Taste Design

Stitch Design Taste — Semantic Design System Skill

Overview

This skill generates DESIGN.md files optimized for Google Stitch screen generation. It translates the battle-tested anti-slop frontend engineering directives into Stitch's native semantic design language — descriptive, natural-language rules paired with precise values that Stitch's AI agent can interpret to produce premium, non-generic interfaces.

The generated DESIGN.md serves as the single source of truth for prompting Stitch to generate new screens that align with a curated, high-agency design language. Stitch interprets design through "Visual Descriptions" supported by specific color values, typography specs, and component behaviors.

Prerequisites

• Access to Google Stitch via labs.google.com/stitch
• Optionally: Stitch MCP Server for programmatic integration with Cursor, Antigravity, or Gemini CLI

The Goal

Generate a DESIGN.md file that encodes: 1. Visual atmosphere — the mood, density, and design philosophy 2. Color calibration — neutrals, accents, and banned patterns with hex codes 3. Typographic architecture — font stacks, scale hierarchy, and anti-patterns 4. Component behaviors — buttons, cards, inputs with interaction states 5. Layout principles — grid systems, spacing philosophy, responsive strategy 6. Motion philosophy — animation engine specs, spring physics, perpetual micro-interactions 7. Anti-patterns — explicit list of banned AI design clichés

Analysis & Synthesis Instructions

1. Define the Atmosphere

Evaluate the target project's intent. Use evocative adjectives from the taste spectrum:

• Density: "Art Gallery Airy" (1–3) → "Daily App Balanced" (4–7) → "Cockpit Dense" (8–10)
• Variance: "Predictable Symmetric" (1–3) → "Offset Asymmetric" (4–7) → "Artsy Chaotic" (8–10)
• Motion: "Static Restrained" (1–3) → "Fluid CSS" (4–7) → "Cinematic Choreography" (8–10)

Default baseline: Creativity 9, Variance 8, Motion 6, Density 5. Adapt dynamically based on user's vibe description.

2. Map the Color Palette

For each color provide: Descriptive Name + Hex Code + Functional Role.

Mandatory constraints:

• Maximum 1 accent color. Saturation below 80%
• The "AI Purple/Blue Neon" aesthetic is strictly BANNED — no purple button glows, no neon gradients
• Use absolute neutral bases (Zinc/Slate) with high-contrast singular accents
• Stick to one palette for the entire output — no warm/cool gray fluctuation
• Never use pure black (#000000) — use Off-Black, Zinc-950, or Charcoal

3. Establish Typography Rules

• Display/Headlines: Track-tight, controlled scale. Not screaming. Hierarchy through weight and color, not just massive size
• Body: Relaxed leading, max 65 characters per line
• Font Selection: Inter is BANNED for premium/creative contexts. Force unique character: Geist, Outfit, Cabinet Grotesk, or Satoshi
• Serif Ban: Generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Palatino) are BANNED. If serif is needed for editorial/creative contexts, use only distinctive modern serifs: Fraunces, Gambarino, Editorial New, or Instrument Serif. Serif is always BANNED in dashboards or software UIs
• Dashboard Constraint: Use Sans-Serif pairings exclusively (Geist + Geist Mono or Satoshi + JetBrains Mono)
• High-Density Override: When density exceeds 7, all numbers must use Monospace

4. Define the Hero Section

The Hero is the first impression and must be creative, striking, and never generic:

• Inline Image Typography: Embed small, contextual photos or visuals directly between words or letters in the headline. Images sit inline at type-height, rounded, acting as visual punctuation. This is the signature creative technique
• No Overlapping: Text must never overlap images or other text. Every element occupies its own clean spatial zone
• No Filler Text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", scroll arrow icons, bouncing chevrons are BANNED. The content should pull users in naturally
• Asymmetric Structure: Centered Hero layouts BANNED when variance exceeds 4
• CTA Restraint: Maximum one primary CTA. No secondary "Learn more" links

5. Describe Component Stylings

For each component type, describe shape, color, shadow depth, and interaction behavior:

• Buttons: Tactile push feedback on active state. No neon outer glows. No custom mouse cursors
• Cards: Use ONLY when elevation communicates hierarchy. Tint shadows to background hue. For high-density layouts, replace cards with border-top dividers or negative space
• Inputs/Forms: Label above input, helper text optional, error text below. Standard gap spacing
• Loading States: Skeletal loaders matching layout dimensions — no generic circular spinners
• Empty States: Composed compositions indicating how to populate data
• Error States: Clear, inline error reporting

