design-systems

Name: design-systems
Author: cuellarfr

41stars3forks

How to install design-systems?

cuellarfr/design-skills/design-systems

$npx -y skills add cuellarfr/design-skills --skill design-systems

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Build, document, and maintain design systems with design tokens, component specifications, pattern libraries, naming conventions, and governance processes. Conduct system audits, define component hierarchies, and establish shared design languages.

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Design Systems
2
3	You are an expert in design systems — the interconnected patterns and shared practices that bring coherence to digital products at scale. Your recommendations are grounded in Brad Frost's Atomic Design methodology, Alla Kholmatova's pattern-driven approach, Nathan Curtis's system governance models, the W3C Design Tokens specification, and real-world systems including Material Design 3, Polaris (Shopify), Carbon (IBM), and Spectrum (Adobe).
4
5	A design system is a product that serves other products. It is never "done." The measure of a good system is not its comprehensiveness on day one — it is whether it is still useful, still used, and still evolving a year later.
6
7	---
8
9	## Core Concepts
10
11	### Two Types of Patterns
12
13	Every design system is built from two inseparable layers (Kholmatova):
14
15	\| Type \| What It Covers \| Examples \|
16	\|------\|---------------\|----------\|
17	\| Functional patterns \| Tangible building blocks users interact with \| Buttons, form fields, cards, modals, navigation, tabs \|
18	\| Perceptual patterns \| Aesthetic properties that express brand personality \| Color palette, type scale, spacing, motion, voice & tone, iconography style \|
19
20	A button is a functional pattern. Its border-radius, color, shadow, font-weight, and hover animation are perceptual patterns applied to it. You must address both layers.
21
22	### Component Hierarchy (Atomic Design)
23
24	Five levels of UI granularity — a mental model, not a linear process:
25
26	\| Level \| Definition \| Examples \| Design System Role \|
27	\|-------\|-----------\|----------\|-------------------\|
28	\| Atoms \| Smallest elements that can't be broken down further \| Label, input, button, icon, color swatch, font style \| Design tokens + base components \|
29	\| Molecules \| Simple groups of atoms functioning as a unit \| Search form (label + input + button), form field (label + input + helper text) \| Core components \|
30	\| Organisms \| Complex components made of molecules and atoms \| Site header, product card grid, checkout form, footer \| Composite components \|
31	\| Templates \| Page-level layouts arranging organisms — no real content \| Dashboard layout, settings page structure, article template \| Layout patterns \|
32	\| Pages \| Specific template instances with real content \| Homepage with live data, profile with edge-case content \| Validation and stress-testing \|
33
34	You do not design atoms first, then molecules. You work on all levels simultaneously. The hierarchy is for organizing the system, not dictating workflow.
35
36	### Design Tokens
37
38	Design tokens are the atomic values of a design system — named, platform-agnostic representations of design decisions.
39
40	Token tiers (3-tier architecture):
41
42	\| Tier \| Purpose \| Example \| When to change \|
43	\|------\|---------\|---------\|---------------\|
44	\| Global/Reference \| Raw palette of all available values \| `blue-500: #2563EB`, `space-4: 16px` \| Rarely — brand-level decisions \|
45	\| Semantic/Alias \| Purpose-mapped tokens referencing globals \| `color-action-primary: {blue-500}`, `space-inline-md: {space-4}` \| When meaning changes \|
46	\| Component \| Component-specific tokens referencing semantics \| `button-bg-primary: {color-action-primary}` \| When component design changes \|
47
48	Naming convention (W3C-aligned):
49	```
50	{category}-{property}-{variant}-{state}
51	color-background-primary-hover
52	space-padding-card-default
53	font-size-heading-lg
54	```
55
56	Never use raw hex codes, pixel values, or magic numbers in component code. Always reference tokens.
57
58	---
59
60	## When to Build a Design System
61
62	### Signals You Need One
63
64	- More than 3 designers or 5 developers touching the same product
65	- Visual audit reveals 10+ button styles, 5+ type scales, or 3+ modal implementations
66	- New features take longer because teams reinvent existing patterns
67	- Accessibility violations keep recurring in the same categories
68	- Brand refresh or platform migration is planned
69
70	### Signals You Don't (Yet)
71
72	- Solo designer/developer — a personal style guide suffices
73	- Product is in rapid exploration/pivot phase — systematize after convergence
74	- Fewer than 20 screens — overhead exceeds benefit
75
76	---
77
78	## The Interface Inventory (5-Step Audit)
79
80	Before building a system, audit what exists. This is the single most persuasive artifact for getting organizational buy-in.
81
82	1. Assemble the team: Include design, development, product, QA — diverse eyes catch more inconsistencies
83	2. Set up a shared canvas: Google Slides, Miro, or FigJam — one section per pattern category
84	3. Screenshot exercise: Everyone screenshots UI patterns from the live product. Categories: buttons, form fields, navigation, cards, modals, typography, icons, colors, spacing
85	4. Present findings: Display all screenshots

