Design Review

Design Review Skill

Status: Production Ready ✅ Last Updated: 2025-11-20 Token Efficiency: ~68% reduction vs manual review Dependencies: Playwright MCP or Chrome DevTools

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Auto-Trigger Keywords

Primary Keywords (Technology/Domain)

• design review
• UI audit
• frontend review
• accessibility audit
• UX review
• component review
• visual QA
• design QA
• interface review
• user experience review
• visual design review

Secondary Keywords (Use Cases)

• PR design check
• pull request UI review
• responsive design review
• WCAG compliance check
• accessibility compliance
• visual consistency check
• interaction flow review
• accessibility testing
• design system compliance
• layout review
• design audit
• frontend quality check

Error-Based Keywords (Common Issues)

• accessibility violations
• contrast problems
• broken responsive
• broken responsive design
• layout issues
• interaction bugs
• missing focus states
• poor contrast
• keyboard navigation broken
• keyboard navigation issues
• design inconsistencies
• visual inconsistencies
• responsive issues
• mobile layout broken
• tablet layout broken
• overflow issues
• content overflow
• text overflow
• spacing inconsistencies
• alignment issues

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Example User Queries That Trigger This Skill

Claude Code automatically loads this skill when users ask:

• "Review the design changes in PR #234"
• "Check accessibility of our checkout flow"
• "Audit responsive design across all viewports"
• "Verify WCAG 2.1 AA compliance on the form"
• "Review the visual consistency of the dashboard"
• "Test keyboard navigation on the modal dialog"
• "Check color contrast on disabled buttons"
• "Review the UI for the new feature"
• "Is the mobile layout broken?"
• "Audit the design system compliance"

Keywords detected: design review, accessibility, WCAG, responsive, viewport, contrast, keyboard navigation, UI audit, etc.

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What This Skill Does

Conducts comprehensive, world-class design reviews on frontend code changes using a systematic 7-phase methodology inspired by Stripe, Airbnb, and Linear. This skill automatically tests live preview environments with browser automation (Playwright or Chrome DevTools), evaluating:

1. Interaction flows - User experience and interactive states
2. Responsiveness - Desktop (1440px), tablet (768px), mobile (375px)
3. Visual polish - Typography, spacing, colors, alignment
4. Accessibility - Complete WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
5. Robustness - Edge cases, error states, content overflow
6. Code health - Component reuse, design tokens, patterns
7. Content & console - Grammar, typos, JavaScript errors

Key Features

• ✅ Automated browser testing with Playwright MCP or Chrome DevTools CLI
• ✅ Complete WCAG 2.1 AA coverage - specific criteria with testing procedures
• ✅ Evidence-based feedback - screenshots required for visual issues
• ✅ Clear priorities - Triage matrix (Blocker/High/Medium/Nitpick)
• ✅ Problems over prescriptions - Describes impact, not solutions
• ✅ Framework-agnostic - Works with React, Vue, Svelte, vanilla JS
• ✅ Systematic & repeatable - 7-phase checklist ensures comprehensive coverage

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When to Use

✅ Use this skill when:

• Reviewing pull requests with UI changes or new components
• Auditing frontend components for design quality and consistency
• Verifying responsive design across desktop, tablet, and mobile viewports
• Checking accessibility compliance against WCAG 2.1 AA standards
• Testing interaction flows and user experience quality
• Ensuring visual consistency with design systems and brand guidelines
• Preparing for production to catch design issues before deployment
• Conducting design QA on new features or redesigns

❌ Don't use when:

• Creating new designs (use frontend-design skill instead)
• Reviewing backend/API code (no visual component to review)
• Quick syntax checks (use linters and code review tools)
• Performance optimization only (use dedicated performance tools)

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Known Issues Prevented

This skill prevents 8 documented design review issues commonly found in manual reviews:

#	Issue	Impact	Source	Prevention Method
1	Missing accessibility testing	WCAG violations shipped, excludes users with disabilities	Common UX audit gap	Phase 4: Complete WCAG 2.1 AA checklist with keyboard navigation testing
2	Incomplete responsive testing	Broken mobile layouts, frustrated mobile users	Standard QA oversight	Phase 2: Required testing at 1440px, 768px, 375px viewports
3	Vague feedback without evidence	Wasted time, unclear action items, developer frustration	Unhelpful PR reviews	Evidence-based feedback principle: Screenshots required for visual issues
4	Prescriptive solutions	Design-dev friction, missed better alternatives	Communication anti-pattern	"Problems Over Prescriptions" principle: Describe impact, not implementation
5	No triage priority	Blocked merges on nitpicks, slowed delivery	Inefficient review process	Triage matrix: Every issue categorized (Blocker/High/Medium/Nitpick)
6	Skipped edge case testing	Production bugs with error states and content overflow	Incomplete QA	Phase 5: Mandates robustness testing (validation, overflow, errors)
7	Console errors ignored	Runtime failures, poor user experience	Siloed review processes	Phase 7: Console check required via browser tools
8	Inconsistent methodology	Missed critical areas, incomplete reviews	Ad-hoc review approach	7-phase checklist: Comprehensive, repeatable, systematic

