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visual-design-foundations

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by wshobson · part of wshobson/agents

Apply typography, color theory, spacing systems, and iconography principles to create cohesive visual designs. Use when establishing design tokens, building style guides, or improving visual hierarchy and consistency.

🧩 One of 7 skills in the wshobson/agents package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

Visual Design Foundations

Build cohesive, accessible visual systems using typography, color, spacing, and iconography fundamentals.

When to Use This Skill

  • Establishing design tokens for a new project
  • Creating or refining a spacing and sizing system
  • Selecting and pairing typefaces
  • Building accessible color palettes
  • Designing icon systems and visual assets
  • Improving visual hierarchy and readability
  • Auditing designs for visual consistency
  • Implementing dark mode or theming

Core Systems

1. Typography Scale

Modular Scale (ratio-based sizing):

:root {
  --font-size-xs: 0.75rem; /* 12px */
  --font-size-sm: 0.875rem; /* 14px */
  --font-size-base: 1rem; /* 16px */
  --font-size-lg: 1.125rem; /* 18px */
  --font-size-xl: 1.25rem; /* 20px */
  --font-size-2xl: 1.5rem; /* 24px */
  --font-size-3xl: 1.875rem; /* 30px */
  --font-size-4xl: 2.25rem; /* 36px */
  --font-size-5xl: 3rem; /* 48px */
}

Line Height Guidelines:

Text TypeLine Height
Headings1.1 - 1.3
Body text1.5 - 1.7
UI labels1.2 - 1.4

2. Spacing System

8-point grid (industry standard):

:root {
  --space-1: 0.25rem; /* 4px */
  --space-2: 0.5rem; /* 8px */
  --space-3: 0.75rem; /* 12px */
  --space-4: 1rem; /* 16px */
  --space-5: 1.25rem; /* 20px */
  --space-6: 1.5rem; /* 24px */
  --space-8: 2rem; /* 32px */
  --space-10: 2.5rem; /* 40px */
  --space-12: 3rem; /* 48px */
  --space-16: 4rem; /* 64px */
}

3. Color System

Semantic color tokens:

:root {
  /* Brand */
  --color-primary: #2563eb;
  --color-primary-hover: #1d4ed8;
  --color-primary-active: #1e40af;

  /* Semantic */
  --color-success: #16a34a;
  --color-warning: #ca8a04;
  --color-error: #dc2626;
  --color-info: #0891b2;

  /* Neutral */
  --color-gray-50: #f9fafb;
  --color-gray-100: #f3f4f6;
  --color-gray-200: #e5e7eb;
  --color-gray-300: #d1d5db;
  --color-gray-400: #9ca3af;
  --color-gray-500: #6b7280;
  --color-gray-600: #4b5563;
  --color-gray-700: #374151;
  --color-gray-800: #1f2937;
  --color-gray-900: #111827;
}

Typography Best Practices

Font Pairing

Safe combinations:

  • Heading: Inter / Body: Inter (single family)
  • Heading: Playfair Display / Body: Source Sans Pro (contrast)
  • Heading: Space Grotesk / Body: IBM Plex Sans (geometric)

Responsive Typography

/* Fluid typography using clamp() */
h1 {
  font-size: clamp(2rem, 5vw + 1rem, 3.5rem);
  line-height: 1.1;
}

p {
  font-size: clamp(1rem, 2vw + 0.5rem, 1.125rem);
  line-height: 1.6;
  max-width: 65ch; /* Optimal reading width */
}

Font Loading

/* Prevent layout shift */
@font-face {
  font-family: "Inter";
  src: url("/fonts/Inter.woff2") format("woff2");
  font-display: swap;
  font-weight: 400 700;
}

Color Theory

Contrast Requirements (WCAG)

ElementMinimum Ratio
Body text4.5:1 (AA)
Large text (18px+)3:1 (AA)
UI components3:1 (AA)
Enhanced7:1 (AAA)

Dark Mode Strategy

:root {
  --bg-primary: #ffffff;
  --bg-secondary: #f9fafb;
  --text-primary: #111827;
  --text-secondary: #6b7280;
  --border: #e5e7eb;
}

[data-theme="dark"] {
  --bg-primary: #111827;
  --bg-secondary: #1f2937;
  --text-primary: #f9fafb;
  --text-secondary: #9ca3af;
  --border: #374151;
}

Color Accessibility

// Check contrast programmatically
function getContrastRatio(foreground: string, background: string): number {
  const getLuminance = (hex: string) => {
    const rgb = hexToRgb(hex);
    const [r, g, b] = rgb.map((c) => {
      c = c / 255;
      return c <= 0.03928 ? c / 12.92 : Math.pow((c + 0.055) / 1.055, 2.4);
    });
    return 0.2126 * r + 0.7152 * g + 0.0722 * b;
  };

  const l1 = getLuminance(foreground);
  const l2 = getLuminance(background);
  const lighter = Math.max(l1, l2);
  const darker = Math.min(l1, l2);

  return (lighter + 0.05) / (darker + 0.05);
}

Spacing Guidelines

Component Spacing

Card padding:      16-24px (--space-4 to --space-6)
Section gap:       32-64px (--space-8 to --space-16)
Form field gap:    16-24px (--space-4 to --space-6)
Button padding:    8-16px vertical, 16-24px horizontal
Icon-text gap:     8px (--space-2)

Visual Rhythm

/* Consistent vertical rhythm */
.prose > * + * {
  margin-top: var(--space-4);
}

.prose > h2 + * {
  margin-top: var(--space-2);
}

.prose > * + h2 {
  margin-top: var(--space-8);
}

Iconography

Icon Sizing System

:root {
  --icon-xs: 12px;
  --icon-sm: 16px;
  --icon-md: 20px;
  --icon-lg: 24px;
  --icon-xl: 32px;
}

Icon Component

interface IconProps {
  name: string;
  size?: "xs" | "sm" | "md" | "lg" | "xl";
  className?: string;
}

const sizeMap = {
  xs: 12,
  sm: 16,
  md: 20,
  lg: 24,
  xl: 32,
};

export function Icon({ name, size = "md", className }: IconProps) {
  return (
    <svg
      width={sizeMap[size]}
      height={sizeMap[size]}
      className={cn("inline-block flex-shrink-0", className)}
      aria-hidden="true"
    >
      <use href={`/icons.svg#${name}`} />
    </svg>
  );
}

Best Practices

  1. Establish Constraints: Limit choices to maintain consistency
  2. Document Decisions: Create a living style guide
  3. Test Accessibility: Verify contrast, sizing, touch targets
  4. Use Semantic Tokens: Name by purpose, not appearance
  5. Design Mobile-First: Start with constraints, add complexity
  6. Maintain Vertical Rhythm: Consistent spacing creates harmony
  7. Limit Font Weights: 2-3 weights per family is sufficient