Visual Style
Create, extract, and apply portable visual design systems. A visual-style.md file defines colors, typography, layout, motion, and mood in one file that any AI tool can consume.
Quick Reference
| Mode |
Trigger |
What it does |
| Create |
"Create a visual-style.md for..." |
Build a style from scratch via guided prompts |
| Extract |
"Extract a visual-style.md from [URL/image/video]" |
Analyze a source and generate a style file |
| Apply |
"Apply this visual-style.md to [tool]" |
Use a style with a specific connector |
| Gallery |
"Show me available visual styles" |
Browse and use example styles |
Default Workflow
Create
- Gather vibe — Ask about mood, era, references, inspiration
- Define colors — Primary (2+), accent, neutrals with hex values and roles
- Set typography — Display, body, caption families + weight/style rules
- Layout & motion — Grid system, transitions, pacing
- Generate — Output complete
visual-style.md using references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md or references/templates/full.visual-style.md
- Preview — Show a small HTML swatch or describe the visual result
- Optionally apply — Ask if user wants to use it with a connector
Questions to batch:
- What's the vibe? (mood keywords, era, references)
- Any specific colors? (or derive from the vibe?)
- Typography preference? (clean, editorial, technical, playful?)
- What tool will you use this with? (HeyGen, slides, paper.design, Figma?)
Extract
- Receive source — URL, image, video, or PDF
- Load extractor — Read the appropriate extractor reference file
- Analyze — Identify colors, typography, layout, motion, mood
- Generate — Output complete
visual-style.md with source_url set
- Validate — Ensure all required fields are present
Apply
- Read the style — Load the
visual-style.md file
- Ask which connector — Or detect from context
- Load connector — Read the appropriate connector reference file
- Transform — Map style fields to tool-specific format
- Generate output — Produce tool-ready instructions or code
Gallery
- List styles — Show available styles from references/gallery/
- Preview — Describe the selected style's visual character
- Load — Read the full
visual-style.md
- Apply — Use with a connector
Format Quick Reference
Required fields
name: "Style Name"
version: "1.0"
style_prompt_short: "1-2 sentence elevator pitch"
style_prompt_full: "Detailed generation prompt — THE most important field"
colors:
primary:
- name: "Color Name"
hex: "#000000"
role: "how this color is used"
style_prompt_full is king. If a tool can only read one field, it reads this one. Everything else is structured data for tools that want finer control.
Full spec: references/spec.md
Reference Files
Connectors (Apply mode)
| Connector |
Use case |
File |
| HeyGen Video Agent |
AI video generation |
references/connectors/heygen-video-agent.md |
| HTML Slides |
Web presentations |
references/connectors/html-slides.md |
| paper.design |
Design documents |
references/connectors/paper-design.md |
| Figma |
Design tool styles |
references/connectors/figma.md |
Extractors (Extract mode)
| Source |
File |
| Website URL |
references/extractors/from-website.md |
| Video keyframes |
references/extractors/from-video.md |
| PDF / Brand guide |
references/extractors/from-pdf.md |
Gallery (pre-built styles)
| Style |
Era |
File |
| Müller-Brockmann Swiss |
1950s–70s |
references/gallery/mueller-brockmann-swiss.visual-style.md |
| Neville Brody Industrial |
Late 1980s–90s |
references/gallery/neville-brody-industrial.visual-style.md |
| Saul Bass Cinematic |
1950s–60s |
references/gallery/saul-bass-cinematic.visual-style.md |
| Game Boy Color |
1998–2003 |
references/gallery/game-boy-color.visual-style.md |
| HeyGen AI Video |
2020s |
references/gallery/heygen-ai-video.visual-style.md |
Templates & Spec
- references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md — Bare minimum template
- references/templates/full.visual-style.md — Complete template with all fields
- references/spec.md — Full format specification
Best Practices
style_prompt_full is king — Always usable as a standalone generation prompt
- One style, one file — No multi-style bundling
- Assets are URLs — Never embed binary data
- Show, don't tell — Generate previews when creating styles
- Opinionated defaults, flexible extensions — Core schema is fixed;
x_* for tool-specific config
1---2name: visual-style3description: Create, extract, and apply portable visual design systems via visual-style.md files. Use when: (1) Creating a visual-style.md design system from scratch, (2) Extracting a visual style from a website URL, video, or PDF brand guide, (3) Applying a visual style to HeyGen videos, HTML slides, Figma, or paper.design, (4) Browsing the gallery of pre-built visual styles (Swiss, Saul Bass, Game Boy, etc.), (5) User mentions "visual style", "design system", "brand style", or "style guide", (6) Styling a HeyGen video with a consistent design language.4---5
6# Visual Style
7
8Create, extract, and apply portable visual design systems. A `visual-style.md` file defines colors, typography, layout, motion, and mood in one file that any AI tool can consume.
