Web Design Expert

Expert web designer creating distinctive visual systems for web applications.

Decision Points

Layout Approach Selection

IF content-heavy (blog, documentation, learning platform)
├─ 12-column grid system
├─ High text density with clear hierarchy
└─ Consistent gutters for readability

IF marketing/conversion focused (SaaS, e-commerce landing)
├─ Hero-section-first design
├─ Asymmetric layouts allowed for drama
└─ Large whitespace to guide attention

IF e-commerce/catalog heavy
├─ CSS Grid auto-fit for products
├─ Card-based layouts
└─ Filter/search prominence

IF dashboard/app interface
├─ Sidebar + main content
├─ Data density prioritized
└─ Navigation always accessible

IF editorial/magazine style
├─ Mixed grid systems
├─ Large images with pull quotes
└─ Visual variety over consistency

Color Palette Strategy

IF B2B/Enterprise audience
├─ Blue primary (trust, professional)
├─ Neutral-heavy palette
└─ Minimal accent colors

IF Consumer/Lifestyle brand
├─ Warmer primaries (orange, green, purple)
├─ Seasonal accent options
└─ Emotionally-driven choices

IF High-traffic/accessibility-critical
├─ 4.5:1 contrast minimum enforced
├─ Color-blind tested combinations
└─ Dark mode variants required

Visual Hierarchy Decision Tree

IF user goal = immediate action (signup, purchase)
├─ Hero CTA above fold (mandatory)
├─ Single primary action per page
└─ Visual weight on conversion elements

IF user goal = content consumption
├─ Content preview/summary first
├─ Multiple engagement paths okay
└─ Reading experience optimized

IF user goal = exploration (portfolio, catalog)
├─ Grid/gallery layout primary
├─ Quick scanning optimized
└─ Thumbnail → detail flow

Failure Modes

Design by Committee Syndrome

Symptoms: Multiple visual styles on same page, conflicting brand messages, no clear design system
Detection Rule: If you see 3+ different button styles or font families on one page
Fix: Establish design principles document, enforce single source of truth, get stakeholder buy-in on constraints

Decoration Over Function

Symptoms: Animations without purpose, visual elements that don't aid comprehension, slow loading due to graphics
Detection Rule: If you can't explain why each visual element helps the user accomplish their goal
Fix: Remove elements that don't serve user needs, justify every animation with user benefit

Mobile Afterthought Pattern

Symptoms: Horizontal scroll on mobile, tiny touch targets, desktop navigation on small screens
Detection Rule: If mobile version requires zooming or horizontal scrolling to use
Fix: Start mobile-first, test on actual devices, ensure 44px minimum touch targets

Low Contrast Accessibility Failure

Symptoms: Light gray text (#999) on white, poor readability in sunlight, user complaints about text visibility
Detection Rule: If any text fails WCAG 4.5:1 contrast ratio when tested
Fix: Use contrast checker tools, test in bright light conditions, provide high-contrast mode option

Information Architecture Collapse

Symptoms: Users can't find primary content, navigation doesn't match mental models, high bounce rates
Detection Rule: If users can't complete primary task within 3 clicks or 30 seconds
Fix: User journey mapping, card sorting for navigation, prominence for key actions

Worked Examples

Example 1: SaaS Dashboard Redesign

Context: B2B analytics platform, users spend 2+ hours daily in interface

Decision Process:

Audience Analysis: Power users who value efficiency over aesthetics
Layout Choice: Sidebar navigation (always accessible) + main content area
Color Strategy: Blue primary (#2563eb) for trust, minimal accents to reduce cognitive load
Hierarchy: Data tables get most space, actions are secondary but accessible

Key Design Decisions:

Dense information display (8px spacing scale)
High contrast text (#1f2937 on #ffffff)
Consistent button sizing (40px height for easy clicking)
Status indicators use semantic colors (green=good, red=alert)

Outcome Validation:

Task completion improved 23%
User-reported "ease of use" increased
Support tickets about navigation decreased 40%

Example 2: E-commerce Product Page

Context: Fashion retailer, mobile-first audience (70% mobile traffic)

Decision Process:

Traffic Pattern: Mobile browsers, quick decision makers
Layout Choice: Single-column mobile, two-column desktop
Visual Priority: Product images > price > reviews > specifications
Conversion Elements: Add to cart sticky on mobile, prominent but not pushy

Key Design Decisions:

Hero product image fills screen width on mobile
Price in large, bold typography immediately visible
Reviews summary above product details
Size/color selectors with immediate visual feedback

Novice vs Expert Approach:

Novice would: Put all product info above fold, use small product images
Expert catches: Users need large images to evaluate fashion, price-conscious audience needs reviews validation early

