graphic-design-planner

name	graphic-design-planner
type	planner
description	Plan graphic assets and campaign systems — visual direction, brand alignment, deliverables.
version	0.1.0

Graphic Design Planner Skill

Plan graphic deliverables before production work begins.

JTBD (Jobs To Be Done)

Primary Job

When I need to produce graphic assets or a campaign system but the visual direction, format requirements, and production specs are not yet settled, I want a concrete graphic design direction and production plan before asset creation begins, so I can avoid the expensive cycle of revising half-finished work when brand requirements, channel specs, or export rules surface too late.

Secondary Jobs

• When a campaign spans multiple channels and formats, I want asset matrix, dimension specs, and export rules defined up front, so I can hand off files that don't require production rework.
• When stakeholders disagree on visual direction or brand application, I want the tradeoffs between concept options made explicit and decided before design work begins, so I can stop iterating on undecided direction.
• When a graphic-design-critic review returned REVISE or REJECT findings, I want a structured remediation plan that addresses hierarchy, legibility, or brand gaps, so I can close the specific defects rather than guessing what to fix.

Job Layers

• Functional: Turn brand constraints, channel requirements, and content goals into an executable graphic design direction with named visual direction, asset matrix, production specs, and handoff package definition.
• Emotional: Reduce the fear of delivering files that look polished on screen but fail in print, export incorrectly at scale, or violate brand requirements discovered at the last stage.
• Social: Helps the user present a defensible production plan to creative directors, brand leads, and channel owners before expensive design work starts.

This Skill Is For

• A designer or creative lead about to produce campaign visuals, social asset packs, infographics, or presentation graphics who needs brand-aligned specs and a production plan before the first file is opened.
• A team with conflicting channel requirements (print bleed vs. screen color profiles vs. social crop zones) who needs one agreed production direction.
• A designer recovering from a graphic-design-critic REVISE or REJECT verdict who needs a structured fix plan addressing the specific gaps found.

This Skill Is NOT For

• A user with finished graphic assets who needs a quality verdict; use graphic-design-critic instead.
• A user looking for quick ad hoc tips with no real planning or scope-setting problem.

Paired With

• graphic-design-critic: After the graphic asset or campaign system exists, use it to audit the result and surface real risks.
• design-partner: Use this when the unresolved problem is more about broader design direction before production-specific planning.

Resolution Paths

User's Situation	What Happens	What They Leave With
Has requirements but no visual direction or production specs	The skill defines concept direction, asset matrix, channel specs, and export rules	A production-ready plan with named visual direction and handoff package definition
Has multi-channel or multi-stakeholder conflicts	The skill makes format, color, and brand tradeoffs explicit and sets decision checkpoints	Agreed production direction with documented tradeoffs
Has failed graphic-design-critic findings	The skill converts hierarchy, legibility, or brand gaps into remediation tasks	A targeted fix plan with evidence-linked remediation steps

When to Escalate

• If the user already has finished or near-finished assets and needs a quality verdict, escalate to graphic-design-critic.
• If the user's unresolved problem is primarily about setting broader design concept or creative direction before production planning, escalate to design-partner.

Use When

• Designing campaign visuals, social assets, infographics, or presentation graphics
• Defining brand-consistent visual systems for non-UI deliverables
• Planning asset packs across channels and formats

MCP Baseline

• Figma MCP for source components/tokens and review context
• Pencil MCP for composition iteration
• Playwright MCP when validating graphics embedded in web contexts

Shared Research Reference

Apply the shared research-backed workflow before producing a plan: design-skills/shared-design-core/.claude/skills/shared-design-core/references/research-backed-design-workflow.md

Research-Backed Planning Preflight

Before Phase 1:

• Build a Reference Inventory from brand sources, prior assets, user examples, public research-only references, channel specs, style vocabulary, anti-patterns, and missing evidence.
• Read DESIGN.md and DESIGN_MEMORY.md when present. Preserve token names, visual rationale, source provenance, and rejected directions unless the user requests a change.
• Capture Design Memory Notes for durable concept, typography, color, layout, asset-system, and export decisions.
• Translate inspiration into local principles. Do not copy public reference assets, branded styles, screenshots, or prompt bodies into the deliverable.
• Keep evaluation assumptions local-first: legibility checks, crop/safe-zone checks, contrast checks, export validation, and no Anthropic API for benchmark execution unless explicitly overridden by the user.

