design-consultation
by garrytandesign-consultation is a design-consultation skill for turning a rough product idea into a complete design direction. It creates a DESIGN.md source of truth, previews, and system-level guidance for typography, color, spacing, layout, and motion. Best for new products and UI surfaces that need a coherent starting point.
This skill scores 71/100, which means it is a legitimate directory candidate with useful workflow value, but users should install it with the expectation of a strong design-planning helper rather than a fully polished, self-contained system. The repository gives enough evidence to trigger and apply the skill for new-project design work, though some discoverability and adoption details are thin.
- Explicit triggers for "design system", "brand guidelines", and "design from scratch" make it easy for agents to invoke correctly.
- Large, structured SKILL.md with many headings, workflow, and constraint signals suggests substantive operational guidance beyond a placeholder prompt.
- Description clearly states the output goal: research the landscape, propose a complete design system, and generate DESIGN.md plus preview pages.
- No install command and no support files (scripts, references, resources, rules) reduce adoption clarity for users deciding how it fits into their workflow.
- Placeholder markers are present, so parts of the repo may still be template-derived or unfinished even though the core skill is substantial.
Overview of design-consultation skill
design-consultation is a design-consultation skill for turning a rough product idea into a complete design direction: system-level aesthetics, typography, color, spacing, layout, motion, and a DESIGN.md source of truth. It is best for new products, new UI surfaces, or teams that need a coherent starting point instead of scattered one-off styling prompts.
What it is best for
Use design-consultation when you need a design system decision, not just a page mockup. It is especially useful for founders, product builders, and agents working on a new interface that has no established visual language yet.
When it fits and when it does not
This skill is a strong fit if you want a repo-aware design recommendation and preview artifacts. It is not the right first move for an existing site with an established system; the skill itself points those cases toward /plan-design-review instead.
Why it differs from a generic prompt
The value of design-consultation is that it is opinionated about workflow: it can consult project context, produce a design source of truth, and generate preview pages. That makes the output more actionable than a one-off “make this look better” prompt.
How to Use design-consultation skill
Install the skill cleanly
Use the design-consultation install path from the gstack flow, typically:
npx skills add garrytan/gstack --skill design-consultation
After install, confirm the skill folder is present and that your agent can see SKILL.md. The page matters because this skill relies on the frontmatter triggers and preamble behavior.
Start with the right inputs
For best design-consultation usage, give the skill a product summary, target audience, and any constraints that matter to the design system: existing brand colors, accessibility goals, tone, platform, and whether this is a fresh build or a redesign. If you only say “design my app,” you will get generic output.
Better input example:
- “Create a design system for a B2B analytics dashboard for finance teams. The tone should feel precise and trustworthy, with high contrast and compact density. No existing brand. I need
DESIGN.mdplus preview pages.”
Read the files that shape behavior
For a practical design-consultation guide, read SKILL.md first, then SKILL.md.tmpl. The template helps you understand how the skill is generated and what parts are intended to be reused. Also inspect any existing DESIGN.md in the repo before asking for a new system, because prior decisions can change the right recommendation.
Use a workflow that preserves context
The most reliable flow is: state the product goal, ask for the design system decision, then ask for the generated DESIGN.md and preview output. If the repo already has design notes, include them up front so the skill does not invent conflicting choices. For design-consultation for Design Systems, the quality jump comes from specifying system boundaries, not just visual taste.
design-consultation skill FAQ
Is this only for brand-new products?
Mostly yes. design-consultation is strongest when you need to define a system from scratch. For an existing site, the skill’s own guidance suggests using a plan-based design review instead of forcing a new foundation over old decisions.
Do I need design expertise to use it?
No. The skill is useful for beginners because it translates a vague goal into a structured design direction. You still need to provide context, but you do not need to know typography scales or spacing systems in advance.
How is it different from prompting an AI directly?
A direct prompt may return attractive but inconsistent ideas. The design-consultation skill is better when you want a repeatable process, repository-aware context, and a design source of truth that can be reused by other agents.
What usually blocks adoption?
The main blocker is under-specified input. If you omit audience, product type, accessibility requirements, or whether there is an existing DESIGN.md, the skill has to fill gaps and may drift toward generic design advice.
How to Improve design-consultation skill
Give stronger constraints, not more adjectives
To improve design-consultation usage, describe the business and interaction constraints that shape the system. Say “dense admin UI, data-heavy, needs fast scanning” rather than “modern and elegant.” Concrete constraints produce better color, spacing, and hierarchy choices.
Share the right source material
If the repo has a product brief, existing design notes, or screenshots, provide them before asking for output. The skill is most effective when it can reconcile new direction with what already exists instead of designing in a vacuum.
Ask for artifacts that reduce ambiguity
The best design-consultation guide request is not just “make a design system.” Ask for the decisions you need to ship: DESIGN.md, typography scale, color tokens, motion rules, and preview pages. That makes the result easier to implement and review.
Iterate on the first pass
Use the first answer to spot mismatches in tone, accessibility, density, or component feel. Then refine with specific edits: “increase contrast,” “make it calmer,” “reduce whitespace,” or “make it more suitable for enterprise dashboards.” That is usually more effective than restarting from scratch.