# Design Engine

> End-to-end AI design system with 190+ battle-tested styles, AI image generation, and pixel-perfect export. Designs social media posters, carousels, YouTube thumbnails, PDFs, and full websites — entirely from natural language. Includes brand onboarding, self-review quality system, Puppeteer export scripts, and 6 teachable design skills. Built through 300+ real design experiments. Use this skill when the user asks to: design a poster, create social media content, build a carousel, make a YouTube thumbnail, generate a PDF/report, design a website or landing page, create any visual content, or improve the look of any HTML/CSS.

- Skill: `rahamanbinujit/design-engine` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add rahamanbinujit/design-engine`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/rahamanbinujit/design-engine/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Design & Media
- License: Custom (see LICENSE)
- Author: rahamanbinujit (https://skillmd.com/u/rahamanbinujit)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/rahamanbinujit/design-engine

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# Design Engine

> Created by **Rahaman Bin Ujit** — Built through 300+ design experiments.

An end-to-end AI-powered design system. 190+ styles. AI photo generation. Brand consistency. Self-review quality gates. Pixel-perfect export.

## When to Activate

Use this skill when the user wants to:
- Design a social media post (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter/X)
- Create a carousel (multi-slide PDF or PNGs)
- Design a YouTube thumbnail
- Generate a PDF report or document
- Design a website, landing page, or web UI
- Create any visual content with professional quality
- Improve the design/aesthetics of existing HTML/CSS

## First-Time Setup

If `brand.config.json` does NOT exist, run onboarding:
1. Read `onboarding/setup.md`
2. Ask the user every question listed
3. Save answers to `brand.config.json`

**Never design without a brand config.**

## Design Pipeline

```
Brief → Brand Config → Research → Style Selection → AI Photos → HTML/CSS → Self-Review → Export
```

### Step 1: Understand the Brief
- Platform? Format? Content? Mood?

### Step 2: Load Brand
- Read `brand.config.json` for fonts, colors, identity

### Step 3: Choose a Style
- Browse `styles/INDEX.md` (190+ options with complete CSS)

### Step 4: Research References
- Read `workflows/reference-research.md`
- 40% of design time = studying what works in the niche

### Step 5: Generate Photos (if needed)
- Read `workflows/ai-image-generation.md`
- Use Gemini via nano-banana MCP for photo generation/editing

### Step 6: Build in HTML/CSS
- Use the style's CSS as foundation
- Apply brand config values
- Follow `workflows/poster-design.md`, `workflows/carousel-design.md`, or `workflows/website-design.md`

### Step 7: Self-Review (MANDATORY)
- Read `workflows/self-review.md`
- Score must be 4+ before showing
- Check: readability, hierarchy, alignment, color, spacing, brand consistency

### Step 8: Export
- `node scripts/export-png.js` for images
- `node scripts/export-pdf.js` for documents
- `node scripts/export-carousel.js` for multi-slide
- Always 4x resolution, always wait 2500ms for fonts

### Step 9: Open and Show
- Always open the exported file immediately

## Core Principles
1. Think like an art director, not a coder
2. Whitespace is design — when in doubt, add more space
3. One accent color per design, on ONE element
4. Research before creating — never design from imagination
5. Self-review is non-negotiable — score 4+ or fix it
6. The grid is sacred — 8px base units
7. Typography hierarchy — 4:1 headline-to-body ratio minimum
8. Mobile-first — everything is viewed on phones

## Directory Reference

| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `workflows/` | Step-by-step processes for each design type |
| `styles/INDEX.md` | Browse 190+ layout styles |
| `skills/` | Teachable design techniques |
| `knowledge/` | Design theory and platform insights |
| `rules/` | Quality gates and export standards |
| `scripts/` | Puppeteer export tools |
| `templates/` | Starter HTML files |
| `onboarding/setup.md` | Brand setup questions |

## Quick Export Reference

```bash
node scripts/export-png.js design.html output.png 1080 1080     # Square poster
node scripts/export-png.js design.html output.png 1080 1350     # Portrait
node scripts/export-png.js design.html output.png 1280 720      # YouTube thumbnail
node scripts/export-pdf.js document.html output.pdf              # PDF
node scripts/export-carousel.js carousel.html slides/ 1080 1080 # Carousel
```