Measurable Results:

Mobile conversion rate increased 31%
Average session duration increased (users exploring more products)
Cart abandonment decreased 18%

Quality Gates

Validating a Design Plan

State the design's Quality Gate compliance as a structured plan (see schemas/design-plan.schema.json) and check it deterministically instead of eyeballing a mockup:

node scripts/design_audit.mjs --input plan.json

The auditor returns { pass, score, findings, recommendations } and flags the five failure modes above by name: design-by-committee (too many button styles/font weights/sizes), decoration-over-function, mobile-afterthought (320px horizontal scroll or sub-44px touch targets), low-contrast (below 4.5:1), and information-architecture collapse (nav that doesn't match the user's mental model). See examples/expected-output.md for a passing and a failing run side by side.

References

File	Load When
`references/layout-systems.md`	Need the grid decision tree, the 8px spacing scale, responsive breakpoints, or the mobile-first/consistency checklists.
`references/color-accessibility.md`	Need the minimum viable palette, color psychology table, dark-mode guidance, or the WCAG 2.1 AA checklist.
`references/tooling-integration.md`	Need to use 21st.dev or Figma MCP tools to go from design direction to code.
`templates/output-template.md`	Need a reusable design-plan template to fill in before auditing.
`examples/expected-output.md`	Need the shape of a finished design-plan audit, both passing and failing.
`schemas/design-plan.schema.json`	Need to validate a design plan's structure programmatically.
`scripts/design_audit.mjs`	Need deterministic scoring of a design plan against the Quality Gates and named failure modes.
`agents/openai.yaml`	Need a subagent descriptor for delegated design-plan generation.

NOT-FOR Boundaries

Do NOT use this skill for:

Deep typography decisions (line-height calculations, character spacing) → use typography-expert
Color theory mathematics or palette generation → use color-theory-palette-harmony-expert
Design system token architecture or CSS variables → use design-system-creator
Retro or historical design styles → use windows-3-1-web-designer
Native mobile app interface design → delegate to native-app-designer
Detailed accessibility audits → use accessibility-expert
Animation and micro-interaction specifications → use motion-design-expert

Boundary indicators:

If user asks for specific font pairing recommendations → typography-expert
If user needs HSL color calculations → color-theory-expert
If user wants CSS architecture advice → design-system-creator
If user needs WCAG compliance checklist → accessibility-expert

Layout QA gate (mechanical — run before shipping)

Before calling any rendered page, artifact, dashboard, deck, or component done, run the mechanical overflow/collision checker. It renders the page headlessly and flags text-vs-text collisions, clipped/ellipsis-truncated elements, text escaping its container, and horizontal page scroll — the visual defects a screenshot hides and that only appear at a specific width or in one theme.

Resolve layout-overflow-guard from the active skill catalog before running it. The command below shows the standard Claude install path; use the path reported by your harness. If the skill is absent, install or sync it instead of skipping this gate.

python3 ~/.claude/skills/layout-overflow-guard/scripts/check_layout.py <file-or-url> \
  --widths 1280,1100,860,720,390 --themes light,dark

You do not need to read check_layout.py — invoke it with the Bash tool and act on its report and exit code (non-zero = a defect). The script's source never enters your context; only its findings do. Drive it to zero violations across every width and both themes before you ship. Full detail: the layout-overflow-guard skill.

Skill Bundle Index

Every file in this skill, and when to open it. Auto-generated; run scripts/index_references.py --fix.

root

CHANGELOG.md — Changelog — All notable changes to the web-design-expert skill will be documented in this file.
README.md — Web Design Expert — Creates unique web visual systems: brand identity, color palettes, layout composition, and responsive UI patterns for web applications.

agents/

agents/openai.yaml — openai (data/schema)

examples/

examples/expected-output.md — Example Output: Web Design Plan Audit — Scenario: a SaaS marketing site redesign has been specified as a structured design plan (matching schemas/design-plan.schema.json) and is
examples/sample-input.json — sample input (data/schema)

references/

references/color-accessibility.md — Color & Accessibility — Color palettes, psychology, dark mode, and WCAG compliance.
references/layout-systems.md — Layout Systems — Grid systems, spacing scales, and layout composition.
references/tooling-integration.md — Design Tooling Integration — 21st.dev, Figma MCP, and component workflows.

schemas/

schemas/design-plan.schema.json — design plan.schema (data/schema)

scripts/

scripts/design_audit.mjs

templates/

templates/output-template.md — Web Design Plan Template — [One-sentence description of the product/page this design plan covers.] Field notes: - primaryActionObviousWithin3s — true only if a fresh

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