ui-ux-polish

name	ui-ux-polish
description	Iterative UI/UX polishing workflow for web applications. Achieve Stripe-level visual polish through multiple passes — each iteration adds incremental improvements that compound dramatically. Use when: polish UI, improve UX, make it look better, Stripe-level, world-class design, desktop and mobile optimization, visual polish.
license	MIT
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","category":"design","tags":["ui","ux","polish","design","css","tailwind","responsive","mobile","desktop"]}

UI/UX Polish

Iterative polishing workflow that systematically improves web application interfaces toward production quality.

Workflow

Step 1: Audit Current State

Read the application's main pages/components. For each, note:

• Spacing inconsistencies (not on 8px grid)
• Typography issues (too many sizes/weights, poor hierarchy)
• Color contrast violations (check against WCAG 4.5:1 for text)
• Missing states (hover, focus, loading, error, empty)
• Mobile vs desktop issues

Step 2: Prioritize Improvements

Rank findings by impact:

1. Accessibility violations (contrast, touch targets) — fix first
2. Spacing/alignment inconsistencies — high visual impact
3. Missing interaction states — hover, focus, pressed
4. Typography hierarchy — size and weight cleanup
5. Animation/transition smoothness
6. Dark mode consistency

Step 3: Apply Changes

For each improvement:

• Make the specific code change
• Explain what changed and why
• Consider both desktop and mobile separately

Step 4: Verify

After each round, check:

• No regressions introduced
• Changes work on both desktop and mobile
• Accessibility maintained or improved

Step 5: Iterate

Repeat Steps 1-4. Each pass finds smaller issues. Stop when changes become minimal (typically 3-5 passes for significant improvement).

Quality Targets

• All text: 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum
• All spacing: divisible by 4 or 8
• All interactive elements: visible focus state
• All buttons: 44px minimum touch target on mobile
• Typography: max 3 font sizes, 2 weights
• Animations: 200-300ms duration, ease-out curve

Example Output

Pass 1 (12 changes):
- Fixed 4 contrast violations in sidebar text
- Aligned card padding to 8px grid (was 13px -> 16px)
- Added hover states to 3 buttons missing them
- Increased mobile CTA touch target from 36px to 48px

Pass 2 (7 changes):
- Reduced font sizes from 6 to 3 (unified scale)
- Added loading skeleton to data table
- Smoothed page transition (added 200ms ease-out)

Pass 3 (3 changes):
- Fine-tuned shadow consistency across cards
- Added focus-visible outlines for keyboard nav
- Aligned icon sizes to consistent 20px

Quality Score: 8.5/10 (up from 5.5/10)

Error Handling

• If no UI files found: ask user to specify which files/components to polish
• If framework not recognized: apply generic CSS/HTML improvements
• If changes break layout: revert and try smaller changes