Design Taste Frontend

High-Agency Frontend Skill

When to Use

• Use when the user asks to create, improve, or review frontend UI with strong design taste and anti-generic constraints.
• Use when React, Next.js, Tailwind, motion, component states, typography, spacing, color, or responsive behavior need senior-level design judgment.
• Use when the output must override common LLM UI biases such as centered heroes, purple gradients, card overuse, poor states, and fragile layouts.

Example

User request:

Review this interface with @design-taste-frontend, identify the highest-impact design problems, and propose an implementation-ready improvement.

Limitations

• This skill provides frontend design and implementation guidance; it does not replace project-specific product requirements, accessibility review, or user testing.
• Verify framework versions, installed dependencies, responsive behavior, and build output in the target repository before treating generated UI as production-ready.
• Do not force these design rules when the existing product, brand system, or platform conventions require a different visual direction.

1. ACTIVE BASELINE CONFIGURATION

• DESIGN_VARIANCE: 8 (1=Perfect Symmetry, 10=Artsy Chaos)
• MOTION_INTENSITY: 6 (1=Static/No movement, 10=Cinematic/Magic Physics)
• VISUAL_DENSITY: 4 (1=Art Gallery/Airy, 10=Pilot Cockpit/Packed Data)

AI Instruction: The standard baseline for all generations is strictly set to these values (8, 6, 4). Do not ask the user to edit this file. Otherwise, ALWAYS listen to the user: adapt these values dynamically based on what they explicitly request in their chat prompts. Use these baseline (or user-overridden) values as your global variables to drive the specific logic in Sections 3 through 7.

2. DEFAULT ARCHITECTURE & CONVENTIONS

Unless the user explicitly specifies a different stack, adhere to these structural constraints to maintain consistency:

• DEPENDENCY VERIFICATION [MANDATORY]: Before importing ANY 3rd party library (e.g. framer-motion, lucide-react, zustand), you MUST check package.json. If the package is missing, you MUST output the installation command (e.g. npm install package-name) before providing the code. Never assume a library exists.
• Framework & Interactivity: React or Next.js. Default to Server Components (RSC).
  • RSC SAFETY: Global state works ONLY in Client Components. In Next.js, wrap providers in a "use client" component.
  • INTERACTIVITY ISOLATION: If Sections 4 or 7 (Motion/Liquid Glass) are active, the specific interactive UI component MUST be extracted as an isolated leaf component with 'use client' at the very top. Server Components must exclusively render static layouts.
• State Management: Use local useState/useReducer for isolated UI. Use global state strictly for deep prop-drilling avoidance.
• Styling Policy: Use Tailwind CSS (v3/v4) for 90% of styling.
  • TAILWIND VERSION LOCK: Check package.json first. Do not use v4 syntax in v3 projects.
  • T4 CONFIG GUARD: For v4, do NOT use tailwindcss plugin in postcss.config.js. Use @tailwindcss/postcss or the Vite plugin.
• ANTI-EMOJI POLICY [CRITICAL]: NEVER use emojis in code, markup, text content, or alt text. Replace symbols with high-quality icons (Radix, Phosphor) or clean SVG primitives. Emojis are BANNED.
• Responsiveness & Spacing:
  • Standardize breakpoints (sm, md, lg, xl).
  • Contain page layouts using max-w-[1400px] mx-auto or max-w-7xl.
  • Viewport Stability [CRITICAL]: NEVER use h-screen for full-height Hero sections. ALWAYS use min-h-[100dvh] to prevent catastrophic layout jumping on mobile browsers (iOS Safari).
  • Grid over Flex-Math: NEVER use complex flexbox percentage math (w-[calc(33%-1rem)]). ALWAYS use CSS Grid (grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6) for reliable structures.
• Icons: You MUST use exactly @phosphor-icons/react or @radix-ui/react-icons as the import paths (check installed version). Standardize strokeWidth globally (e.g., exclusively use 1.5 or 2.0).

3. DESIGN ENGINEERING DIRECTIVES (Bias Correction)

LLMs have statistical biases toward specific UI cliché patterns. Proactively construct premium interfaces using these engineered rules:

Rule 1: Deterministic Typography

• Display/Headlines: Default to text-4xl md:text-6xl tracking-tighter leading-none.
  • ANTI-SLOP: Discourage Inter for "Premium" or "Creative" vibes. Force unique character using Geist, Outfit, Cabinet Grotesk, or Satoshi.
  • TECHNICAL UI RULE: Serif fonts are strictly BANNED for Dashboard/Software UIs. For these contexts, use exclusively high-end Sans-Serif pairings (Geist + Geist Mono or Satoshi + JetBrains Mono).
• Body/Paragraphs: Default to text-base text-gray-600 leading-relaxed max-w-[65ch].

Rule 2: Color Calibration

• Constraint: Max 1 Accent Color. Saturation < 80%.
• **THE LILA BAN