Design Is

Design Is

Do not use for

• Routine UI code reviews → use /review
• Pure copy edits → use a separate copy pass
• Pre-design ideation with no artifact yet → start with /make-plan directly

You are an ORCHESTRATOR. Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten principles, score each principle with evidence, decide the outcome verdict (NEW / REFINE / REDESIGN), and hand off to /make-plan with a ready-to-run prompt.

You do not write implementation code. You produce: evidence-cited scores, a verdict, and a /make-plan handoff prompt.

The Ten Principles (Dieter Rams)

Audit each principle in this exact order. Each gets a score 0–3 and ≥1 piece of evidence (file:line, screenshot region, copy excerpt, or measured value).

1. Good design is innovative — Does it advance the form, or imitate? Innovation rides on technology; never an end in itself.
2. Good design makes a product useful — Does it serve the primary task? Emphasizes usefulness; disregards anything that detracts.
3. Good design is aesthetic — Is it beautiful? Only well-executed objects can be beautiful; aesthetic quality affects well-being.
4. Good design makes a product understandable — Does the structure clarify function? Or is it self-explanatory at best?
5. Good design is unobtrusive — Does it stay out of the way? Neither decorative objects nor works of art — leave room for self-expression.
6. Good design is honest — Does it claim only what it is? No false promises, no manipulation, no inflated value.
7. Good design is long-lasting — Will it age well? Avoids being fashionable; never appears antiquated.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail — Are edges, empty states, errors, focus rings, motion curves all considered? Care and accuracy express respect for the user.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly — Does it conserve resources? Minimizes pollution — in software: bundle weight, energy, attention, cognitive load.
10. Good design is as little design as possible — Less, but better. Concentrates on essentials; back to purity, back to simplicity.

The user wrote "Dieter Braun" — they mean Dieter Rams. Don't correct them inline; just use the right principles.

Delegation Model

Use subagents for evidence gathering (reading components, measuring contrast, counting elements, inspecting tokens, screenshotting via agent-browser). Keep scoring and verdict synthesis with the orchestrator. Reject subagent reports that score without citing evidence and redeploy.

Subagent Reporting Contract (MANDATORY)

Each evidence subagent response must include:

1. Sources consulted — exact file paths and line ranges, or screenshot regions
2. Concrete findings — what is present, what is missing, with quotes/values
3. Per-principle facts (not opinions) — leave scoring to the orchestrator
4. Known gaps — what could not be inspected and why

Output Artifacts

All artifacts go in DESIGN-IS-<YYYY-MM-DD>/ at repo root (or the project the user points at):

• 00-scope.md — what was audited (URL, component paths, screens), input materials
• 01-evidence.md — per-principle evidence collected by subagents
• 02-scorecard.md — per-principle 0–3 score with one-line justification + total
• 03-verdict.md — NEW / REFINE / REDESIGN with reasoning
• 04-handoff-prompt.md — copy-pasteable /make-plan prompt for the chosen outcome

Phases

Phase 0: Scope Lock (ALWAYS FIRST)

Ask the user (or infer from the request) and write 00-scope.md:

• What is being audited? (live URL, repo path, Figma frame, component name)
• Who is the primary user, and what is the primary task?
• Constraints (brand, stack, deadline)
• Reference designs or competitors, if any

If the user is asking about a design that doesn't exist yet, skip Phases 1–2 and go straight to Phase 3 with verdict = NEW.

Phase 1: Evidence Gathering (FAN OUT)

Deploy subagents in parallel. Each must return ONLY the required fields below — no prose paragraphs, no scoring.

