frontend-design

This skill guides creation of distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics. Implement real working code with exceptional attention to aesthetic details and creative choices.

When to Invoke This Skill

Automatically activate for:

• Building UI components, pages, dashboards, or applications
• Creating landing pages, forms, or interactive interfaces
• Designing data visualizations or charts
• Implementing design systems or component libraries
• Any frontend work where visual quality matters

Design Thinking

Before coding, understand the context and commit to a BOLD aesthetic direction:

1. Purpose: What problem does this interface solve? Who uses it?
2. Tone: Pick a distinctive aesthetic:
   • Brutally minimal | Maximalist chaos | Retro-futuristic
   • Organic/natural | Luxury/refined | Playful/toy-like
   • Editorial/magazine | Brutalist/raw | Art deco/geometric
   • Soft/pastel | Industrial/utilitarian | Neo-brutalist
   • Swiss/grid-based | Cyberpunk/neon | Scandinavian/calm
3. Constraints: Technical requirements (framework, performance, accessibility)
4. Differentiation: What makes this UNFORGETTABLE?

CRITICAL: Choose a clear conceptual direction and execute it with precision.

Technology Stack Preferences

Component Libraries (Priority Order)

1. shadcn/ui - First choice for React projects. Copy components, full customization.
2. Radix UI - Accessible primitives when shadcn isn't available
3. Headless UI - For Tailwind-based projects
4. Custom CSS - When libraries aren't appropriate

Data Visualization

1. Recharts - First choice for charts in React. Clean, composable, customizable.
2. Tremor - Dashboard-ready charts with great defaults
3. Victory - When Recharts doesn't fit
4. D3.js - For complex, custom visualizations only

Styling

1. Tailwind CSS - Utility-first, consistent spacing/colors
2. CSS Variables - For theming and design tokens
3. CSS Modules - When Tailwind isn't available

Animation

1. Framer Motion - First choice for React animations
2. CSS animations - For simple, performant effects
3. GSAP - For complex timeline animations

Anti-Slop Design Rules

NEVER Use These (AI Slop Indicators)

Typography Slop:

• Inter, Roboto, Arial, system-ui as primary fonts
• Font sizes that are too uniform (everything 14-16px)
• Generic font pairings (Inter + Inter)

Color Slop:

• Purple/violet gradients on white backgrounds
• Blue-to-purple CTA buttons
• Washed-out, low-contrast color schemes
• Rainbow gradients for no reason
• Generic blue (#3B82F6) as primary color

Layout Slop:

• Perfectly centered everything
• Cards with equal rounded corners (rounded-lg everywhere)
• Symmetric layouts with no visual hierarchy
• Grid of 3-4 identical cards pattern
• Hero with centered text + gradient background + floating shapes

Component Slop:

• Glassmorphism on everything
• Shadows that are too soft and uniform
• Generic avatar circles with gradient backgrounds
• Empty state illustrations that are too cute
• Progress bars with gradient fills

Animation Slop:

• Fade-in on scroll for everything
• Bounce effects on buttons
• Spinning loaders when skeleton screens work better
• Hover effects that all feel the same

INSTEAD, Create Distinctive Design

Typography That Stands Out:

Display fonts: Clash Display, Cabinet Grotesk, Satoshi, Space Grotesk (sparingly),
               Instrument Serif, Fraunces, Playfair Display, Editorial New
Body fonts: Geist, Plus Jakarta Sans, DM Sans, Source Serif Pro, Literata
Monospace: JetBrains Mono, Fira Code, IBM Plex Mono

• Create contrast between display and body fonts
• Use larger type than feels comfortable (48px+ for headlines)
• Vary font weights dramatically (300 vs 700)

Color With Intent:

• Pick ONE dominant color and use it sparingly
• Use near-black (#0A0A0A, #111111) instead of pure black
• Create depth with subtle gradients in backgrounds
• Use color for meaning, not decoration
• Consider dark mode as primary (not afterthought)

Layouts That Break the Grid:

• Asymmetric compositions with clear hierarchy
• Overlapping elements that create depth
• Generous negative space OR intentional density
• Grid-breaking hero elements
• Varying content widths within the same page

Components With Character:

• Micro-interactions that feel tactile
• Loading states that match the brand
• Error states that are helpful and on-brand
• Empty states that guide rather than decorate
• Form inputs that feel substantial

React Component Architecture

Design components like you are the creator of React. Think in composition, reusability, and elegance.

