Frontend Design Review
Review UI implementations against design quality standards and your design system OR create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces from scratch.
Two Modes
Mode 1: Design Review
Evaluate existing UI for design system compliance, three quality pillars (Frictionless, Quality Craft, Trustworthy), accessibility, and code quality.
Mode 2: Creative Frontend Design
Create distinctive interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics, have clear conceptual direction, and execute with precision.
Creative Frontend Design
Before coding, commit to an aesthetic direction:
- Purpose: What problem does this solve? Who uses it?
- Tone: minimal, maximalist, retro-futuristic, organic, luxury, playful, editorial, brutalist, art deco, soft/pastel, industrial, etc.
- Constraints: Framework, performance, accessibility requirements.
- Differentiation: What makes this distinctive and context-appropriate?
Aesthetics Guidelines
- Typography: Distinctive fonts that elevate aesthetics. Pair a display font with a refined body font. Avoid Inter, Roboto, Arial, Space Grotesk.
- Color & Theme: Cohesive palette with CSS variables. Dominant colors + sharp accents > timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
- Motion: CSS-only preferred. One well-orchestrated page load with staggered reveals > scattered micro-interactions.
- Spatial Composition: Asymmetry, overlap, diagonal flow, grid-breaking elements, generous negative space OR controlled density.
- Backgrounds: Gradient meshes, noise textures, geometric patterns, layered transparencies, dramatic shadows, grain overlays.
AVOID: Overused fonts, cliched color schemes, predictable layouts, cookie-cutter design without context-specific character.
Match implementation complexity to vision. Maximalist = elaborate code. Minimalist = restraint and precision.
Design Review
Design System Workflow
Before implementing:
- Review component in your Storybook / component library for API and usage
- Use Figma Dev Mode to get exact specs (spacing, tokens, properties)
- Implement using design system components + design tokens
During review:
- Compare implementation to Figma design
- Verify design tokens are used (not hardcoded values)
- Check all variants/states are implemented correctly
- Flag deviations (needs design approval)
If component doesn't exist:
- Check if existing component can be adapted
- Reach out to design for new component creation
- Document exception and rationale in code
Review Process
- Identify user task
- Check design system for matching patterns
- Evaluate aesthetic direction
- Identify scope (component, feature, or flow)
- Evaluate each pillar
- Score and prioritize issues (blocking/major/minor)
- Provide recommendations with design system examples
Core Principles
- Task completion: Minimum clicks. Every screen answers "What can I do?" and "What happens next?"
- Action hierarchy: 1-2 primary actions per view. Progressive disclosure for secondary.
- Onboarding: Explain features on introduction. Smart defaults over configuration.
- Navigation: Clear entry/exit points. Back/cancel always available. Breadcrumbs for deep flows.
Quality Pillars
1. Frictionless Insight to Action
Evaluate: Task completable in ≤3 interactions? Primary action obvious and singular?
Red flags: Excessive clicks, multiple competing primary buttons, buried actions, dead ends.
2. Quality is Craft
Evaluate:
- Design system compliance: matches Figma specs, uses design tokens
- Aesthetic direction: distinctive typography, cohesive colors, intentional motion
- Accessibility: Grade C minimum (WCAG 2.1 A), Grade B ideal (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Red flags: Generic AI aesthetics, hardcoded values, implementation doesn't match Figma, broken reflow, missing focus indicators.
3. Trustworthy Building
Evaluate:
- AI transparency: disclaimer on AI-generated content
- Error transparency: actionable error messages
Red flags: Missing AI disclaimers, opaque errors without guidance.
Review Output Format
See references/review-output-format.md for the full review template.
Review Type Modifiers
See references/review-type-modifiers.md for context-specific review focus areas (PR, Creative, Design, Accessibility).
Quick Checklist
See references/quick-checklist.md for the pre-approval checklist covering design system compliance, aesthetic quality, frictionless, quality craft, and trustworthy pillars.
Pattern Examples
See references/pattern-examples.md for good/bad examples of creative frontend and design system review work.
Acknowledgments
Creative frontend principles inspired by Anthropic's frontend-design skill. Design review principles and quality pillar framework created by @Quirinevwm for systematic UI evaluation.
1---2name: frontend-design-review-23description: Review and create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces with high design quality and design system compliance. Evaluates using three pillars: frictionless insight-to-action, quality craft, and trustworthy building. USE FOR: PR reviews, design reviews, accessibility audits, design system compliance checks, creative frontend design, UI code review, component reviews, responsive design checks, theme testing, and creating memorable UI. DO NOT USE FOR: Backend API reviews, database schema reviews, infrastructure or DevOps work, pure business logic without UI, or non-frontend code.4---5
6# Frontend Design Review
7
8Review UI implementations against design quality standards and your design system **OR** create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces from scratch.
