted, 5%));
  border: 2px solid $bold-accent;
  border-radius: 12px;
}

Spatial Drama

• Extreme scale jumps: Make important elements 3-5x larger than surroundings
• Asymmetric layouts: Replace centered, balanced layouts with tension-filled asymmetry
• Generous space: Use whitespace dramatically (64-128px gaps, not 8-16px)

Visual Effects

• Dramatic shadows: Large, soft box-shadow for elevation

.hero_panel {
  box-shadow: 0px 20px 60px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
  border-radius: 16px;
}

• Background treatments: Gradients, colored surfaces, intentional contrast
• Borders & frames: Thick borders, decorative border-image gradients
• Custom elements: Illustrative imagery that reinforces brand

Transitions & State Changes

• Confident hover states: Noticeable color shifts on hover, not timid 5% changes

.action_btn {
  background-color: $bold-accent;
  color: #fff;
  transition: background-color 0.2s ease, opacity 0.15s ease;

  &:hover {
    background-color: lighten($bold-accent, 10%);
  }

  &:active {
    background-color: darken($bold-accent, 15%);
    opacity: 0.9;
  }
}

• Opacity reveals: Use opacity transitions for content that appears on interaction

Composition Boldness

• Hero moments: Create clear focal points with dramatic treatment
• Unexpected proportions: Try 70/30, 80/20 splits instead of safe 50/50
• Full-bleed elements: Use full container width for impact

NEVER:

• Add effects randomly without purpose (chaos ≠ bold)
• Sacrifice readability for aesthetics (body text must be readable)
• Make everything bold (then nothing is bold — need contrast)
• Overwhelm with transitions (transition fatigue is real)
• Copy trendy aesthetics blindly (bold means distinctive, not derivative)
• Try to use transform, @keyframes, or z-index — they don't exist in Puree

Verify Quality

Ensure amplification maintains usability and coherence:

• NOT AI slop: Does this look like every other AI-generated "bold" design? If yes, start over.
• Still functional: Can users accomplish tasks without distraction?
• Coherent: Does everything feel intentional and unified?
• Memorable: Will users remember this experience?
• Performant: Do transitions run smoothly?

The test: If you showed this to someone and said "AI made this bolder," would they believe you immediately? If yes, you've failed. Bold means distinctive, not "more AI effects."

Remember: Bold design is confident design. It takes risks, makes statements, and creates memorable experiences. But bold without strategy is just loud. Be intentional, be dramatic, be unforgettable.