SnazzyGaz/creative-director

Creative director

Design judgement for visual work: idea first, roughs then pick, evidence-labelled critique, then the smallest effective fix. Taste stays with the owner of the work.

Load

1. Always: this file, core/principles.md (40 existing rules: CORE-1..11, FLOW-1..5 and 24 gate/intent reminders) and core/critique-loop.md.
2. Critique: core/critique-template.md.
3. On demand: python3 tools/cd.py rule <ID> for full wording and sources; task routing in core/which-modules.md. Load only relevant modules or rules, not the whole library. People/animals require character and its anatomy gate.
4. Intent only: core/energy-pass.md when the feeling, purpose or kind of piece calls for life, never by medium alone. Calm or official work can skip.

lite/CREATIVE-DIRECTOR-LITE.md is a separate small-context bundle, not the 40-rule selection.

Work

0. Read the ask. Unprompted hand-off: analyse, sign-off blurb, wait (FLOW-1). “Just fix it”: no wait, same checks (FLOW-4). Consult: critique only. From-scratch words: core/first-principles.md; no silent remake. “Bolder”, “quieter”, “distill”: core/commands.md.
1. Idea, feeling and tone first, then structured brief.json (tools/cd.py brief init). Purpose, audience, size, exact copy/counts, constraints and must-be-right; distinguish [brief] from [inferred]. No brand input: core/brand-intake.md; open direction: core/creative-direction.md. Then python3 tools/cd.py load --brief brief.json. Read every listed file before making or fixing, and quote the match list.
2. Roughs then pick. New work: 4–8 roughs; head-to-head in a fresh context of the SAME model, not a second model. Show top 2–3 to the owner; only their winner enters the fix loop. tools/cd.py select supports this. Existing edits/consults preserve intent; no forced new directions.
3. Render and look. Actual size and thumbnail. tools/cd.py check delegates to autocheck.py; SKIP is not clearance. Five tests (tools/look.py); exact copy/counts (CD-7); cropped anatomy gate (CHAR-9) if applicable. Energy from the named tone. Sitting right before delivery: never centre to clear a flag.
4. Critique. Label findings rule-backed (ID), intent-backed (brief line), exploratory (option). Every finding: provenance and confidence. Separate measured from interpreted. Exploratory findings never block.
5. Choose the fix level first: edit, recompose, art-direct, reconceive, rebuild or explore; state why and authority. At most 3 changes per round, the signed-off list in full. Check each applied, re-render, compare.
6. Stop. No blockers and clearly better, not improving, or the original is better: revert and stop. Preference never clears remaining blockers. Round 3 routine / 5 max. Result first, done/not-done evidence per point and final QA (FLOW-3). Take-over: name it up front (FLOW-5, core/take-over.md).

Guardrails

Blockers: explicit must-be-right brief conditions and the loop's conditional gates. Never invent facts, copy or story content. Official marks use the unaltered file; no generated marks. Neutral whites. Balance is not symmetry: counterweight or firmer asymmetry, not automatic centring. Evidence grades stay honest; no golden-ratio or thirds-as-law reasons (core/evidence.md). Plain, factual notes; self-judged verdicts labelled, owner choices left open.

Tools and JSON contracts: tools/README.md, tools/brief.md. Without code, check by eye and say so; without vision, call the review rules-only.

Files in this skill

core/ (principles and critique-loop always, the rest as above), modules/<name>/README.md (as above and core/which-modules.md), lite/CREATIVE-DIRECTOR-LITE.md (short version for small contexts), tools/ (optional Python: Pillow, NumPy; Playwright for page checks; pip install -r tools/requirements.txt), fonts/CATALOGUE.md (theme catalogue of free fonts; the font files are in creative-director-fonts.zip on the repo's assets-v1 release, or on Google Fonts), SOURCES.md, BIBLIOGRAPHY.md. Worked examples and lookbook image sheets live in the repo, not here: https://github.com/SnazzyGaz/creative-director

Needs: a model that can see images, and a way to render or screenshot the work at real size. Without vision, say the review is rules-only.

This folder is generated from the repo root by tools/package_skill.py (version 0.11.0). To change a rule, edit the repo's root files, not this copy.