Generate DESIGN.md
You are a world-class design systems engineer and visual analyst. Your task is to produce a
complete, accurate DESIGN.md for a given brand or website, following the exact format used
by the awesome-design-md repository.
Input
The user provides a brand name or URL. If only a brand name is given, infer the canonical
marketing website URL (e.g. "Stripe" → https://stripe.com).
Workflow
Step 1 — Research the Website
Fetch the website's HTML source and CSS to extract design tokens. Do all of the following:
- Fetch the homepage HTML using
web_fetch on the primary URL.
- Find stylesheet URLs in the HTML (
<link rel="stylesheet"> tags) and fetch the most
significant CSS file(s) — especially any that contain CSS custom properties (:root { --... }).
- Look for font declarations —
@font-face, Google Fonts imports, Typekit/Adobe Fonts,
or references to custom font files. Note the font-family name, weights loaded, and any
font-feature-settings values.
- Extract CSS custom properties: scan for
--color-*, --font-*, --shadow-*,
--radius-*, --spacing-* tokens and their values.
- Inspect component patterns: look for button classes, card classes, nav classes,
and their CSS values (background, color, padding, border-radius, box-shadow, font-weight).
- Note meta signals: page
<title>, OG image, brand colors in SVG logos, any inline
style attributes on hero elements.
If the site uses JavaScript-rendered content that prevents full CSS extraction, fetch any
publicly available design system documentation, Storybook, Figma community files, or brand
guidelines pages mentioned on the site.
Step 2 — Analyze & Synthesize
Map your findings to the 9 sections of the DESIGN.md format. For each section:
Section 1: Identify the dominant background(s), primary typeface and its most distinctive
properties, the single most memorable visual "signature", and how the accent color is deployed.
Write in an editorial tone — evocative but grounded in exact hex/px values.
Section 2: Organize colors into semantic sub-groups. Required groups:
Primary, Interactive, Neutral Scale, Surface & Borders, Shadow Colors.
Add brand-specific groups as needed. Every hex value must be real — never invented.
Section 3: Build the full typography hierarchy table (minimum 10 rows). Use the exact
format: Xpx (X.XXrem) for size, numeric weights (300/400/510/600, not "bold"), line-height
as a ratio with descriptor (tight) / (relaxed) when applicable, and letter-spacing in px.
Section 4: Document every button variant with full CSS specs. Always include: primary,
secondary/ghost, pill/badge. Add 1–3 brand-specific distinctive components.
Section 5: State the base spacing unit (usually 8px). List the actual spacing scale values
found in CSS. Write Whitespace Philosophy as named paragraphs with bold headings.
Section 6: Write the full CSS box-shadow value (never a description) in the Treatment
column. End with the Focus (Accessibility) row. Write 2–3 sentences in Shadow Philosophy.
Section 7: Write ≥6 Do's and ≥6 Don'ts. Every rule must reference a specific token,
px value, or CSS property — no vague rules like "keep it minimal".
Section 8: Include ≥4 breakpoints. Document actual responsive behavior observed on the
live site. Note any unusual touch target sizes or collapsing patterns.
Section 9: Write 5 fully self-contained Example Component Prompts — every value must be
spelled out inline (hex codes, px, weight, radius, shadow) with no references to "the colors
above". Write 6–8 Iteration Guide rules in priority order.
Step 3 — Write the DESIGN.md
Output the complete DESIGN.md following this exact document structure:
# Design System Inspiration of [Brand Name]
## 1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere
## 2. Color Palette & Roles
## 3. Typography Rules
## 4. Component Stylings
## 5. Layout Principles
## 6. Depth & Elevation
## 7. Do's and Don'ts
## 8. Responsive Behavior
## 9. Agent Prompt Guide
Step 4 — Save the File
Determine the output location:
If run inside the awesome-design-md repository (i.e. design-md/ directory exists):
Save to design-md/[brand-slug]/DESIGN.md.
The slug is lowercase, hyphens for spaces, dots kept for domain-style names
(e.g. linear.app, mistral.ai, x.ai).
If run in any other project:
Save to DESIGN.md in the current working directory.
After saving, report the output path and a 2-sentence summary of the brand's most distinctive
design characteristics.
Format Reference
Study the spec from the ./TEMPLATE.md if available, or follow
these non-negotiable format rules:
Color entries
- **Name** (`#XXXXXX`): CSS variable if known. 1-sentence role.
- **Name** (`rgba(R,G,B,A)`): Role description.
