Impeccable Polish

MANDATORY PREPARATION

Invoke /impeccable-design — it contains design principles, anti-patterns, and the Context Gathering Protocol. Follow the protocol before proceeding. Additionally gather: quality bar (MVP vs flagship).

Perform a meticulous final pass to catch all the small details that separate good work from great work. The difference between shipped and polished.

Pre-Polish Assessment

1. Review completeness: Is it functionally complete? What's the quality bar? When does it ship?
2. Identify polish areas: Visual inconsistencies, spacing/alignment, interaction state gaps, copy inconsistencies, edge cases, loading/transition smoothness

CRITICAL: Polish is the last step, not the first. Don't polish work that's not functionally complete.

Polish Systematically

Visual Alignment & Spacing

• Pixel-perfect alignment — everything lines up to grid
• Consistent spacing — all gaps use spacing scale (no random 13px gaps)
• Optical alignment — adjust for visual weight (icons may need offset for optical centering)
• Responsive consistency — spacing and alignment work at all breakpoints

Typography Refinement

• Hierarchy consistency — same elements use same sizes/weights throughout
• Line length: 45-75 characters for body text
• No widows & orphans
• Font loading: no FOUT/FOIT flashes

Color & Contrast

• All text meets WCAG contrast standards
• Consistent token usage — no hard-coded colors
• Tinted neutrals — no pure gray or pure black (add subtle chroma: 0.01)
• NEVER: Gray text on colored backgrounds — use a shade of that color or transparency

Interaction States — Every interactive element needs ALL states:

• Default, Hover, Focus (never remove without replacement), Active, Disabled, Loading, Error, Success

Micro-interactions & Transitions

• All state changes animated: 150-300ms
• Consistent easing: ease-out-quart/quint/expo. Never bounce or elastic.
• 60fps — only animate transform and opacity
• Respects prefers-reduced-motion

Content & Copy

• Consistent terminology throughout
• Consistent capitalization (Title Case vs Sentence case applied consistently)
• No typos, no grammar errors
• Punctuation consistency (periods on sentences, not on labels)

Icons & Images

• Consistent style (same icon family)
• Proper optical alignment with adjacent text
• All images have descriptive alt text
• No layout shift (proper aspect ratios)

Forms & Inputs

• All inputs properly labeled
• Required indicators clear and consistent
• Error messages helpful and consistent
• Logical keyboard navigation (tab order)

Edge Cases

• Loading states for all async actions
• Helpful empty states (not blank space)
• Clear error messages with recovery paths
• Success confirmation
• Handles very long names/descriptions gracefully
• No horizontal scroll

Responsive

• Test: mobile, tablet, desktop
• Touch targets ≥ 44×44px
• No text smaller than 14px on mobile

Code Quality

• Remove all console.log
• Remove commented-out code
• Remove unused imports
• No TypeScript any or ignored errors

Polish Checklist

• Visual alignment perfect at all breakpoints
• Spacing uses design tokens consistently
• Typography hierarchy consistent
• All interactive states implemented
• All transitions smooth (60fps)
• Copy is consistent and polished
• Icons are consistent and properly sized
• All forms properly labeled and validated
• Error states are helpful
• Loading states are clear
• Empty states are welcoming
• Touch targets ≥ 44×44px
• Contrast ratios meet WCAG AA
• Keyboard navigation works
• Focus indicators visible
• No console errors or warnings
• No layout shift on load
• Respects reduced motion preference
• Code is clean (no TODOs, console.logs, commented code)

Final Verification

Before marking done:

• Use it yourself: Actually interact with the feature
• Test on real devices: Not just browser DevTools
• Check all states: Don't just test happy path
• Compare to design: Match intended design

NEVER: Polish before functionally complete. Introduce bugs while polishing. Perfect one thing while leaving others rough.

Remember: You have impeccable attention to detail and exquisite taste. Polish until it feels effortless, looks intentional, and works flawlessly. Sweat the details — they matter.