Design Reference Skill — {PROJECT_NAME}
Enforce visual and interaction consistency across code and Figma.
Mindset
Never make a colour, spacing, typography, or component decision from memory. Always read the reference sheet first. The reference sheet is the contract — code is the implementation. When in doubt, check the token; when the token is wrong, update the reference sheet first, then the code.
When to activate
- Before adding or editing any CSS or inline style
- Before creating a new React/HTML component
- Before reviewing a PR that touches UI files
- When asked “is this on brand?”, “does this match the design?”, or “check the style”
- Before making a Figma decision on colour, spacing, or type
Workflow
Step 1 — Read the reference sheet
Use the Read tool on docs/design/design-reference.md.
Step 2 — Identify the relevant section
| If working on… | Read section(s) |
|---|---|
| Colours / backgrounds | §2 Colour Palette |
| Text / headings / fonts | §3 Typography |
| Padding / margin / gap | §4 Spacing System |
| Page layout / grids | §5 Layout & Grid |
| Borders / rounded corners | §6 Borders & Radius |
| Shadows / hover effects | §7 Shadows & Elevation |
| Animations / transitions | §8 Motion & Transitions |
| Buttons / badges / cards | §9 Component Patterns |
aria-*, focus, contrast |
§10 Accessibility |
| Dark mode | §11 Dark Mode |
| Figma ↔ code sync | §12 Figma Sync Notes |
Step 3 — Apply the rules
{Paste the 6–8 most important project-specific rules from the generated reference sheet here.}
Step 4 — Output format for reviews
When reviewing files for style consistency, output findings as:
file:line — [RULE] description
Group findings by category: COLOUR, TYPOGRAPHY, SPACING, LAYOUT, COMPONENT, ACCESSIBILITY, DARK MODE, MOTION.
Anti-patterns to catch
| Anti-pattern | Correct approach |
|---|---|
| Raw hex value in CSS | Use var(--token-name) |
| One-off padding not from spacing scale | Use --spacing-* token |
Inline border-radius not matching §6 |
Use the documented radius value |
| Hard-coded font-family | Use var(--font-*) token |
Missing aria-hidden on decorative icon |
Add aria-hidden="true" |
| Hard-coded colour in dark-mode context | Use CSS custom property |
transition: all |
Specify only needed properties |
Token quick-reference
{Paste the colour, font, and spacing tokens in the compact format from docs/design/design-reference.md.}