brand-identity-and-design-principles
Installation
SKILL.md
Brand Identity & Design Principles
This is the philosophical and expressive layer above tokens and components. Tokens say what #4F46E5 means; components say how a button behaves. Principles and brand say why the whole thing looks and decides the way it does. Get this layer right and the rest writes itself; get it wrong and you ship a thousand inconsistent screens that all technically pass review.
1. Authoring design principles
A design principle is a shared, opinionated rule that resolves disputes before they happen. It is not a value, not a guideline, not a slogan.
| Layer | What it is | Example | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | What you believe (cultural) | "We respect the user's time" | Years |
| Principle | A design-decision rule with a tradeoff | "Default to the fastest path, not the most powerful one" | Years, rarely change |
| Guideline | A specific, enforceable rule | "Primary actions use --color-action, max one per view" |
Versioned, change often |
| Standard/spec | A measurable check | "Touch targets ≥ 44×44pt" | Per release |
Principles live between values and guidelines. They are abstract enough to apply to a screen you haven't designed yet, concrete enough to make you choose.