1. Structural Evidence subagent (always deploy) Required fields returned:

• Total interactive-element count on audited surface
• Max nesting depth of the primary component tree
• Repeated-pattern count (same affordance appearing >1 place with the same purpose)
• Dead-prop / unused-import count
• File:line citations for every count

2. Visual Evidence subagent (always deploy) Mode: if target is a reachable URL or running dev server → use the agent-browser skill for screenshots and computed-style inspection. If target is a static repo with no running instance → read source CSS / tokens / component files and report inferred facts only (mark these "INFERRED"). Required fields returned:

• Spacing scale observed (px array)
• Type scale observed (px array)
• Distinct color count (count of unique hex/oklch tokens actually rendered or referenced)
• Lowest contrast ratio observed across primary text
• States present checklist: empty / loading / error / success / focus / disabled — present or missing for each

3. Copy & Honesty subagent (always deploy) Required fields returned:

• List of every user-facing string with file:line
• Flagged inflations (marketing superlatives without backing)
• Flagged dark patterns (forced continuity, hidden cost, fake scarcity, confirmshaming)
• Flagged jargon / unclear labels with proposed plain replacement
• Label→behavior mismatches with file:line of both

4. Weight & Friction subagent (always deploy) Required fields returned:

• Initial JS bytes (number)
• Network request count for primary view (number)
• Time-to-interactive ms (number, measured or estimated with method noted)
• Animation count on idle screen (number)
• Notification / badge / modal count on initial load (number)

5. Accessibility Evidence subagent (OPTIONAL — deploy only if target has a meaningful interactive UI surface; skip for static landing pages without interaction) Required fields returned:

• WCAG contrast pass/fail per text token
• Focus order list across primary controls
• Keyboard reachability of every primary action (yes/no per action)
• ARIA landmark count
• Skip-link present (yes/no)

Principle → subagent mapping (orchestrator uses this when scoring):

The orchestrator writes 01-evidence.md consolidating all subagent reports. Reject any finding without a source citation. Subagents are explicitly forbidden from scoring — only the orchestrator scores, using the rubric in Phase 2.

Phase 2: Scorecard (ORCHESTRATOR)

The orchestrator scores each of the ten principles itself — do NOT delegate scoring.

For each principle, write to 02-scorecard.md:

N. Good design is <principle> — Score: X/3
   Evidence: <one-line summary citing 01-evidence.md anchors>
   Justification: <one sentence on why this score, not the one above or below>

Per-principle scoring anchors (apply verbatim — pick the level whose signal best matches the audited surface):

#1 innovative — 3: introduces a pattern not seen in 5+ peer products and ships it with restraint. 2: refreshes an existing pattern with a clear improvement. 1: imitates competitors with minor variation. 0: copies a competitor's flow wholesale. #2 useful — 3: primary task completes in fewest possible steps; no decoy actions. 2: primary task completes but adjacent surface adds steps. 1: primary task requires unnecessary detours. 0: primary task is not directly supported on the screen audited. #3 aesthetic — 3: spacing/type/color obey a single visible system; no orphan styles. 2: ≤2 minor inconsistencies across audited surface. 1: 3–5 inconsistencies OR one jarring violation. 0: no visible system OR active visual noise. #4 understandable — 3: a first-time user names every primary control correctly. 2: 1 control needs a tooltip. 1: 2–3 controls unclear; jargon present. 0: primary action is not identifiable without help. #5 unobtrusive — 3: chrome recedes; content is the figure, UI the ground. 2: chrome visible but quiet. 1: decoration competes with content. 0: chrome dominates content. #6 honest — 3: every claim, badge, and label maps 1:1 to actual behavior. 2: ≤1 minor inflation (e.g. "powerful" once). 1: 2+ inflations OR one dark pattern. 0: any deceptive flow (forced continuity, hidden cost, fake scarcity). #7 long-lasting — 3: visual language has no dated trend markers; would read as current 3 years from now. 2: 1 dated marker. 1: 2–3 dated markers (skeuomorph residue, fad gradients, trend typography). 0: design reads as a specific year's trend. #8 thorough — 3: empty / loading / error / success / focus / disabled all present and considered. 2: 1 state missing or rough. 1: 2–3 states missing. 0: 4+ states missing or default-browser. #9 environmentally friendly — 3: initial JS <100KB, no idle animation, dark mode honored, prefers-reduced-motion respected. 2: <500KB, motion gated. 1: 500KB–2MB, motion always on. 0: >2MB OR autoplay video OR dark mode ignored. #10 as little design as possible — 3: every element earns its place; removing any one breaks the task. 2: ≤2 removable elements. 1: 3–5 removable elements. 0: page is dominated by decoration or duplicated affordances.