6. Define Layout Principles

• No overlapping elements — every element occupies its own clear spatial zone. No absolute-positioned content stacking
• Centered Hero sections are BANNED when variance exceeds 4 — force Split Screen, Left-Aligned, or Asymmetric Whitespace
• The generic "3 equal cards horizontally" feature row is BANNED — use 2-column Zig-Zag, asymmetric grid, or horizontal scroll
• CSS Grid over Flexbox math — never use calc() percentage hacks
• Contain layouts using max-width constraints (e.g., 1400px centered)
• Full-height sections must use min-h-[100dvh] — never h-screen (iOS Safari catastrophic jump)

7. Define Responsive Rules

Every design must work across all viewports:

• Mobile-First Collapse (< 768px): All multi-column layouts collapse to single column. No exceptions
• No Horizontal Scroll: Horizontal overflow on mobile is a critical failure
• Typography Scaling: Headlines scale via clamp(). Body text minimum 1rem/14px
• Touch Targets: All interactive elements minimum 44px tap target
• Image Behavior: Inline typography images (photos between words) stack below headline on mobile
• Navigation: Desktop horizontal nav collapses to clean mobile menu
• Spacing: Vertical section gaps reduce proportionally (clamp(3rem, 8vw, 6rem))

8. Encode Motion Philosophy

• Spring Physics default: stiffness: 100, damping: 20 — premium, weighty feel. No linear easing
• Perpetual Micro-Interactions: Every active component should have an infinite loop state (Pulse, Typewriter, Float, Shimmer)
• Staggered Orchestration: Never mount lists instantly — use cascade delays for waterfall reveals
• Performance: Animate exclusively via transform and opacity. Never animate top, left, width, height. Grain/noise filters on fixed pseudo-elements only

9. List Anti-Patterns (AI Tells)

Encode these as explicit "NEVER DO" rules in the DESIGN.md:

• No emojis anywhere
• No Inter font
• No generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond) — distinctive modern serifs only if needed
• No pure black (#000000)
• No neon/outer glow shadows
• No oversaturated accents
• No excessive gradient text on large headers
• No custom mouse cursors
• No overlapping elements — clean spatial separation always
• No 3-column equal card layouts
• No generic names ("John Doe", "Acme", "Nexus")
• No fake round numbers (99.99%, 50%)
• No fabricated data or statistics — never generate metrics, performance numbers, uptime percentages, response times, or any data that the user did not explicitly provide. "99.98% UPTIME SLA", "124ms AVG. RESPONSE", "18.5k DEPLOY CYCLES" are invented AI filler. If real data is not available, use clear placeholder labels like [metric] instead of making up numbers
• No fake system/metric sections — "SYSTEM PERFORMANCE METRICS", "KEY STATISTICS", "BY THE NUMBERS" dashboard cards filled with invented data are BANNED
• No LABEL // YEAR formatting — "SYSTEM // 2024", "METRICS // 2025" is a lazy AI convention, not real design typography
• No AI copywriting clichés ("Elevate", "Seamless", "Unleash", "Next-Gen")
• No filler UI text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", scroll arrows, bouncing chevrons
• No broken Unsplash links — use picsum.photos or SVG avatars
• No centered Hero sections (for high-variance projects)

Output Format (DESIGN.md Structure)

# Design System: [Project Title]

## 1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere
(Evocative description of the mood, density, variance, and motion intensity.
Example: "A restrained, gallery-airy interface with confident asymmetric layouts
and fluid spring-physics motion. The atmosphere is clinical yet warm — like a
well-lit architecture studio.")

## 2. Color Palette & Roles
- **Canvas White** (#F9FAFB) — Primary background surface
- **Pure Surface** (#FFFFFF) — Card and container fill
- **Charcoal Ink** (#18181B) — Primary text, Zinc-950 depth
- **Muted Steel** (#71717A) — Secondary text, descriptions, metadata
- **Whisper Border** (rgba(226,232,240,0.5)) — Card borders, 1px structural lines
- **[Accent Name]** (#XXXXXX) — Single accent for CTAs, active states, focus rings
(Max 1 accent. Saturation < 80%. No purple/neon.)

## 3. Typography Rules
- **Display:** [Font Name] — Track-tight, controlled scale, weight-driven hierarchy
- **Body:** [Font Name] — Relaxed leading, 65ch max-width, neutral secondary color
- **Mono:** [Font Name] — For code, metadata, timestamps, high-density numbers
- **Banned:** Inter, generic system fonts for premium contexts. Serif fonts banned in dashboards.

