CO

common-ui-design

A design-first approach to building interfaces with a focus on intentional aesthetics and consistent styling.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/common-ui-design && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/18656" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/common-ui-design && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/common-ui-design

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Design distinctive, production-grade frontend UI with bold aesthetic choices. Use when building web components, pages, interfaces, dashboards, or applications in any framework (React, Next.js, Angular, Vue, HTML/CSS).
217 chars✓ has a “when” trigger
Intermediate

Key capabilities

  • Commit to deliberate aesthetic direction before coding
  • Define purpose and tone for UI design
  • Establish visual differentiation for interfaces
  • Select distinctive typography and color themes
  • Plan motion and spatial composition for UI

How it works

The skill enforces a design-thinking phase to clarify purpose, tone, and differentiation, then provides guidelines for aesthetic dimensions like typography, color, motion, and spatial composition.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
User request to build web components, pages, or applications
You get back
A defined aesthetic direction for UI, including typography, color, motion, and spatial composition

When to use common-ui-design

  • Designing a dashboard
  • Building a landing page
  • Creating UI components
  • Improving interface aesthetics

About this skill

UI Design Direction

Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)

Before writing any code, commit to deliberate aesthetic direction.

Phase 0: Design Thinking (Mandatory Pre-Code)

Answer these before touching implementation:

  1. Purpose: What problem this UI solve? Who uses it?
  2. Tone: Pick one extreme and commit — brutally minimal | maximalist | retro-futuristic | editorial/magazine | luxury/refined | brutalist/raw | playful/toy-like | organic/natural | art deco | industrial/utilitarian
  3. Differentiation: Name one thing user will remember about this interface.

Bold maximalism and refined minimalism both work — intentionality, not intensity, key.

Aesthetic Dimensions

Typography

  • Pair distinctive display font + refined body font; never default to system fonts.
  • Self-host via next/font, @font-face, or Google Fonts API — never CDN <link> in production.
  • See Font Pairing & Tone Examples

Color & Theme

  • Dominant color + sharp accent > timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
  • Use CSS custom properties (--color-primary, --color-accent) for consistency.
  • Commit: dark or light — don't default to light because it feels "safe".

Motion

  • One well-orchestrated entrance (staggered reveals, animation-delay) > scattered micro-interactions.
  • CSS-first: @keyframes, transition, animation-delay; React: Motion library for complex sequences.
  • See Motion Patterns

Spatial Composition

  • Break grid intentionally: asymmetry, overlap, diagonal flow, grid-breaking elements.
  • Generous negative space OR controlled density — never accidental middleground.

Backgrounds & Depth

  • Create atmosphere: gradient meshes, noise textures, layered transparencies, grain overlays.
  • Dramatic shadows and decorative borders should match chosen tone.
  • Solid white/gray backgrounds = missed creative opportunity.

Anti-Patterns

  • No generic font defaults: Inter/Roboto/Arial/system-ui produce forgettable UIs; choose characterful fonts.
  • No purple-gradient-on-white: Most overused AI aesthetic; commit to something context-specific.
  • No scattered animations: One orchestrated entrance beats ten random hover effects.
  • No accidental layouts: Every spacing and positioning decision must serve aesthetic intent.
  • No same aesthetic twice: Vary light/dark, font style, tone — never converge on single style.

References

Canonical response anchors

When this skill applies, preserve the following domain terminology or equivalent concrete examples in the answer when relevant:

  • aesthetic

  • Additional task-grounded exact anchors: typography

When not to use it

  • When using generic font defaults like Inter/Roboto/Arial
  • When using purple-gradient-on-white aesthetics
  • When creating scattered animations instead of orchestrated ones

Limitations

  • Requires commitment to deliberate aesthetic direction
  • Avoids generic font defaults
  • Avoids purple-gradient-on-white aesthetics

How it compares

This skill mandates a pre-coding design phase with specific aesthetic choices and anti-patterns, ensuring a distinctive and intentional UI, unlike directly implementing without a clear design vision.

Compared to similar skills

common-ui-design side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
common-ui-design (this skill)02moNo flagsIntermediate
ui-ux-pro-max01moReviewBeginner
ui-ux-pro-max02moReviewIntermediate
ui-ux-pro-max05moReviewBeginner

Try saying

Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.

You might also like

ui-ux-pro-max

darkmatter

UI/UX design intelligence for web and mobile. Includes 50+ styles, 161 color palettes, 57 font pairings, 161 product types, 99 UX guidelines, and 25 chart types across 10 stacks (React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, SwiftUI, React Native, Flutter, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, and HTML/CSS). Actions: plan, build, cr

00

ui-ux-pro-max

majiayu000

Frontend UI/UX design intelligence - activate FIRST when user requests beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, or aesthetic interfaces. The primary skill for design decisions before implementation. 50 styles, 21 palettes, 50 font pairings, 20 charts, 8 stacks (React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, SwiftUI, React Nati

00

ui-ux-pro-max

IvanLi-CN

UI/UX design intelligence with searchable database

00

ui-ux-pro-max

nextlevelbuilder

UI/UX design intelligence. 50 styles, 21 palettes, 50 font pairings, 20 charts, 8 stacks (React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, SwiftUI, React Native, Flutter, Tailwind). Actions: plan, build, create, design, implement, review, fix, improve, optimize, enhance, refactor, check UI/UX code. Projects: website, landing page, dashboard, admin panel, e-commerce, SaaS, portfolio, blog, mobile app, .html, .tsx, .vue, .svelte. Elements: button, modal, navbar, sidebar, card, table, form, chart. Styles: glassmorphism, claymorphism, minimalism, brutalism, neumorphism, bento grid, dark mode, responsive, skeuomorphism, flat design. Topics: color palette, accessibility, animation, layout, typography, font pairing, spacing, hover, shadow, gradient.

1,9092,023

elegant-design

rand

Create world-class, accessible, responsive interfaces with sophisticated interactive elements including chat, terminals, code display, and streaming content. Use when building user interfaces that need professional polish and developer-focused features.

21108

visual-design-foundations

wshobson

Apply typography, color theory, spacing systems, and iconography principles to create cohesive visual designs. Use when establishing design tokens, building style guides, or improving visual hierarchy and consistency.

547

Search skills

Search the agent skills registry