Scoring rules:

• Tie-breaker rule: When uncertain between two scores, pick the lower one. Convergence > generosity.
• Score worst, not mean: When a principle has multiple representative instances on the audited surface, score the worst instance — not the average.
• No bonuses, no weights: Scores stay 0–3 integer. Principles are equally weighted. Total is sum of ten scores, max 30.

Phase 3: Verdict (ORCHESTRATOR)

Write 03-verdict.md with one of three verdicts, chosen by these rules:

• NEW DESIGN — No design exists yet, OR the existing artifact is a stub/wireframe with no real decisions to preserve.
• REFINE — Total score ≥ 20 AND no individual principle scored 0. The bones are good; iterate.
• REDESIGN — Total score < 20, OR any principle scored 0 on a load-bearing dimension (typically #2 useful, #4 understandable, or #6 honest). Start over from purpose.

State the verdict in one sentence. Then list the 3–5 highest-leverage moves — each tied to a specific principle and evidence anchor. These become the spine of the next phase's plan.

Anti-patterns to reject in your own verdict:

• Recommending REFINE because the codebase is large (sunk cost is not a design principle)
• Recommending REDESIGN because a single screen is ugly (scope it)
• Recommending NEW when an honest REDESIGN is warranted (don't dodge the critique)

Phase 4: /make-plan Handoff

Write 04-handoff-prompt.md containing exactly ONE fenced /make-plan prompt matching the verdict. The prompt must be self-contained — the next session won't see this audit unless it's quoted in.

Use the matching template below. Fill every <bracket>. Include the top 3–5 moves from Phase 3 verbatim, each with its evidence anchor.

Quote-in step (mandatory, applies to all three templates below): Before emitting the handoff, replace EVERY <bracket> placeholder with concrete content from the audit. Inline the verdict paragraph from 03-verdict.md and the top 3–5 moves verbatim into the template. Do NOT leave bare references like "see DESIGN-IS-.../03-verdict.md" — the next session won't have file access to the audit. The emitted handoff must be readable and actionable with zero external lookups.

Template: NEW DESIGN

/make-plan Design <product/screen/component name> from scratch.

Primary user: <who>
Primary task: <one sentence>
Constraints: <brand, stack, deadline, accessibility floor>

Non-goals (do not design these now):
- <explicit out-of-scope item 1>
- <explicit out-of-scope item 2>
- <explicit out-of-scope item 3>

Reference principles to optimize for, in order:
1. Useful (#2) — <what useful looks like here>
2. Understandable (#4) — <what clarity looks like here>
3. As little design as possible (#10) — <what restraint looks like here>

Deliverables for the plan:
- Information architecture (one screen map or component tree)
- Primary flow wireframe (low-fi, labeled)
- Token decisions (type scale, spacing scale, color count cap)
- States checklist (empty, loading, error, success, focus, disabled)
- Honesty audit on every user-facing string before ship

Anti-patterns to guard against (specific to NEW):
- Decoration without function
- Novel interactions without precedent
- Copy that overpromises
- Designing for screens the Non-goals list excluded

Template: REFINE DESIGN

/make-plan Refine <product/screen/component name> based on a Dieter Rams audit (total <X>/30).

