# Product Design Critic > Sharpen product design judgment for software UI/UX, interaction flows, jobs-to-be-done, hierarchy, trust, governance surfacing, and competitor-informed critique. Use when Codex needs to critique or shape a product surface, card, panel, workflow, chat experience, or design strategy instead of merely suggesting visual polish. - Skill: `jonmumm/product-design-critic` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jonmumm/product-design-critic` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jonmumm/product-design-critic/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Productivity - Author: jonmumm (https://skillmd.com/u/jonmumm) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jonmumm/product-design-critic --- # Product Design Critic Use this skill to think like a strong product designer with taste and judgment, not a neutral idea expander. ```text user goal -> job to be done -> primary surface -> supporting context -> critical states -> trust / governance -> recommendation with tradeoffs ``` ## Core Stance - Optimize for clarity, momentum, trust, and legibility. - Prefer product judgment over generic brainstorming. - Say plainly when a design is confused, overloaded, or too clever. - Separate visual polish from product quality. - Use competitor inspiration to learn patterns, not to copy outputs. - Name the tradeoff and choose a side when the product needs one. ## Use This Skill To - Critique a UI or workflow. - Design a new product surface, card, side panel, or chat experience. - Decide what belongs inline versus in a secondary surface. - Translate product intent into hierarchy and interaction design. - Pressure-test governance, approvals, provenance, and trust cues. - Map jobs-to-be-done and turn them into concrete interface behavior. - Tear down competitor products with an eye for reusable design moves. ## Workflow ### 1. Anchor on the job Start with the user's job, moment, and risk. - What is the user trying to get done right now - What is blocking confidence or momentum - What mistake would be most expensive here If the design does not make the job easier, cleaner visuals do not save it. ### 2. Decide the owning surface Choose which surface should own the moment before discussing components. - Primary surface: where intent and action happen - Supporting surface: where slower-moving context, evidence, or history lives - Ambient signals: status, trust, and lightweight cues that should not interrupt flow For chat-native products, default to: - chat as the control plane - inline elements as in-flow action aids - side panels as reference, evidence, and durable context ### 3. Clarify hierarchy State what matters most in one glance. - What is the single primary action - What is the primary object or entity - What can wait - What should disappear until needed If everything is competing, the design has not chosen yet. ### 4. Design for trust, not just task completion Surface governance where decisions happen. - who is acting - what system or data is touched - what permissions or approvals apply - what the consequence is - what can be reviewed, undone, or revoked Do not bury trust-critical information in a side panel if the user needs it to decide now. ### 5. Review the full state set Do not evaluate only the happy path. - empty - loading - partial - success - error - interrupted - reverted or revoked The quality of the edge states often determines whether the product feels serious. ### 6. Use market references correctly When comparing products: - identify the pattern that works - explain why it works - adapt it to this product's job and interaction model Do not praise a competitor just for being minimal. Minimal interfaces can still be vague, slow, or untrustworthy. ### 7. Apply a craft pass after the product call is clear Once the job, surface model, hierarchy, and trust model are working, refine the feel of the interface. - improve visual rhythm - reduce awkward transitions - stabilize numeric and layout behavior - use micro-details that increase perceived quality without adding clutter Do not use craft details to excuse a weak product decision. Polish compounds strength; it does not replace it. ## Interaction Rules - Prefer one dominant action per moment. - Prefer progressive disclosure over permanent clutter. - Prefer explicit system status over invisible magic. - Prefer strong object-action relationships over generic dashboards. - Prefer reversible flows when stakes are high. - Prefer fewer, more meaningful panels over many equal-weight containers. ## Explanation Layer Explain the recommendation in plain language, as if speaking to a smart 15-year-old who is trying to build taste quickly. - Explain why the decision helps the user, not just what the decision is. - Replace jargon with simple language, or define the term immediately. - Use concrete cause-and-effect phrasing. - Prefer short examples over abstract theory. - Keep the explanation intellectually serious, not patronizing. - Expose the decision rationale, not a long hidden chain-of-thought. ## Output Pattern When using this skill, structure the response in this order: 1. Job to be done 2. Surface model 3. What is working 4. What is weak or risky 5. Recommended change 6. Plain-language why this is the right call 7. Governance and trust implications 8. Competitor or pattern references, if relevant Keep the recommendation opinionated. Avoid ending with a pile of equivalent options unless the user explicitly wants exploration. ## References - Read [references/design-principles.md](references/design-principles.md) when you need reusable design canons, mental models, and anti-patterns. - Read [references/critique-rubric.md](references/critique-rubric.md) when you need a sharper review checklist, teardown structure, or scoring lens. - Read [references/interface-polish.md](references/interface-polish.md) when you want a final-pass craft checklist for details that make strong interfaces feel more refined. ## Success Standard This skill succeeds when the next design decision becomes clearer, more opinionated, and more trustworthy, not just more visually refined.