Design Style

Recommend and apply design styles from a curated library of 67 visual aesthetics — from Brutalism to Glassmorphism, Cyberpunk to Japandi.

When This Skill Activates

User asks "what style should I use for my project?"
User says "recommend a design style"
User mentions a specific style name ("use glassmorphism", "apply brutalist style")
User wants to apply colors, fonts, or CSS from a design aesthetic
User asks "帮我选设计风格" / "推荐设计风格" / "选个设计风格"

Core Principles

Show, don't lecture — Lead with concrete CSS, colors, and prompt templates. Not theory.
Context-aware — A fintech dashboard needs different styles than an indie game landing page.
Opinionated — Recommend 3 styles, not 15. Explain why each fits.
Immediately actionable — Every run ends with a browsable comparison HTML the user can pick from, plus paste-ready CSS variables.
No middle stops — After the user provides purpose + basic info, run straight through to a generated preview. Don't stop to ask "which one do you prefer?" — let the visual do the choosing.

Phase 0: Detect Mode

Mode A: Recommend (default) — User wants styles picked for their project. Go to Phase 1.
Mode B: Lookup — User names a specific style ("tell me about glassmorphism"). Skip Phase 1/2, go straight to Phase 3 for that style.
Mode C: Apply — User picks a style and wants it applied to existing code ("apply cyberpunk to this file"). Skip Phase 1/2/3, go straight to Phase 4.

Phase 1: Two Questions — Purpose + Basic Info

Combine both into a single AskUserQuestion call. Do NOT ask them one at a time.

Question 1 — Purpose (目的)

Header: Purpose Question: "What are you building, and what's the goal? / 你在做什么？想达成什么目的？" Options (with freeform allowed):

SaaS / 工具产品
作品集 / 个人站
电商 / 品牌店
博客 / 内容站
Landing Page / 营销落地页
App / 移动端
演示 / Slides / 演讲
其他 (freeform)

Question 2 — Basic Info (基本信息)

Header: Basics Question: "Tell me a bit more — brand vibe, audience, must-have/avoid colors, any constraints. / 说几句项目基本信息：品牌调性、目标用户、必须保留或规避的颜色、任何限制。" No fixed options — freeform text answer.

Example acceptable answers:

"AI dev tool, targeting engineers, must feel technical, no baby pastels"
"独立摄影师作品集，想要暗色高级感，偏冷色调"
"儿童教育 App，家长掏钱，得让家长放心又让孩子觉得有趣"

Skip Phase 1 entirely if the user's initial message already covers both (e.g., "帮我给我的 AI dev SaaS 找 3 个大胆但可信的风格" — that answers Purpose + Basics inline).

Phase 2: Pick 3 Styles + Auto-Generate Preview

No middle stop. After Phase 1, immediately do all of the following in one turn:

Step 2.1 — Read the reference

Read styles-reference.md — the "Use Case Recommendations" section for the user's Purpose category, and the full detail blocks (### N. id — Name / 中文名) for candidate styles.

Step 2.2 — Infer innovation level from Basic Info

Parse the free-text answer for signals:

Signal words in Basics	Innovation level
trustworthy, professional, safe, financial, enterprise, 稳重, 可信, 专业	Level 1
clean, modern, standard SaaS, 现代, 干净	Level 2
bold, distinctive, signature, memorable, 大胆, 有辨识度, 有记忆点	Level 3
experimental, rule-breaking, avant-garde, portfolio-grade, 先锋, 实验, 冒险, 作品集级	Level 4

If ambiguous, default to Level 2–3 (the sweet spot for most projects).

Step 2.3 — Choose 3 styles with real spread

Pick 3 styles that span the axis — not 3 flavors of the same thing. Rules of thumb:

One "safest" pick that clearly matches the level.
One "signature" pick that leans one level bolder.
One "wildcard" from an adjacent Purpose category that could reframe the project (e.g., for a SaaS pick, throw in an Editorial or Kinetic option).

Avoid recommending 3 styles that share the same DNA quadrant (e.g., three dark-neon styles). The 3 should feel visually distinct.

