Parse a structured design brief into a concrete DESIGN.md and optional visual preview. Agent, follow this workflow exactly.
## Background
The 8 dimensions in this skill were derived from Open Design's original 71-system catalog; 71 is the research sample, not the current bundled-system count. Every `DESIGN.md` in `design-systems/` still resolves at minimum: color palette, accent, typography, display font, layout model, and component style. We distilled these into 8 orthogonal dimensions that cover the decisions a designer makes before any pixel is placed. Mood and density were added because they are the two most common sources of ambiguity in natural language briefs ("make it clean" means different things to different people).
Dimensions intentionally excluded from the brief level: animation timing, responsive strategy, and accessibility contrast. These are enforced at the template level by individual skills (e.g., `saas-landing` handles its own responsive logic), though the generated DESIGN.md includes sensible breakpoint defaults for downstream consumption.
## 1. Accept input
The user provides a design brief in one of two formats:
### Option A: I-Lang structured brief
```
[PLAN:@DESIGN|type=saas_landing]
|palette=navy_and_white|accent=coral
|typography=inter|display=space_grotesk
|layout=single_column|max_width=1200px
|mood=professional_minimal
|density=spacious|section_gap=96px
|hero=headline+subhead+cta
|sections=features,pricing,testimonials,footer
|exclude=animations,parallax,gradients
|responsive=mobile_first
```
### Option B: Natural language
> "I need a landing page for a developer tool. Clean, minimal, dark mode. Inter font. No flashy animations."
If the user provides Option B, convert it to the structured format using the mapping table below, then proceed. Identify every dimension explicitly stated and flag dimensions that were left unspecified.
### Natural language → I-Lang mapping
For each sentence in the natural language input, identify dimension keywords and map to the closest structured value:
| Natural language phrase | Dimension | I-Lang value |
When a phrase maps to multiple dimensions (e.g. "clean dark landing page" → mood=professional_minimal + palette=monochrome_dark + layout=single_column), resolve each dimension independently. When multiple values are listed for a single mapping, the first is the default; the agent may select the alternative only if surrounding context strongly favors it.
## 2. Validate dimensions
Every design brief must resolve these 8 dimensions. If any are missing from the input, select sensible defaults using the rules in Section 2.2.
The values listed below form a closed vocabulary. Only values in this table have concrete token mappings in Section 2.1. If the user provides a value not listed here, the agent must prompt for clarification rather than guessing.
Symbolic values not in this table are not valid. If the user provides an unrecognized value (e.g., `palette=ocean_blue`), the agent must prompt for clarification: "I don't recognize `palette=ocean_blue`. Did you mean `navy_and_white`, `monochrome_dark`, `light_clean`, or `earth_tones`?"
### 2.2 Default resolution rules
When a dimension is unspecified, defaults are selected based on mood compatibility:
| Unspecified dimension | Default rule |
|----------------------|-------------|
| `palette` | If mood=editorial → `light_clean`. If mood=brutalist → `monochrome_dark`. Otherwise → `light_clean`. |
| `accent` | If palette is dark → `coral`. If palette is light → `electric_blue`. |
If mood is also unspecified, all defaults fall back to the safe neutral set: `palette=light_clean`, `accent=electric_blue`, `typography=inter`, `display=same_as_body`, `layout=single_column`, `mood=professional_minimal`, `density=balanced`, `exclude=none`.
## 3. Generate DESIGN.md
This skill generates a new DESIGN.md from scratch based on the resolved brief dimensions. If a DESIGN.md already exists in the working directory, the agent should ask the user whether to overwrite or skip.
Produce a DESIGN.md using the nine-section outline below. This outline is the
skill's portable standalone output, inherited from Open Design's original
upstream baseline; it is not the current repository package schema. Current
bundled packages also carry `manifest.json`, `tokens.css`, and optional rich
resources, while legacy and user-installed `DESIGN.md`-only content remains
readable. All color hex values, font stacks, and spacing values must come from
the resolved tokens in Section 2.1 — do not invent values outside the
- Mobile: single column, stack all sections vertically
- Tablet: allow 2-column feature grids
- Desktop: full layout with max-width constraint
- Images: fluid, max-width 100%, maintain aspect ratio
## Agent Prompt Guide
- Do NOT invent colors outside this palette.
- Do NOT add box-shadows unless specified above.
- Accent color appears maximum 3 times per viewport.
- All interactive elements need :focus-visible outline.
- [if exclude contains items → list each as "Do NOT use {item}."]
```
## 4. Generate brief-preview.html
Create a single HTML file that visually renders the resolved design tokens. The preview must contain these 4 sections in order:
1. **Color palette swatches** — A horizontal row of rectangles, each showing one color from the Color section. Label each with its role (Background, Surface, Text, Accent) and hex code.
2. **Typography specimens** — Three text blocks showing Display, Body, and Mono fonts at their declared sizes. Use a sample sentence ("The quick brown fox...") for each.
3. **Spacing ruler** — A visual ruler or stacked bars showing section spacing and content padding values, labeled with their px values.
4. **Component preview** — Render 2–3 live components (a primary button, a card with title/body, a text input) using the resolved tokens. These should be functional HTML/CSS, not screenshots.
Style the preview itself with the resolved design system tokens (background color, font, spacing). The preview should look like a design system documentation page.
## 5. Report unspecified dimensions
At the end of output, list any dimensions the user did not specify and the defaults that were applied, including the rule that selected each default:
```
Dimensions resolved from defaults:
- display: set to "same_as_body" (rule: mood=professional_minimal → same_as_body)
- density: set to "balanced" (rule: static fallback, no spacing preference given)
- exclude: set to "none" (rule: no constraints unless specified)
```
This transparency prevents silent assumptions from propagating into the final design.