Planning Protocol

1. Scope & Context (audience, channel, reference inventory, style vocabulary, anti-patterns, non-goals)
2. Existing Architecture Analysis (brand system, prior assets, DESIGN.md/DESIGN_MEMORY.md continuity, constraints)
3. Graphic Domain Design

• concept direction, hierarchy, typography/color system, asset matrix (formats/sizes), State Matrix for production/review states, accessibility checks

4. Assumption Register
5. Test Strategy (legibility, format validation, channel simulation)
6. Implementation Tasks
7. Review Checkpoint Plan

Executor Routing Decision Matrix

After defining the asset matrix and visual direction, determine which executor backend should generate each asset. Apply these signals:

Signal	Route To	Reason
Social media graphics (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X)	gemini-image-executor	Atmospheric quality, platform-ready PNG
Event posters, flyers	gemini-image-executor	Organic depth, visual richness
Hero/marketing images	gemini-image-executor	Natural atmosphere, dimensional feel
Product feature showcases	gemini-image-executor	Atmospheric backgrounds, organic gradients
Data visualizations, statistical charts	infographic-executor	Data integrity, accessibility, editability
Brand guidelines, style sheets	graphic-design-executor	Precision, verifiable values, editability
Infographics with data claims	infographic-executor	Proportional accuracy, accessible text, citations
Icons, logos	graphic-design-executor	Scalability, vector precision
Reference documents, spec sheets	graphic-design-executor	Editability, systematic layout
Campaign sets (mixed channel)	SPLIT	Route each asset individually

Contested cases (where both formats are viable) default to gemini-image-executor unless the task requires any of: data accuracy verification, accessibility compliance, post-generation editability, or scalability to arbitrary resolution. Any of those signals flip the default to graphic-design-executor.

Hard Gates

• No plan without a Reference Inventory and Design Memory Notes section
• No plan without a named visual direction and rationale
• No plan without channel-specific asset specs (dimensions, format, export rules)
• No plan without contrast/legibility requirements
• No plan without handoff package definition
• No plan without an Executor Routing section
• No plan that copies public reference assets or branded visual systems

Required Output Contract

Use these top-level headings exactly:

• ## Scope & Context
• ## Existing Architecture Analysis
• ## Graphic Domain Design
• ## Reference Inventory
• ## Design Memory Notes
• ## Assumption Register
• ## Test Strategy
• ## Implementation Tasks
• ## Review Checkpoint Plan
• ## Executor Routing
• ## Contract Appendix

Executor Routing Section Format

## Executor Routing

**Recommended executor:** gemini-image-executor | graphic-design-executor | infographic-executor
**Rationale:** [1-2 sentences citing the deciding factor from the routing matrix]
**Override:** To use a different executor, state "use [executor name]" when invoking.
**Fallback:** If Gemini is unavailable (missing GOOGLE_API_KEY), fall back to graphic-design-executor.

For campaign sets with mixed channels, emit a per-asset routing table:

**Mixed campaign — per-asset routing:**
| Asset | Executor | Rationale |
|-------|----------|-----------|
| Instagram 1:1 card | gemini-image-executor | Atmospheric, platform-ready |
| Brand guideline page | graphic-design-executor | Precision, editability |

Inside ## Contract Appendix, include:

• ### Architecture Overview
• ### State Matrix
• ### Source/Provenance Notes
• ### Implementation Tasks
• ### Failure Modes