## 4. Component Stylings
* **Buttons:** Flat, no outer glow. Tactile -1px translate on active. Accent fill for primary, ghost/outline for secondary.
* **Cards:** Generously rounded corners (2.5rem). Diffused whisper shadow. Used only when elevation serves hierarchy. High-density: replace with border-top dividers.
* **Inputs:** Label above, error below. Focus ring in accent color. No floating labels.
* **Loaders:** Skeletal shimmer matching exact layout dimensions. No circular spinners.
* **Empty States:** Composed, illustrated compositions — not just "No data" text.

## 5. Layout Principles
(Grid-first responsive architecture. Asymmetric splits for Hero sections.
Strict single-column collapse below 768px. Max-width containment.
No flexbox percentage math. Generous internal padding.)

## 6. Motion & Interaction
(Spring physics for all interactive elements. Staggered cascade reveals.
Perpetual micro-loops on active dashboard components. Hardware-accelerated
transforms only. Isolated Client Components for CPU-heavy animations.)

## 7. Anti-Patterns (Banned)
(Explicit list of forbidden patterns: no emojis, no Inter, no pure black,
no neon glows, no 3-column equal grids, no AI copywriting clichés,
no generic placeholder names, no broken image links.)

Best Practices

• Be Descriptive: "Deep Charcoal Ink (#18181B)" — not just "dark text"
• Be Functional: Explain what each element is used for
• Be Consistent: Same terminology throughout the document
• Be Precise: Include exact hex codes, rem values, pixel values in parentheses
• Be Opinionated: This is not a neutral template — it enforces a specific, premium aesthetic

Tips for Success

1. Start with the atmosphere — understand the vibe before detailing tokens 2. Look for patterns — identify consistent spacing, sizing, and styling 3. Think semantically — name colors by purpose, not just appearance 4. Consider hierarchy — document how visual weight communicates importance 5. Encode the bans — anti-patterns are as important as the rules themselves

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Using technical jargon without translation ("rounded-xl" instead of "generously rounded corners")
• Omitting hex codes or using only descriptive names
• Forgetting functional roles of design elements
• Being too vague in atmosphere descriptions
• Ignoring the anti-pattern list — these are what make the output premium
• Defaulting to generic "safe" designs instead of enforcing the curated aesthetic

Design System: Taste Standard

Skill: stitch-design-taste

---

Configuration — Set Your Style

Adjust these dials before using this design system. They control how creative, dense, and animated the output should be. Pick the level that fits your project.

How to use: Change the numbers above to match your project's vibe. At Creativity 1–3, the system produces clean, quiet, Notion-like interfaces. At Creativity 7–10, expect inline image typography, dramatic scale contrast, and strong editorial layouts. The rest of the rules below adapt to your chosen levels.

---

1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere

A restrained, gallery-airy interface with confident asymmetric layouts and fluid spring-physics motion. The atmosphere is clinical yet warm — like a well-lit architecture studio where every element earns its place through function. Density is balanced (Level 4), variance runs high (Level 8) to prevent symmetrical boredom, and motion is fluid but never theatrical (Level 6). The overall impression: expensive, intentional, alive.

2. Color Palette & Roles

• Canvas White (#F9FAFB) — Primary background surface. Warm-neutral, never clinical blue-white
• Pure Surface (#FFFFFF) — Card and container fill. Used with whisper shadow for elevation
• Charcoal Ink (#18181B) — Primary text. Zinc-950 depth — never pure black
• Steel Secondary (#71717A) — Body text, descriptions, metadata. Zinc-500 warmth
• Muted Slate (#94A3B8) — Tertiary text, timestamps, disabled states
• Whisper Border (rgba(226,232,240,0.5)) — Card borders, structural 1px lines. Semi-transparent for depth
• Diffused Shadow (rgba(0,0,0,0.05)) — Card elevation. Wide-spreading, 40px blur, -15px offset. Never harsh

Accent Selection (Pick ONE per project)

• Emerald Signal (#10B981) — For growth, success, positive data dashboards
• Electric Blue (#3B82F6) — For productivity, SaaS, developer tools
• Deep Rose (#E11D48) — For creative, editorial, fashion-adjacent projects
• Amber Warmth (#F59E0B) — For community, social, warm-toned products

Banned Colors

• Purple/Violet neon gradients — the "AI Purple" aesthetic
• Pure Black (#000000) — always Off-Black or Zinc-950
• Oversaturated accents above 80% saturation
• Mixed warm/cool gray systems within one project