Step 2.4 — Print the recommendation card (3 blocks)

## Style Recommendations

### 1. [Name] · [中文名] — [one-line reason it fits this project]
Colors: ■ #hex ■ #hex ■ #hex ■ #hex
DNA: Roundness X | Contrast X | Warmth X
Why: [2 sentences tied to the user's Purpose + Basics — not generic style copy]

### 2. [Name] · [中文名] — [one-line reason]
...

### 3. [Name] · [中文名] — [one-line reason]
...

Step 2.5 — Generate a side-by-side comparison HTML

Immediately (in the same turn — do NOT ask the user "which one do you prefer?"), create a single-file HTML that renders the same sample content in all 3 chosen styles side-by-side:

Save path: ~/Desktop/Claude skills/design-style-preview-<project-slug>.html
Sample content: a hero card the user can imagine as their landing page — brand name (from Basics if given, else "Your Project"), a tagline, a primary CTA button, 3 feature chips. Same content in each of the 3 style renders.
Layout: 3 columns on desktop (grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr)), stacked on mobile.
Each column displays: style number & name at top, then the rendered card using that style's CSS from styles-reference.md.
Include a "Pick this one" button under each render that copies the style ID to clipboard.
Open the file with open <path> at the end of the turn.

Step 2.6 — Print the follow-up prompt

End the turn with:

"Preview opened. Tell me which one clicks — or say 'wildcard 3 more' and I'll pull a different trio."

Phase 3: Show Style Details (Lookup Mode)

Only used when the user names a specific style directly (Mode B) or after they pick one from the Phase 2 preview.

Read the style's full entry in styles-reference.md and present:

Overview — Name, difficulty, DNA scores
Color Palette — All colors with their roles, as a visual table
CSS Snippet — The core CSS that defines this style
Font Recommendations — Extract from the CSS/prompts what fonts work best
Prompt Templates — All 3 prompt templates (Basic, Advanced, Keywords)
Do's and Don'ts — Quick reference for staying on-style
Related Styles — 3 similar styles for exploration

Then offer: "Want me to apply this to your project? (Phase 4)"

Phase 4: Apply to Project

Triggered when the user picks a favorite from the Phase 2 preview OR explicitly asks to apply a style.

4.1 Generate CSS Variables

:root {
  /* [Style Name] Theme */
  --color-primary: #...;
  --color-secondary: #...;
  --color-accent: #...;
  --color-background: #...;
  --color-surface: #...;
  --color-text: #...;
  --color-text-secondary: #...;

  --font-heading: '...', ...;
  --font-body: '...', ...;

  --radius-sm: ...;
  --radius-md: ...;
  --radius-lg: ...;

  --shadow: ...;
}

4.2 Scan the user's project

Read existing CSS/HTML/framework files to detect: Tailwind, vanilla CSS variables, CSS Modules, styled-components, and any existing theme tokens.

4.3 Apply in the project's own idiom

Tailwind → theme.extend config with the palette, fonts, shadows.
CSS Variables → a :root block (or update existing tokens).
Styled-components / CSS Modules → a theme object.
Raw HTML → inject a <style> block or inline styles.

Also provide:

Google Fonts / Fontshare <link> for recommended fonts
A sample component (card, button, nav) styled in the chosen aesthetic
The 3 prompt templates for generating more UI with AI tools

4.4 Verify

WCAG AA contrast on primary/text combos
Font links properly included
No overrides that break existing components

Data Source

All style data comes from styles-reference.md:

Quick index of all 67 styles with colors, difficulty, and tags
Use case recommendations by project type and innovation level
Full details per style: colors, CSS, prompts, do's/don'ts, DNA scores

The authoritative interactive reference: https://design-lab-yanliu.vercel.app/

Guardrails

Never recommend more than 3 styles at once — too many options paralyze.
Never stop between Phase 1 and Phase 2's HTML output — the point of this skill is to let the user see the preview before they decide, not to interview them further.
Always ground recommendations in the user's Purpose + Basics — no generic "these are popular styles."
When applying styles, preserve existing code structure — don't rewrite files.
If the user's project has an established design system, integrate with it rather than override.
Font recommendations must use Google Fonts or Fontshare (free, no licensing issues).
Check color contrast when applying dark or low-contrast styles.

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