gather
Gather
This skill collects inspiration before a design is built or reworked. It searches every source at once, fills one board as results land and links every reference back with the part to take.
Evidence for a choice, not a style to copy
A reference shows how one part could work. Taking a whole app's look when the user asked for its top bar is a finding. With no number given, gather at least 20 references from at least three sources.
Use it when the user asks for inspiration, references or "inspo", or says a screen looks bad and asks how to improve it. Building variants from the board belongs to prototype. Rebuilding one reference value for value belongs to match.
1. Name the brief
Write one line naming the surface, its platform and what to look for: layout, navigation, density, type, colour, motion or overall taste. A search with no target is gather-name-the-brief.
Split the brief into its parts, such as "top bar", "empty state" and "row density", and give each part two or three synonyms. Queries come from the parts, two or three words each. One long query carrying the whole brief is gather-split-the-brief.
Search on the same platform as the work. A desktop or web app takes web and desktop references. Mobile screens for a desktop app is gather-same-platform.