9
10## Quick Reference
11
12| Mode | Trigger | What it does |
13|------|---------|--------------|
14| **Create** | "Create a visual-style.md for..." | Build a style from scratch via guided prompts |
15| **Extract** | "Extract a visual-style.md from [URL/image/video]" | Analyze a source and generate a style file |
16| **Apply** | "Apply this visual-style.md to [tool]" | Use a style with a specific connector |
17| **Gallery** | "Show me available visual styles" | Browse and use example styles |
18
19## Default Workflow
20
21### Create
22
231. **Gather vibe** — Ask about mood, era, references, inspiration
242. **Define colors** — Primary (2+), accent, neutrals with hex values and roles
253. **Set typography** — Display, body, caption families + weight/style rules
264. **Layout & motion** — Grid system, transitions, pacing
275. **Generate** — Output complete `visual-style.md` using [references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md](references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md) or [references/templates/full.visual-style.md](references/templates/full.visual-style.md)
286. **Preview** — Show a small HTML swatch or describe the visual result
297. **Optionally apply** — Ask if user wants to use it with a connector
30
31Questions to batch:
321. What's the vibe? (mood keywords, era, references)
332. Any specific colors? (or derive from the vibe?)
343. Typography preference? (clean, editorial, technical, playful?)
354. What tool will you use this with? (HeyGen, slides, paper.design, Figma?)
36
37### Extract
38
391. **Receive source** — URL, image, video, or PDF
402. **Load extractor** — Read the appropriate extractor reference file
413. **Analyze** — Identify colors, typography, layout, motion, mood
424. **Generate** — Output complete `visual-style.md` with `source_url` set
435. **Validate** — Ensure all required fields are present
44
45### Apply
46
471. **Read the style** — Load the `visual-style.md` file
482. **Ask which connector** — Or detect from context
493. **Load connector** — Read the appropriate connector reference file
504. **Transform** — Map style fields to tool-specific format
515. **Generate output** — Produce tool-ready instructions or code
52
53### Gallery
54
551. **List styles** — Show available styles from [references/gallery/](references/gallery/)
562. **Preview** — Describe the selected style's visual character
573. **Load** — Read the full `visual-style.md`
584. **Apply** — Use with a connector
59
60## Format Quick Reference
61
62### Required fields
63
64```yaml
65name: "Style Name"
66version: "1.0"
67style_prompt_short: "1-2 sentence elevator pitch"
68style_prompt_full: "Detailed generation prompt — THE most important field"
69colors:
70 primary:
71 - name: "Color Name"
72 hex: "#000000"
73 role: "how this color is used"
74```
75
76**`style_prompt_full` is king.** If a tool can only read one field, it reads this one. Everything else is structured data for tools that want finer control.
77
78Full spec: [references/spec.md](references/spec.md)
79
80## Reference Files
81
82### Connectors (Apply mode)
83
84| Connector | Use case | File |
85|-----------|----------|------|
86| HeyGen Video Agent | AI video generation | [references/connectors/heygen-video-agent.md](references/connectors/heygen-video-agent.md) |
87| HTML Slides | Web presentations | [references/connectors/html-slides.md](references/connectors/html-slides.md) |
88| paper.design | Design documents | [references/connectors/paper-design.md](references/connectors/paper-design.md) |
89| Figma | Design tool styles | [references/connectors/figma.md](references/connectors/figma.md) |
90
91### Extractors (Extract mode)
92
93| Source | File |
94|--------|------|
95| Website URL | [references/extractors/from-website.md](references/extractors/from-website.md) |
96| Video keyframes | [references/extractors/from-video.md](references/extractors/from-video.md) |
97| PDF / Brand guide | [references/extractors/from-pdf.md](references/extractors/from-pdf.md) |
98
99### Gallery (pre-built styles)
100
101| Style | Era | File |
102|-------|-----|------|
103| Müller-Brockmann Swiss | 1950s–70s | [references/gallery/mueller-brockmann-swiss.visual-style.md](references/gallery/mueller-brockmann-swiss.visual-style.md) |
104| Neville Brody Industrial | Late 1980s–90s | [references/gallery/neville-brody-industrial.visual-style.md](references/gallery/neville-brody-industrial.visual-style.md) |
105| Saul Bass Cinematic | 1950s–60s | [references/gallery/saul-bass-cinematic.visual-style.md](references/gallery/saul-bass-cinematic.visual-style.md) |
106| Game Boy Color | 1998–2003 | [references/gallery/game-boy-color.visual-style.md](references/gallery/game-boy-color.visual-style.md) |
107| HeyGen AI Video | 2020s | [references/gallery/heygen-ai-video.visual-style.md](references/gallery/heygen-ai-video.visual-style.md) |
108
109### Templates & Spec
110
111- [references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md](references/templates/minimal.visual-style.md) — Bare minimum template
112- [references/templates/full.visual-style.md](references/templates/full.visual-style.md) — Complete template with all fields
113- [references/spec.md](references/spec.md) — Full format specification
114
115## Best Practices
116
1171. **`style_prompt_full` is king** — Always usable as a standalone generation prompt
1182. **One style, one file** — No multi-style bundling
1193. **Assets are URLs** — Never embed binary data
1204. **Show, don't tell** — Generate previews when creating styles
1215. **Opinionated defaults, flexible extensions** — Core schema is fixed; `x_*` for tool-specific config