Dineway Frontend Design

This skill guides creation of distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics. Implement real working code with exceptional attention to aesthetic details and creative choices.

The user provides frontend requirements: a component, page, application, or interface to build. They may include context about the purpose, audience, or technical constraints.

Design Thinking

Before coding, understand the context and commit to a BOLD aesthetic direction:

• Purpose: What problem does this interface solve? Who uses it?
• Tone: Pick an extreme: brutally minimal, maximalist chaos, retro-futuristic, organic/natural, luxury/refined, playful/toy-like, editorial/magazine, brutalist/raw, art deco/geometric, soft/pastel, industrial/utilitarian, etc. There are so many flavors to choose from. Use these for inspiration but design one that is true to the aesthetic direction.
• Constraints: Technical requirements (framework, performance, accessibility).
• Differentiation: What makes this UNFORGETTABLE? What's the one thing someone will remember?

CRITICAL: Choose a clear conceptual direction and execute it with precision. Bold maximalism and refined minimalism both work - the key is intentionality, not intensity.

Then implement working code (HTML/CSS/JS, React, Vue, etc.) that is:

• Production-grade and functional
• Visually striking and memorable
• Cohesive with a clear aesthetic point-of-view
• Meticulously refined in every detail

Frontend Aesthetics Guidelines

Focus on:

• Typography: Choose fonts that are beautiful, unique, and interesting. Avoid generic fonts like Arial and Inter; opt instead for distinctive choices that elevate the frontend's aesthetics; unexpected, characterful font choices. Pair a distinctive display font with a refined body font. Typography should feel intentional, not oversized by default.
• Color & Theme: Commit to a cohesive aesthetic. Use CSS variables for consistency. Dominant colors with sharp accents outperform timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
• Motion: Use animations for effects and micro-interactions. Prioritize CSS-only solutions for HTML. Use Motion library for React when available. Focus on high-impact moments: one well-orchestrated page load with staggered reveals (animation-delay) creates more delight than scattered micro-interactions. Use scroll-triggering and hover states that surprise.
• Spatial Composition: Unexpected layouts. Asymmetry. Overlap. Diagonal flow. Grid-breaking elements. Generous negative space OR controlled density.
• Backgrounds & Visual Details: Create atmosphere and depth rather than defaulting to solid colors. Add contextual effects and textures that match the overall aesthetic. Apply creative forms like gradient meshes, noise textures, geometric patterns, layered transparencies, dramatic shadows, decorative borders, custom cursors, and grain overlays.

Typography Size Discipline

Bold design does not mean huge text. Do not generate oversized headings unless the user explicitly asks for poster-like, editorial, or billboard typography.

Use a clear type hierarchy with context-specific limits:

• Hero/display h1: usually clamp(2.5rem, ..., 4.5rem) at most; mobile max around 2.75rem.
• Standard page h1: usually clamp(2rem, ..., 3rem) at most.
• Section headings: usually clamp(1.5rem, ..., 2.25rem) at most.
• Card, panel, sidebar, table, or tool-surface titles: usually 1rem-1.5rem.
• Body copy: usually 1rem-1.125rem, with readable line height.

Do not reuse hero/display heading styles for ordinary pages, sections, cards, CMS content titles, dashboards, or compact UI panels. Match display text to its container and workflow: operational interfaces, restaurant pages, content pages, and product surfaces need scannable hierarchy more than spectacle.

Avoid viewport-driven text growth. Do not set font-size directly with vw/vh; if responsive scaling is needed, use clamp() with conservative rem min/max bounds. Any heading above 5rem or 80px requires explicit user intent and must not appear in ordinary websites or apps.

Before delivery, check that headings wrap cleanly on mobile and desktop, do not overlap neighboring content, do not dominate non-hero pages, and do not force horizontal scrolling. Letter spacing should normally be 0; avoid negative letter spacing unless explicitly needed for a specific display face and verified not to harm readability.

NEVER use generic AI-generated aesthetics like overused font families (Inter, Roboto, Arial, system fonts), cliched color schemes (particularly purple gradients on white backgrounds), predictable layouts and component patterns, and cookie-cutter design that lacks context-specific character.

Interpret creatively and make unexpected choices that feel genuinely designed for the context. No design should be the same. Vary between light and dark themes, different fonts, different aesthetics. NEVER converge on common choices (Space Grotesk, for example) across generations.

IMPORTANT: Match implementation complexity to the aesthetic vision. Maximalist designs need elaborate code with extensive animations and effects. Minimalist or refined designs need restraint, precision, and careful attention to spacing, typography, and subtle details. Elegance comes from executing the vision well.

Remember: Claude is capable of extraordinary creative work. Don't hold back, show what can truly be created when thinking outside the box and committing fully to a distinctive vision.