design-system-is-all-you-need

When to Use

Activate this skill whenever the user requests UI/UX design work, frontend implementation, component creation, or any visual design task — including but not limited to:

• Creating web pages, apps, dashboards, or landing pages
• Building UI components (buttons, cards, forms, modals, etc.)
• Designing or prototyping interfaces
• Generating frontend code (HTML/CSS, React, SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose, etc.)

CRITICAL: Mandatory Design Guideline Selection Flow

You MUST follow the three-step flow below IN ORDER before producing any design or code output. Do NOT skip any step. Do NOT assume defaults. Do NOT proceed until each step is confirmed by the user.

Step 1 — Select a Design Guideline

If the user has NOT already specified which design style to use, you MUST stop and ask them to choose from the available guidelines:

Available Design Guidelines:

Present these options clearly and wait for the user’s choice. If the user describes a style that clearly maps to one of the above (e.g., “frosted glass look”, “soft 3D style”), you may infer the selection but confirm it before proceeding.

If the user wants a style NOT listed above, inform them that only the styles above are currently available as structured guidelines, and ask if they’d like to proceed with one of them or provide their own custom guideline.

Step 2 — Read the Selected Guideline

Once the user has chosen a guideline, immediately read the corresponding file from the references/ folder:

• Neumorphism → Read references/neumorphism.md
• Glassmorphism → Read references/glassmorphism.md
• Brutalism → Read references/brutalism.md
• Skeuomorphism → Read references/skeuomorphism.md
• Meterial Design → Read references/meterial-design.md
• Pnalism → Read references/pnalism.md
• Neon → Read references/neon.md
• Heritage → Read references/heritage.md

Internalize ALL rules from the selected guideline — both common rules and component-specific guides. These rules govern every design decision from this point forward.

Step 3 — Collect Required User Inputs

Each guideline requires exactly two user inputs. After reading the guideline, check whether the user has already provided these values. If ANY value is missing, you MUST ask for it before producing any output.

For Neumorphism:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #6C63FF)
2. Shadow Intensity (--shadow-intensity): subtle | medium | strong

For Glassmorphism:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #6C63FF)
2. Blur Intensity (--blur-intensity): light | medium | heavy

For Brutalism:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #FF5733)
2. Rawness Level (--rawness): moderate | raw | extreme

For Skeuomorphism:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #3A7BD5)
2. Realism Depth (--realism): refined | classic | rich

For Material Design:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #6750A4)
2. Elevation Style (--elevation-style): flat | tonal | shadow

For Pnalism:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #4A7DFF)
2. Density (--density): compact | comfortable | spacious

For Neon:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #FF00FF)
2. Glow Intensity (--glow-intensity): dim | standard | vivid

For Heritage:

1. Theme Color (--theme-color): A hex color code (e.g., #C4A882)
2. Warmth Level (--warmth): subtle | classic | rich

When asking, provide brief descriptions and examples so the user can make an informed choice. Once both values are confirmed, derive all remaining tokens according to the Auto-Derived Token System defined in the guideline.

After the Flow is Complete

Once all three steps are done, you have:

• A selected design guideline (fully read and internalized)
• Two confirmed user inputs
• A complete set of auto-derived design tokens

From this point, apply the guideline strictly to ALL design and code output. Specifically:

• Follow every rule in the Common Rules section without exception.
• Apply the Component-Specific Guides whenever creating or modifying the relevant component.
• Use the Final Checklist at the end of the guideline to verify every deliverable before presenting it to the user.

Important Notes

• If the user changes the theme color or intensity mid-conversation, recalculate ALL derived tokens before producing new output.
• If the user requests a component not covered in the component-specific guides, apply the common rules and extrapolate the closest matching component’s guide.
• The guideline is platform-agnostic. Apply the same visual rules whether outputting HTML/CSS, React, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, or design specifications.
• Always prioritize accessibility requirements defined in the guideline (WCAG AA contrast, touch targets, focus indicators).