Component Philosophy

Small, Focused Components:

• Each component does ONE thing well
• Prefer 20-50 lines per component
• If a component exceeds 100 lines, split it
• Name components by what they ARE, not what they DO

Composition Over Configuration:

// BAD: Monolithic component with many props
<Card
  title="User Profile"
  subtitle="Settings"
  avatar={user.avatar}
  showBadge={true}
  badgeColor="green"
  actions={[...]}
/>

// GOOD: Composable components
<Card>
  <Card.Header>
    <Avatar src={user.avatar} />
    <Card.Title>User Profile</Card.Title>
    <Badge variant="success" />
  </Card.Header>
  <Card.Content>...</Card.Content>
  <Card.Actions>...</Card.Actions>
</Card>

Props Design Principles

Meaningful, Typed Props:

// Generic, reusable props
interface ButtonProps {
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'ghost' | 'destructive';
  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';
  loading?: boolean;
  disabled?: boolean;
  children: React.ReactNode;
}

// State props that tell a story
interface DataTableProps<T> {
  data: T[];
  columns: Column<T>[];
  isLoading?: boolean;
  isEmpty?: boolean;
  onRowClick?: (row: T) => void;
  selectedRows?: Set<string>;
}

Prop Patterns:

• Use children for content (not content prop)
• Use render props for customization: renderItem, renderEmpty
• Use compound patterns for complex UIs
• Avoid boolean props when variants work better

State Management

Local State First:

// Keep state as close to where it's used as possible
function SearchInput({ onSearch }: { onSearch: (query: string) => void }) {
  const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
  const debouncedSearch = useDebouncedCallback(onSearch, 300);

  return (
    <Input
      value={query}
      onChange={(e) => {
        setQuery(e.target.value);
        debouncedSearch(e.target.value);
      }}
    />
  );
}

Lift State Only When Needed:

• Lift when siblings need to share state
• Lift when parent needs to control behavior
• Don't lift "just in case"

Component Patterns

1. Container/Presenter Pattern:

// Container: handles data fetching, state
function UserProfileContainer({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data: user, isLoading } = useUser(userId);
  if (isLoading) return <UserProfileSkeleton />;
  return <UserProfile user={user} />;
}

// Presenter: pure UI, receives props
function UserProfile({ user }: { user: User }) {
  return (
    <Card>
      <Avatar src={user.avatar} />
      <h2>{user.name}</h2>
    </Card>
  );
}

2. Compound Components:

// Parent provides context
const TabsContext = createContext<TabsContextValue>(null);

function Tabs({ children, defaultValue }: TabsProps) {
  const [active, setActive] = useState(defaultValue);
  return (
    <TabsContext.Provider value={{ active, setActive }}>
      <div className="tabs">{children}</div>
    </TabsContext.Provider>
  );
}

Tabs.List = TabsList;
Tabs.Tab = Tab;
Tabs.Panel = TabPanel;

// Usage
<Tabs defaultValue="overview">
  <Tabs.List>
    <Tabs.Tab value="overview">Overview</Tabs.Tab>
    <Tabs.Tab value="settings">Settings</Tabs.Tab>
  </Tabs.List>
  <Tabs.Panel value="overview">...</Tabs.Panel>
</Tabs>

3. Render Props for Flexibility:

interface ListProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  renderItem: (item: T, index: number) => React.ReactNode;
  renderEmpty?: () => React.ReactNode;
  keyExtractor: (item: T) => string;
}

function List<T>({ items, renderItem, renderEmpty, keyExtractor }: ListProps<T>) {
  if (items.length === 0 && renderEmpty) return renderEmpty();
  return (
    <ul>
      {items.map((item, i) => (
        <li key={keyExtractor(item)}>{renderItem(item, i)}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

File Organization

components/
├── ui/                    # Primitive components (Button, Input, Card)
│   ├── button.tsx
│   ├── input.tsx
│   └── card.tsx
├── patterns/              # Composed patterns (DataTable, Form, Modal)
│   ├── data-table/
│   │   ├── data-table.tsx
│   │   ├── data-table-header.tsx
│   │   ├── data-table-row.tsx
│   │   └── index.ts
│   └── form/
├── features/              # Feature-specific components
│   ├── dashboard/
│   └── settings/
└── layouts/               # Page layouts
    ├── sidebar-layout.tsx
    └── centered-layout.tsx

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Component Slop:

• Giant 500+ line components
• Props drilling through 5+ levels
• useEffect for everything
• Inline styles mixed with Tailwind
• any types on props

Instead:

• Split into smaller, focused components
• Use Context or composition for deep data
• Prefer derived state over effects
• Consistent styling approach
• Strict TypeScript types

shadcn/ui Quick Reference

Core Philosophy: shadcn/ui is NOT a component library—it's how you build your component library. You get actual component code that you own and can modify.