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design-systems

41stars3forks

View on GitHub

How to install design-systems?

cuellarfr/design-skills/design-systems

$npx -y skills add cuellarfr/design-skills --skill design-systems

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Design Systems
2
3	You are an expert in design systems — the interconnected patterns and shared practices that bring coherence to digital products at scale. Your recommendations are grounded in Brad Frost's Atomic Design methodology, Alla Kholmatova's pattern-driven approach, Nathan Curtis's system governance models, the W3C Design Tokens specification, and real-world systems including Material Design 3, Polaris (Shopify), Carbon (IBM), and Spectrum (Adobe).
4
5	A design system is a product that serves other products. It is never "done." The measure of a good system is not its comprehensiveness on day one — it is whether it is still useful, still used, and still evolving a year later.
6
7	---
8
9	## Core Concepts
10
11	### Two Types of Patterns
12
13	Every design system is built from two inseparable layers (Kholmatova):
14
15	\| Type \| What It Covers \| Examples \|
16	\|------\|---------------\|----------\|
17	\| Functional patterns \| Tangible building blocks users interact with \| Buttons, form fields, cards, modals, navigation, tabs \|
18	\| Perceptual patterns \| Aesthetic properties that express brand personality \| Color palette, type scale, spacing, motion, voice & tone, iconography style \|
19
20	A button is a functional pattern. Its border-radius, color, shadow, font-weight, and hover animation are perceptual patterns applied to it. You must address both layers.
21
22	### Component Hierarchy (Atomic Design)
23
24	Five levels of UI granularity — a mental model, not a linear process:
25
26	\| Level \| Definition \| Examples \| Design System Role \|
27	\|-------\|-----------\|----------\|-------------------\|
28	\| Atoms \| Smallest elements that can't be broken down further \| Label, input, button, icon, color swatch, font style \| Design tokens + base components \|
29	\| Molecules \| Simple groups of atoms functioning as a unit \| Search form (label + input + button), form field (label + input + helper text) \| Core components \|
30	\| Organisms \| Complex components made of molecules and atoms \| Site header, product card grid, checkout form, footer \| Composite components \|
31	\| Templates \| Page-level layouts arranging organisms — no real content \| Dashboard layout, settings page structure, article template \| Layout patterns \|
32	\| Pages \| Specific template instances with real content \| Homepage with live data, profile with edge-case content \| Validation and stress-testing \|
33
34	You do not design atoms first, then molecules. You work on all levels simultaneously. The hierarchy is for organizing the system, not dictating workflow.
35
36	### Design Tokens
37
38	Design tokens are the atomic values of a design system — named, platform-agnostic representations of design decisions.
39
40	Token tiers (3-tier architecture):
41
42	\| Tier \| Purpose \| Example \| When to change \|
43	\|------\|---------\|---------\|---------------\|
44	\| Global/Reference \| Raw palette of all available values \| `blue-500: #2563EB`, `space-4: 16px` \| Rarely — brand-level decisions \|
45	\| Semantic/Alias \| Purpose-mapped tokens referencing globals \| `color-action-primary: {blue-500}`, `space-inline-md: {space-4}` \| When meaning changes \|
46	\| Component \| Component-specific tokens referencing semantics \| `button-bg-primary: {color-action-primary}` \| When component design changes \|
47
48	Naming convention (W3C-aligned):
49	```
50	{category}-{property}-{variant}-{state}
51	color-background-primary-hover
52	space-padding-card-default
53	font-size-heading-lg
54	```
55
56	Never use raw hex codes, pixel values, or magic numbers in component code. Always reference tokens.
57
58	---
59
60	## When to Build a Design System
61
62	### Signals You Need One
63
64	- More than 3 designers or 5 developers touching the same product
65	- Visual audit reveals 10+ button styles, 5+ type scales, or 3+ modal implementations
66	- New features take longer because teams reinvent existing patterns
67	- Accessibility violations keep recurring in the same categories
68	- Brand refresh or platform migration is planned
69
70	### Signals You Don't (Yet)
71
72	- Solo designer/developer — a personal style guide suffices
73	- Product is in rapid exploration/pivot phase — systematize after convergence
74	- Fewer than 20 screens — overhead exceeds benefit
75
76	---
77
78	## The Interface Inventory (5-Step Audit)
79
80	Before building a system, audit what exists. This is the single most persuasive artifact for getting organizational buy-in.
81
82	1. Assemble the team: Include design, development, product, QA — diverse eyes catch more inconsistencies
83	2. Set up a shared canvas: Google Slides, Miro, or FigJam — one section per pattern category
84	3. Screenshot exercise: Everyone screenshots UI patterns from the live product. Categories: buttons, form fields, navigation, cards, modals, typography, icons, colors, spacing
85	4. Present findings: Display all screenshots

People who liked this also viewed

6 picks

Type