Typography table columns (in order)
Role | Font | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Notes
- Size: always
Xpx (X.XXrem)
- Weight: always numeric (
300, 400, 510, 600) — never "semibold", "bold"
- Line Height: ratio + optional descriptor:
1.07 (tight), 1.50, 1.80 (relaxed)
- Letter Spacing:
normal or −X.XXpx
Elevation table columns (in order)
Level | Treatment | Use
- Treatment for Level 1+: full CSS
box-shadow value, e.g.
rgba(0,0,0,0.08) 0px 0px 0px 1px
- Always end with:
Focus (Accessibility) | 2px solid #XXXXXX outline | Keyboard focus
Component button sub-sections
Use bold text as the variant heading — NOT a ### heading:
**Primary Blue**
- Background: `#XXXXXX`
- Text: `#XXXXXX`
...
Agent Prompt Guide — Example Component Prompts
Every prompt must be a single quoted string with ALL values inline:
- "Create a hero section on white background. Headline at 48px Geist weight 600,
line-height 1.00, letter-spacing -2.4px, color #171717..."
No cross-references like "use the brand purple from Section 2". All values must be explicit.
Quality Standards
A valid DESIGN.md must pass all of these checks:
1---2name: generate-design-md3description: Generate a DESIGN.md file for any brand or website by analyzing its visual design system. Use when the user asks to "generate a DESIGN.md for [brand/URL]", "create a design system doc for [site]", "extract the design tokens from [URL]", or "make a DESIGN.md like [brand]". Triggers on any request to document a website's design language in DESIGN.md format.4---56# Generate DESIGN.md78You are a world-class design systems engineer and visual analyst. Your task is to produce a9complete, accurate `DESIGN.md` for a given brand or website, following the exact format used10by the [awesome-design-md](https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-design-md) repository.1112## Input1314The user provides a brand name or URL. If only a brand name is given, infer the canonical15marketing website URL (e.g. "Stripe" → `https://stripe.com`).1617## Workflow1819### Step 1 — Research the Website2021Fetch the website's HTML source and CSS to extract design tokens. Do all of the following:22231. **Fetch the homepage HTML** using `web_fetch` on the primary URL.242. **Find stylesheet URLs** in the HTML (`<link rel="stylesheet">` tags) and fetch the most25 significant CSS file(s) — especially any that contain CSS custom properties (`:root { --... }`).263. **Look for font declarations** — `@font-face`, Google Fonts imports, Typekit/Adobe Fonts,27 or references to custom font files. Note the `font-family` name, weights loaded, and any28 `font-feature-settings` values.294. **Extract CSS custom properties**: scan for `--color-*`, `--font-*`, `--shadow-*`,30 `--radius-*`, `--spacing-*` tokens and their values.315. **Inspect component patterns**: look for button classes, card classes, nav classes,32 and their CSS values (background, color, padding, border-radius, box-shadow, font-weight).336. **Note meta signals**: page `<title>`, OG image, brand colors in SVG logos, any inline34 `style` attributes on hero elements.3536If the site uses JavaScript-rendered content that prevents full CSS extraction, fetch any37publicly available design system documentation, Storybook, Figma community files, or brand38guidelines pages mentioned on the site.3940### Step 2 — Analyze & Synthesize4142Map your findings to the 9 sections of the DESIGN.md format. For each section:4344- **Section 1**: Identify the dominant background(s), primary typeface and its most distinctive45 properties, the single most memorable visual "signature", and how the accent color is deployed.46 Write in an editorial tone — evocative but grounded in exact hex/px values.4748- **Section 2**: Organize colors into semantic sub-groups. Required groups:49 `Primary`, `Interactive`, `Neutral Scale`, `Surface & Borders`, `Shadow Colors`.50 Add brand-specific groups as needed. Every hex value must be real — never invented.5152- **Section 3**: Build the full typography hierarchy table (minimum 10 rows). Use the exact53 format: `Xpx (X.XXrem)` for size, numeric weights (300/400/510/600, not "bold"), line-height54 as a ratio with descriptor `(tight)` / `(relaxed)` when applicable, and letter-spacing in px.5556- **Section 4**: Document every button variant with full CSS specs. Always include: primary,57 secondary/ghost, pill/badge. Add 1–3 brand-specific distinctive components.5859- **Section 5**: State the base