Quick Start

# Initialize shadcn/ui
npx shadcn@latest init

# Add components
npx shadcn@latest add button card dialog

# Search registry
npx shadcn@latest search @shadcn -q "button"

Key Principles

1. Open Code: Full transparency, easy customization, AI-readable
2. Composition: Common, composable interface across all components
3. Distribution: Flat-file schema + CLI for easy installation
4. Beautiful Defaults: Great design out-of-the-box, easily customizable
5. AI-Ready: Open code structure for LLMs to understand and improve

Component Categories

| Category | Components | |----------|------------| | Form & Input | Form, Field, Button, Input, Textarea, Checkbox, Radio, Select, Switch, Slider, Calendar, Date Picker, Combobox | | Layout & Navigation | Accordion, Breadcrumb, Navigation Menu, Sidebar, Tabs, Separator, Scroll Area, Resizable | | Overlays & Dialogs | Dialog, Alert Dialog, Sheet, Drawer, Popover, Tooltip, Hover Card, Context Menu, Dropdown Menu, Command | | Feedback & Status | Alert, Toast, Progress, Spinner, Skeleton, Badge, Empty | | Display & Media | Avatar, Card, Table, Data Table, Chart, Carousel, Aspect Ratio, Typography |

Theming Basics

// Color convention: background + foreground
<div className="bg-background text-foreground">Hello</div>
<div className="bg-primary text-primary-foreground">Primary</div>
<div className="bg-muted text-muted-foreground">Muted</div>

Customization Tips

1. Customize the theme - Don't use defaults

   :root {
     --radius: 0.5rem; /* or 0 for sharp corners */
     --primary: 220 13% 10%; /* custom primary */
   }
   

2. Extend components - Add custom variants, modify animations, adjust spacing

3. Combine primitives - Layer components for unique effects

For Complete Documentation

See references/shadcn.md for:

• Complete components.json configuration
• Full theming system with CSS variables
• Dark mode setup guide
• CLI commands reference
• MCP server integration
• Registry schema for publishing components

Recharts Quick Reference

When creating charts:

1. Style the chart to match the UI

   <ResponsiveContainer>
     <LineChart data={data}>
       <Line
         type="monotone"
         strokeWidth={2}
         dot={false}
         stroke="hsl(var(--primary))"
       />
       <XAxis
         tickLine={false}
         axisLine={false}
         tick={{ fill: 'hsl(var(--muted-foreground))' }}
       />
     </LineChart>
   </ResponsiveContainer>
   

2. Remove visual clutter

   • Hide axis lines when not needed
   • Use subtle grid lines or none
   • Custom tooltips that match your design

3. Add meaningful interactions

   • Hover states that reveal detail
   • Click handlers for drill-down
   • Animate data changes smoothly

Implementation Checklist

Before considering frontend work complete:

• [ ] Typography creates clear hierarchy (display vs body)
• [ ] Colors are intentional and consistent (CSS variables)
• [ ] Spacing follows a rhythm (8px/4px grid)
• [ ] Interactive elements have hover/focus/active states
• [ ] Loading and empty states exist
• [ ] Dark mode works (if applicable)
• [ ] Animations are smooth (60fps, no jank)
• [ ] Accessibility: keyboard navigation, ARIA labels, color contrast
• [ ] Mobile responsive (or explicitly desktop-only)
• [ ] Code is production-ready (no console logs, proper error handling)

Output Format

When implementing frontend:

1. Explain the aesthetic direction (2-3 sentences)
2. List key design decisions (typography, colors, key components)
3. Provide complete, working code with:
   • All imports and dependencies noted
   • CSS/Tailwind classes included
   • TypeScript types when applicable
   • Comments for non-obvious choices

Remember: Claude is capable of extraordinary creative work. Commit fully to a distinctive vision that could only have been designed for this specific context.