9
10## Two Modes
11
12### Mode 1: Design Review
13Evaluate existing UI for design system compliance, three quality pillars (Frictionless, Quality Craft, Trustworthy), accessibility, and code quality.
14
15### Mode 2: Creative Frontend Design
16Create distinctive interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics, have clear conceptual direction, and execute with precision.
17
18---
19
20## Creative Frontend Design
21
22Before coding, commit to an aesthetic direction:
23- **Purpose**: What problem does this solve? Who uses it?
24- **Tone**: minimal, maximalist, retro-futuristic, organic, luxury, playful, editorial, brutalist, art deco, soft/pastel, industrial, etc.
25- **Constraints**: Framework, performance, accessibility requirements.
26- **Differentiation**: What makes this distinctive and context-appropriate?
27
28### Aesthetics Guidelines
29
30- **Typography**: Distinctive fonts that elevate aesthetics. Pair a display font with a refined body font. Avoid Inter, Roboto, Arial, Space Grotesk.
31- **Color & Theme**: Cohesive palette with CSS variables. Dominant colors + sharp accents > timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
32- **Motion**: CSS-only preferred. One well-orchestrated page load with staggered reveals > scattered micro-interactions.
33- **Spatial Composition**: Asymmetry, overlap, diagonal flow, grid-breaking elements, generous negative space OR controlled density.
34- **Backgrounds**: Gradient meshes, noise textures, geometric patterns, layered transparencies, dramatic shadows, grain overlays.
35
36**AVOID**: Overused fonts, cliched color schemes, predictable layouts, cookie-cutter design without context-specific character.
37
38Match implementation complexity to vision. Maximalist = elaborate code. Minimalist = restraint and precision.
39
40---
41
42## Design Review
43
44### Design System Workflow
45
46**Before implementing:**
471. Review component in your Storybook / component library for API and usage
482. Use Figma Dev Mode to get exact specs (spacing, tokens, properties)
493. Implement using design system components + design tokens
50
51**During review:**
521. Compare implementation to Figma design
532. Verify design tokens are used (not hardcoded values)
543. Check all variants/states are implemented correctly
554. Flag deviations (needs design approval)
56
57**If component doesn't exist:**
581. Check if existing component can be adapted
592. Reach out to design for new component creation
603. Document exception and rationale in code
61
62### Review Process
63
641. Identify user task
652. Check design system for matching patterns
663. Evaluate aesthetic direction
674. Identify scope (component, feature, or flow)
685. Evaluate each pillar
696. Score and prioritize issues (blocking/major/minor)
707. Provide recommendations with design system examples
71
72### Core Principles
73
74- **Task completion**: Minimum clicks. Every screen answers "What can I do?" and "What happens next?"
75- **Action hierarchy**: 1-2 primary actions per view. Progressive disclosure for secondary.
76- **Onboarding**: Explain features on introduction. Smart defaults over configuration.
77- **Navigation**: Clear entry/exit points. Back/cancel always available. Breadcrumbs for deep flows.
78
79---
80
81## Quality Pillars
82
83### 1. Frictionless Insight to Action
84
85**Evaluate:** Task completable in ≤3 interactions? Primary action obvious and singular?
86
87**Red flags:** Excessive clicks, multiple competing primary buttons, buried actions, dead ends.
88
89### 2. Quality is Craft
90
91**Evaluate:**
92- Design system compliance: matches Figma specs, uses design tokens
93- Aesthetic direction: distinctive typography, cohesive colors, intentional motion
94- Accessibility: Grade C minimum (WCAG 2.1 A), Grade B ideal (WCAG 2.1 AA)
95
96**Red flags:** Generic AI aesthetics, hardcoded values, implementation doesn't match Figma, broken reflow, missing focus indicators.
97
98### 3. Trustworthy Building
99
100**Evaluate:**
101- AI transparency: disclaimer on AI-generated content
102- Error transparency: actionable error messages
103
104**Red flags:** Missing AI disclaimers, opaque errors without guidance.
105
106---
107
108## Review Output Format
109
110See [references/review-output-format.md](references/review-output-format.md) for the full review template.
111
112## Review Type Modifiers
113
114See [references/review-type-modifiers.md](references/review-type-modifiers.md) for context-specific review focus areas (PR, Creative, Design, Accessibility).
115
116## Quick Checklist
117
118See [references/quick-checklist.md](references/quick-checklist.md) for the pre-approval checklist covering design system compliance, aesthetic quality, frictionless, quality craft, and trustworthy pillars.
119
120## Pattern Examples
121
122See [references/pattern-examples.md](references/pattern-examples.md) for good/bad examples of creative frontend and design system review work.
123
124---
125
126## Acknowledgments
127
128Creative frontend principles inspired by [Anthropic's frontend-design skill](https://github.com/anthropics/skills/tree/main/skills/frontend-design). Design review principles and quality pillar framework created by [@Quirinevwm](https://github.com/Quirinevwm) for systematic UI evaluation.
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