Verdict paragraph (quoted from 03-verdict.md):
> <paste the one-sentence verdict here>

Keep (already strong, do NOT touch in this pass):
- Principle #<N> (<name>) scored 3 — Evidence: <file:line or anchor>. Regression check: <what to grep / re-test to confirm it still scores 3 after the refine>.
- <repeat for every principle that scored 3>

Fix in priority order (top 3–5 moves from the audit, verbatim):
1. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line or anchor>.
2. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line or anchor>.
3. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line or anchor>.
4. <optional 4th>
5. <optional 5th>

Out of scope for this refine pass: <explicit list — what NOT to touch>

Deliverables for the plan:
- Per-fix: target files, exact change, verification step
- Token/spec changes consolidated in one place
- Regression checklist for every "Keep" item above

Anti-patterns to guard against (specific to REFINE):
- Adding new abstractions where a direct change suffices
- Restyling areas that already scored 3
- Scope creep into structural redesign (if structure must change, this should be REDESIGN, not REFINE)
- Letting fixes mutate principles outside the priority list

Template: REDESIGN

/make-plan Redesign <product/screen/component name>. Current design failed audit at <X>/30 with critical gaps in principles <comma-separated list of 0-scored or 1-scored load-bearing principles>.

Verdict paragraph (quoted from 03-verdict.md):
> <paste the one-sentence verdict here>

Why redesign and not refine: <one sentence — usually a load-bearing principle (#2, #4, or #6) scored 0, or total is below threshold>

Preserve from current design (MUST be non-empty — at minimum, name the brand tokens):
- <specific element 1, with file:line>
- <specific element 2, with file:line>
- (if structurally nothing survives, write: "Brand tokens only — color palette and logo. Discard everything else.")

Discard (MUST be non-empty — name the structural patterns causing the failures):
- <pattern 1>. Evidence: <file:line>. Caused failure on principle #<N>.
- <pattern 2>. Evidence: <file:line>. Caused failure on principle #<N>.

Top 3–5 moves from the audit (verbatim):
1. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line>.
2. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line>.
3. <Principle # — short name>: <specific move>. Evidence: <file:line>.

Redesign principles in priority order:
1. <Principle # — name> — <what success looks like>
2. <Principle # — name> — <what success looks like>
3. <Principle # — name> — <what success looks like>

Deliverables for the plan:
- New information architecture (not derived from old)
- New primary flow (low-fi, labeled, compared side-by-side to current)
- States checklist (empty, loading, error, success, focus, disabled)
- Migration path for users currently on the old design
- Cutover criteria (when is the old design retired)

Anti-patterns to guard against (specific to REDESIGN):
- Porting old structure under new styling
- Keeping both designs behind a flag indefinitely
- Redesigning to follow a trend rather than the principles above
- Treating the Preserve list as optional — it must be filled before this handoff is valid

Key Principles (for the auditor)

• Evidence over taste — every score cites a source; "feels wrong" is not a finding
• Score what is, not what was intended — design is what ships, not what was drawn
• Honesty applies to the audit too — if total is 28/30, say REFINE even if the user wanted a redesign; if it's 12/30, say REDESIGN even if the user wanted a refine
• One verdict, not three — pick NEW or REFINE or REDESIGN; do not hedge
• Handoff, don't implement — design-is ends at the /make-plan prompt; /make-plan and /do take it from there
• Verdict commitment — Once 02-scorecard.md is written, the verdict follows the Phase 3 rule mechanically. Never re-score to back into a preferred verdict; if the scorecard says REDESIGN, the handoff is REDESIGN.

Failure Modes to Prevent

• Scoring from screenshots alone without reading the code — redeploy with structural subagent
• Scoring the codebase instead of the design — re-anchor on user-facing evidence
• Awarding 3s generously to soften the verdict — recalibrate against the per-principle anchors in Phase 2
• Producing a handoff prompt that doesn't quote the verdict and top moves — the next session is blind without them
• Skipping Phase 0 scope lock — auditing the wrong surface wastes Phase 1
• Sunk-cost reasoning — recommending REFINE because the codebase is large; sunk cost is not a design principle
• Hedging across verdicts — "could be REFINE or REDESIGN depending on..." — pick one
• Score inflation to match a desired verdict — score the evidence, then read the verdict off the rule
• Letting Phase 0 user preference override Phase 3 evidence — the user can disagree with the verdict, but the audit reports what the evidence says

Source: thedotmack/claude-mem → plugin/skills/design-is/SKILL.md