Brainstorming
Turn rough product or feature ideas into clearer designs through structured questions and alternative exploration before you commit to build.
Overview
brainstorming is a journey-wide agent skill that turns rough ideas into fully-formed designs through structured questioning and alternative exploration—usable whenever a solo builder needs to clarify a concept before com
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/nexu-io/open-design --skill brainstormingWhat is this skill?
- Transforms rough ideas into fuller designs via structured questioning
- Explores multiple design alternatives before picking one direction
- Curated from @obra Superpowers upstream for creative-direction workflows
- Trigger phrases: brainstorm, ideation, concept exploration, rough ideas, design alternatives
- Open Design entry—install upstream Superpowers bundle for full scripts and references
Adoption & trust: 808 installs on skills.sh; 61.4k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You have a vague feature or product idea and risk coding the wrong thing because alternatives and requirements were never explored.
Who is it for?
Indie builders starting features, pivots, or UX directions who want a disciplined ideation pass before specs or code.
Skip if: Work where the design or spec is already approved and locked, or when you only need mechanical code changes with no product decisions left.
When should I use this skill?
Triggers include “brainstorm”, “ideation”, “concept exploration”, “rough ideas”, and “design alternatives”; use early in concept work and whenever creative direction is unsettled.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with a clearer, questioned design and chosen direction so you can invoke writing-plans or implementation skills on an approved concept.
- Clarified design direction after alternatives exploration
- Answers to structured questions ready for a written plan or spec
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Useful at every journey phase - explore requirements and options before committing to a direction.
Where it fits
Explore positioning and feature shapes before picking a niche to validate.
Compare prototype scopes and cut lines before building a landing or MVP.
Re-brainstorm implementation approaches when the spec has open UX or workflow questions.
Clarify launch messaging angles when multiple distribution stories are still on the table.
Ideate content pillars and experiments before committing to a lifecycle campaign.
How it compares
Use instead of ad-hoc chat brainstorming when you want a repeatable Superpowers-style questioning and alternatives ritual.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is brainstorming for?
It is for solo and indie builders who need to refine rough ideas—products, features, or flows—before validation or implementation.
When should I use brainstorming?
Use it in Idea when researching opportunities, in Validate when scoping or prototyping choices, in Build during PM alignment, and anytime triggers like “brainstorm” or “design alternatives” match an unsettled decision.
Is brainstorming safe to install?
It is a curated Superpowers entry with no special permissions in the stub; review the Security Audits panel on this page and inspect github.com/obra/superpowers before installing the full upstream bundle.
Workflow Chain
Then invoke: writing plans
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Brainstorming
# brainstorming > Curated from @obra. ## What it does Transform rough ideas into fully-formed designs through structured questioning and alternative exploration. Useful early in concept work. ## Source - Upstream: https://github.com/obra/superpowers - Category: `creative-direction` ## How to use This catalogue entry advertises the skill in Open Design so the agent discovers it during planning. To run the full upstream workflow with its original assets, scripts, and references, install the upstream bundle into your active agent's skills directory: ```bash # Inspect the upstream README for exact paths open https://github.com/obra/superpowers ``` Then ask the agent to invoke this skill by name (`brainstorming`) or with one of the trigger phrases listed in this skill's frontmatter.