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Design
A comprehensive design operating system synthesized from 10 canonical design books. Covers research, typography, color theory, composition, branding, logo design, storytelling, web design, creative process, and professional practice.
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1. Native installer
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// RATINGS
// README
Design Skill OS Pro Max ⚡
🧠 The Cognitive "Brain": Derived from 10+ Design Books
Design Skill OS is not just a document; it's a professional-grade reasoning layer that transforms standard AI outputs into elite-level design masterworks. We have exhaustively synthesized principles from the "Design Bibles" to prime your AI agent with the strategic intent of a world-class Creative Director.
📚 The Source of Truth
The intelligence core is distilled from the collective wisdom of masters:
- Milton Glaser (Art is Work): Rejecting "schtick" for authenticity.
- Ellen Lupton (Thinking with Type): Mastering the grid and typographic hierarchy.
- Michael Bierut (How to Use Graphic Design to...): Using design as a tool for clear communication.
- Bruce Mau (MC24): Designing for massive change and performativity.
- Donald Norman (The Design of Everyday Things): Cognitive psychology and affordances.
- Debbie Millman (Brand Thinking): Mapping the emotional resonance of identity.
- Charles & Ray Eames: The philosophy that "The details are not the details; they make the design."
🛠 What the "Brain" Injects into your AI:
- [Section 2] Gestalt Sovereignty: Forces the AI to use proximity, similarity, and closure to organize information naturally.
- [Section 5] Chromatic Mastery: Implements the 60-30-10 Rule and creates harmonious palettes based on industry psychology.
- [Section 8] Typographic Modular Scale: Calculates line-height, leading, and pairing using the Golden Ratio.
- [Section 15] Digital Heuristics: Applies the 10 core usability rules (Nielsen/Norman) to every interface layout.
- [Section 23] Red Team Audits: Advanced adversarial self-critique based on WCAG 2.1 and Bruce Mau's performance metrics.
⚡ What's New: The Red Team Protocol
The AI no longer just "makes pixels"—it audits them. Every design of the Design Skill OS undergoes an automated "Red Team" gauntlet:
1. HEURISTICS -> Fixes UX friction & logic errors.
2. ACCESSIBILITY -> Ensures WCAG AA compliance (Contrast/Targets).
3. ANTI-SCHTICK -> Strips "lazy" AI trends for authentic branding.
🔥 Features that Ignite Creativity
- 🧠 161+ Reasoning Rules: Specialized logic for everything from SaaS dashboards to Luxury E-commerce.
- 🎨 Chromatic Mastery: Implements the 60-30-10 Rule and the Golden Ratio for typographic hierarchy.
- 🛡️ Red Team Swarm: Built-in adversarial protocols that kill "lazy" design defaults before they reach you.
- 📜 Narrative Synthesis: Forces AI to define a "Call to Adventure" and entry point for every page.
- 🛠️ Multi-Assistant Native: Tailored templates for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, and GitHub Copilot.
🚀 Installation & Setup
1. Global CLI Install
npm install -g design-skill-os
2. Prime Your Assistant
Initialize the skill for your specific AI stack. This injects the "Brain" directly into your project's configuration.
# General Setup
design-skill init --ai claude # Claude Code / CLI
design-skill init --ai cursor # Cursor IDE
design-skill init --ai windsurf # Windsurf
design-skill init --ai antigravity # Antigravity (Elite)
design-skill init --ai copilot # GitHub Copilot (repo-local .github/skills/design-skill-os + .github/copilot-instructions.md)
design-skill init --ai all # Global System Sync
3. Global Deployment (Recommended)
Available across all your projects without redundant initialization:
design-skill init --ai claude --global
Note:
--globalis not supported forcopilot; use local repo install.
📖 The "Master Designer" Workflow
Once installed, your AI agent gains instant access to the Design Skill OS core. Just chat naturally:
"Build a luxury watch landing page using the Design Skill OS rules. Ensure a Red Team check for color-blindness and narrative arc."
The Resulting Workflow:
- Discovery: AI maps brand personality using Section 17 rules.
- Strategy: Defines the layout using the Gestalt Principles (Section 2).
- Execution: Generates high-fidelity code with CSS variables and semantic HTML.
- Red Team: Runs the Adversarial Audit (Section 23) to fix contrast and trend-chasing.
📂 Architecture Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CORE SYSTEM: Design Skill OS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ src/design-skill/ │
│ ├── SKILL.md <-- The "Brain" (Knowledge Base) │
│ ├── data/ <-- 161+ Industry Reasoning Rules │
│ ├── scripts/ <-- AI Search & Logic Engine │
│ └── templates/ <-- High-Fidelity UI Patterns │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ cli/ <-- Dynamic Deployment Engine │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
🏆 Supported Industry Rules
| Category | High-Fidelity Focus |
|---|---|
| SaaS & Tech | Efficiency, Clarity, Developer Tooling |
| Fintech | Trust, Precision, Data Density |
| Luxury & E-com | Emotion, Elegance, Storytelling |
| Healthcare | Accessibility, Calm, Information Hierarchy |
| Creative Arts | Portfolios, Branding, Experimental UI |
🤝 Contributing & Support
We build for the future of AI-human collaboration.
- Stars are our fuel. If this helps you build better, drop a ⭐.
- PRs are welcome. See
CLAUDE.mdfor the contributor's style guide.
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for the full text.
// HOW IT'S BUILT
KEY FILES