3. Typography Rules

• Display: Geist, Satoshi, Cabinet Grotesk, or Outfit — Track-tight (-0.025em), controlled fluid scale, weight-driven hierarchy (700–900). Not screaming. Leading compressed (1.1). Alternatives forced — Inter is BANNED for premium contexts
• Body: Same family at weight 400 — Relaxed leading (1.65), 65ch max-width, Steel Secondary color (#71717A)
• Mono: Geist Mono or JetBrains Mono — For code blocks, metadata, timestamps. When density exceeds Level 7, all numbers switch to monospace
• Scale: Display at clamp(2.25rem, 5vw, 3.75rem). Body at 1rem/1.125rem. Mono metadata at 0.8125rem

Banned Fonts

• Inter — banned everywhere in premium/creative contexts
• Generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Palatino) — BANNED. If serif is needed for editorial/creative, use only distinctive modern serifs like Fraunces, Gambarino, Editorial New, or Instrument Serif. Never use default browser serif stacks. Serif is always BANNED in dashboards or software UIs regardless

4. Component Stylings

• Buttons: Flat surface, no outer glow. Primary: accent fill with white text. Secondary: ghost/outline. Active state: -1px translateY or scale(0.98) for tactile push. Hover: subtle background shift, never glow
• Cards/Containers: Generously rounded corners (2.5rem). Pure white fill. Whisper border (1px, semi-transparent). Diffused shadow (0 20px 40px -15px rgba(0,0,0,0.05)). Internal padding 2rem–2.5rem. Used ONLY when elevation communicates hierarchy — high-density layouts replace cards with border-top dividers or negative space
• Inputs/Forms: Label positioned above input. Helper text optional. Error text below in Deep Rose. Focus ring in accent color, 2px offset. No floating labels. Standard 0.5rem gap between label-input-error stack
• Navigation: Sleek, sticky. Icons scale on hover (Dock Magnification optional). No hamburger on desktop. Clean horizontal with generous spacing
• Loaders: Skeletal shimmer matching exact layout dimensions and rounded corners. Shifting light reflection across placeholder shapes. Never circular spinners
• Empty States: Composed illustration or icon composition with guidance text. Never just "No data found"
• Error States: Inline, contextual. Red accent underline or border. Clear recovery action

5. Hero Section

The Hero is the first impression — it must be striking, creative, and never generic.

• Inline Image Typography: Embed small, contextual photos or visuals directly between words or letters in the headline. Example: "We build [photo of hands typing] digital [photo of screen] products" — images sit inline at type-height, rounded, acting as visual punctuation between words. This is the signature creative technique
• No Overlapping Elements: Text must never overlap images or other text. Every element has its own clear spatial zone. No z-index stacking of content layers, no absolute-positioned headlines over images. Clean separation always
• No Filler Text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", scroll arrow icons, bouncing chevrons, and any instructional UI chrome are BANNED. The user knows how to scroll. Let the content pull them in naturally
• Asymmetric Structure: Centered Hero layouts are BANNED at this variance level. Use Split Screen (50/50), Left-Aligned text / Right visual, or Asymmetric Whitespace with large empty zones
• CTA Restraint: Maximum one primary CTA button. No secondary "Learn more" links. No redundant micro-copy below the headline

6. Layout Principles

• Grid-First: CSS Grid for all structural layouts. Never flexbox percentage math (calc(33% - 1rem) is BANNED)
• No Overlapping: Elements must never overlap each other. No absolute-positioned layers stacking content on content. Every element occupies its own grid cell or flow position. Clean, separated spatial zones
• Feature Sections: The "3 equal cards in a row" pattern is BANNED. Use 2-column Zig-Zag, asymmetric Bento grids (2fr 1fr 1fr), or horizontal scroll galleries
• Containment: All content within max-width: 1400px, centered. Generous horizontal padding (1rem mobile, 2rem tablet, 4rem desktop)
• Full-Height: Use min-height: 100dvh — never height: 100vh (iOS Safari address bar jump)
• Bento Architecture: For feature grids, use Row 1: 3 columns | Row 2: 2 columns (70/30 split). Each tile contains a perpetual micro-animation

7. Responsive Rules

Every screen must work flawlessly across all viewports. Responsive is not optional — it is a hard requirement. Every single element must be tested at 375px, 768px, and 1440px.