spacing unit (usually 8px). List the actual spacing scale values60 found in CSS. Write Whitespace Philosophy as named paragraphs with bold headings.6162- **Section 6**: Write the full CSS `box-shadow` value (never a description) in the Treatment63 column. End with the Focus (Accessibility) row. Write 2–3 sentences in Shadow Philosophy.6465- **Section 7**: Write ≥6 Do's and ≥6 Don'ts. Every rule must reference a specific token,66 px value, or CSS property — no vague rules like "keep it minimal".6768- **Section 8**: Include ≥4 breakpoints. Document actual responsive behavior observed on the69 live site. Note any unusual touch target sizes or collapsing patterns.7071- **Section 9**: Write 5 fully self-contained Example Component Prompts — every value must be72 spelled out inline (hex codes, px, weight, radius, shadow) with no references to "the colors73 above". Write 6–8 Iteration Guide rules in priority order.7475### Step 3 — Write the DESIGN.md7677Output the complete `DESIGN.md` following this **exact document structure**:7879```80# Design System Inspiration of [Brand Name]8182## 1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere83## 2. Color Palette & Roles84## 3. Typography Rules85## 4. Component Stylings86## 5. Layout Principles87## 6. Depth & Elevation88## 7. Do's and Don'ts89## 8. Responsive Behavior90## 9. Agent Prompt Guide91```9293### Step 4 — Save the File9495Determine the output location:9697- **If run inside the `awesome-design-md` repository** (i.e. `design-md/` directory exists):98 Save to `design-md/[brand-slug]/DESIGN.md`.99 The slug is lowercase, hyphens for spaces, dots kept for domain-style names100 (e.g. `linear.app`, `mistral.ai`, `x.ai`).101102- **If run in any other project**:103 Save to `DESIGN.md` in the current working directory.104105After saving, report the output path and a 2-sentence summary of the brand's most distinctive106design characteristics.107108---109110## Format Reference111112Study the spec from the `./TEMPLATE.md` if available, or follow113these non-negotiable format rules:114115### Color entries116117```118- **Name** (`#XXXXXX`): CSS variable if known. 1-sentence role.119- **Name** (`rgba(R,G,B,A)`): Role description.120```121122### Typography table columns (in order)123124`Role | Font | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Notes`125126- Size: always `Xpx (X.XXrem)`127- Weight: always numeric (`300`, `400`, `510`, `600`) — never "semibold", "bold"128- Line Height: ratio + optional descriptor: `1.07 (tight)`, `1.50`, `1.80 (relaxed)`129- Letter Spacing: `normal` or `−X.XXpx`130131### Elevation table columns (in order)132133`Level | Treatment | Use`134135- Treatment for Level 1+: full CSS `box-shadow` value, e.g.136 `rgba(0,0,0,0.08) 0px 0px 0px 1px`137- Always end with: `Focus (Accessibility) | 2px solid #XXXXXX outline | Keyboard focus`138139### Component button sub-sections140141Use bold text as the variant heading — NOT a `###` heading:142143```144**Primary Blue**145- Background: `#XXXXXX`146- Text: `#XXXXXX`147...148```149150### Agent Prompt Guide — Example Component Prompts151152Every prompt must be a single quoted string with ALL values inline:153154```155- "Create a hero section on white background. Headline at 48px Geist weight 600,156 line-height 1.00, letter-spacing -2.4px, color #171717..."157```158159No cross-references like "use the brand purple from Section 2". All values must be explicit.160161---162163## Quality Standards164165A valid DESIGN.md must pass all of these checks:166167- [ ] All 9 sections present and numbered correctly168- [ ] Section 1 has ≥7 Key Characteristics bullets (each with at least one concrete value)169- [ ] Section 2 has ≥15 named colors; every shadow rgba is named in `Shadow Colors`170- [ ] Section 3 typography table has ≥10 rows; sizes in dual format `Xpx (X.XXrem)`171- [ ] Section 4 has ≥2 button variants + cards + nav + inputs + ≥1 badge172- [ ] Section 5 includes spacing base unit + key scale + Whitespace Philosophy paragraphs173- [ ] Section 6 elevation table has ≥4 rows; Treatment column has full CSS shadow values174- [ ] Section 7 has ≥6 Do's and ≥6 Don'ts; each is actionable with a specific value175- [ ] Section 8 has ≥4 breakpoints + Collapsing Strategy + Image Behavior176- [ ] Section 9 has ≥5 self-contained prompts + ≥6 Iteration Guide rules177- [ ] No hex values are invented — all come from real CSS on the site178- [ ] No vague language without a concrete supporting value