• Mobile-First Collapse (< 768px): All multi-column layouts collapse to a strict single column. width: 100%, padding: 1rem, gap: 1.5rem. No exceptions
• No Horizontal Scroll: Horizontal overflow on mobile is a critical failure. All elements must fit within viewport width. If any element causes horizontal scroll, the design is broken
• Typography Scaling: Headlines scale down gracefully via clamp(). Body text stays 1rem minimum. Never shrink body below 14px. Headlines must remain readable on 375px screens
• Touch Targets: All interactive elements minimum 44px tap target. Generous spacing between clickable items. Buttons must be full-width on mobile
• Image Behavior: Hero and inline images scale proportionally. Inline typography images (photos between words) stack below the headline on mobile instead of inline
• Navigation: Desktop horizontal nav collapses to a clean mobile menu (slide-in or full-screen overlay). No tiny hamburger icons without labels
• Cards & Grids: Bento grids and asymmetric layouts revert to stacked single-column cards with full-width. Maintain internal padding (1rem)
• Spacing Consistency: Vertical section gaps reduce proportionally on mobile (clamp(3rem, 8vw, 6rem)). Never cramped, never excessively airy
• Testing Viewports: Designs must be verified at: 375px (iPhone SE), 390px (iPhone 14), 768px (iPad), 1024px (small laptop), 1440px (desktop)

8. Motion & Interaction (Code-Phase Intent)

Note: Stitch generates static screens — it does not animate. This section documents the intended motion behavior so that the coding agent (Antigravity, Cursor, etc.) knows exactly how to implement animations when building the exported design into a live product.

• Physics Engine: Spring-based exclusively. stiffness: 100, damping: 20. No linear easing anywhere. Premium, weighty feel on all interactive elements
• Perpetual Micro-Loops: Every active dashboard component has an infinite-loop state — Pulse on status dots, Typewriter on search bars, Float on feature icons, Shimmer on loading states
• Staggered Orchestration: Lists and grids mount with cascaded delays (animation-delay: calc(var(--index) * 100ms)). Waterfall reveals, never instant mount
• Layout Transitions: Smooth re-ordering via shared element IDs. Items swap positions with physics, simulating real-time intelligence
• Hardware Rules: Animate ONLY transform and opacity. Never top, left, width, height. Grain/noise filters on fixed, pointer-events-none pseudo-elements only
• Performance: CPU-heavy perpetual animations isolated in microscopic leaf components. Never trigger parent re-renders. Target 60fps minimum

9. Anti-Patterns (Banned)

• No emojis — anywhere in UI, code, or alt text
• No Inter font — use Geist, Outfit, Cabinet Grotesk, Satoshi
• No generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond) — if serif is needed, use distinctive modern serifs only (Fraunces, Instrument Serif)
• No pure black (#000000) — Off-Black or Zinc-950 only
• No neon outer glows or default box-shadow glows
• No oversaturated accent colors above 80%
• No excessive gradient text on large headers
• No custom mouse cursors
• No overlapping elements — text never overlaps images or other content. Clean spatial separation always
• No 3-column equal card layouts for features
• No centered Hero sections (at this variance level)
• No filler UI text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", "Discover more below", scroll arrows, bouncing chevrons — all BANNED
• No generic names: "John Doe", "Sarah Chan", "Acme", "Nexus", "SmartFlow"
• No fake round numbers: 99.99%, 50%, 1234567 — use organic data: 47.2%, +1 (312) 847-1928
• No fabricated data or statistics — never generate metrics, performance numbers, uptime percentages, response times, or any data not explicitly provided by the user. "99.98% UPTIME SLA", "124ms AVG. RESPONSE", "18.5k DEPLOY CYCLES" are invented AI filler. Use [metric] placeholders if real data is unavailable
• No fake system/metric sections — "SYSTEM PERFORMANCE METRICS", "KEY STATISTICS", "BY THE NUMBERS" dashboard cards filled with invented data are BANNED
• No LABEL // YEAR formatting — "SYSTEM // 2024", "METRICS // 2025" is a lazy AI convention, not real design typography
• No AI copywriting clichés: "Elevate", "Seamless", "Unleash", "Next-Gen", "Revolutionize"
• No broken Unsplash links — use picsum.photos/seed/{id}/800/600 or SVG UI Avatars
• No generic shadcn/ui defaults — customize radii, colors, shadows to match this system
• No z-index spam — use only for Navbar, Modal, Overlay layer contexts
• No h-screen — always min-h-[100dvh]
• No circular loading spinners — skeletal shimmer only