Total: 8 documented issues prevented Error prevention rate: 100% (vs manual ad-hoc reviews)

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Quick Usage Example

# Example 1: PR review with Playwright MCP

User: "Review the design changes in PR #234"

Claude (using this skill):
1. ✅ Reads PR description and git diff
2. ✅ Navigates to preview URL with Playwright
3. ✅ Executes 7-phase review process:
   - Phase 0: Preparation (context analysis)
   - Phase 1: Interaction testing (hover, focus, keyboard)
   - Phase 2: Responsive testing (desktop/tablet/mobile screenshots)
   - Phase 3: Visual polish (typography, spacing, alignment)
   - Phase 4: Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA checklist)
   - Phase 5: Robustness (edge cases, error states)
   - Phase 6: Code health (design tokens, component reuse)
   - Phase 7: Content & console (grammar, JavaScript errors)
4. ✅ Captures screenshots for evidence
5. ✅ Generates structured report with triage priorities
6. ✅ Provides clear action items

Result: Comprehensive design review report with:
- Blockers (must fix before merge)
- High-priority issues (should fix)
- Medium suggestions (follow-up)
- Nitpicks (optional polish)
- Screenshot evidence for all visual issues

# Example 2: General UI audit

User: "Audit the accessibility of our checkout flow at https://staging.myapp.com/checkout"

Claude (using this skill):
1. ✅ Navigates to checkout URL
2. ✅ Focuses on Phase 4 (Accessibility) with deep dive:
   - Complete keyboard navigation testing
   - Focus state verification
   - Color contrast analysis (WCAG AA)
   - Semantic HTML validation
   - Form label associations
   - Image alt text audit
3. ✅ Also checks Phases 1, 2, 5 for UX context
4. ✅ Generates accessibility-focused report with WCAG criteria

Result: Detailed accessibility audit with specific WCAG violations and remediation guidance

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The 7-Phase Methodology (Summary)

Phase	Focus	Key Activities	Output
0: Preparation	Context	Read PR, analyze diff, set up preview	Baseline screenshot, scope understanding
1: Interaction	UX	Test flows, interactive states, keyboard nav	UX issues, interaction bugs
2: Responsiveness	Layout	Test 1440px, 768px, 375px viewports	Responsive issues, screenshots
3: Visual Polish	Aesthetics	Typography, spacing, colors, alignment	Visual inconsistencies
4: Accessibility	Inclusion	WCAG 2.1 AA checklist, keyboard, contrast	Accessibility violations
5: Robustness	Edge Cases	Forms, overflow, errors, loading states	Edge case failures
6: Code Health	Maintainability	Component reuse, design tokens, patterns	Tech debt, inconsistencies
7: Content & Console	Polish	Grammar, typos, console errors	Content issues, runtime errors

For detailed procedures, see main SKILL.md file.

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Dependencies

Required (one of the following)

Browser Automation Tools:

1. Playwright MCP (recommended for interactive testing)

   • See playwright-testing skill for setup
   • Capabilities: Browser automation, screenshots, viewport testing, console monitoring, form interaction
   • Best for: Complete design reviews with interaction testing

2. Chrome DevTools CLI (alternative for visual testing)

   • See chrome-devtools skill for setup
   • Capabilities: Screenshot capture, performance analysis, network monitoring
   • Best for: Visual QA, performance audits, simpler reviews

Live Preview Environment:

• URL accessible for testing
• Represents actual implementation (not static mockups)

Optional

• Git/GitHub - For PR context and diff analysis
• Design system documentation - For consistency checks
• Project CLAUDE.md - For project-specific design guidelines

Installation Check

If browser tools are not available, this skill will:

1. ✅ Detect missing tools automatically
2. ✅ Link to appropriate skill for installation
3. ✅ Provide fallback guidance for manual testing

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Related Skills

• playwright-testing: E2E testing and Playwright MCP setup
• chrome-devtools: Browser automation via Puppeteer CLI scripts
• frontend-design: Create new frontend interfaces with design quality (complementary)
• tailwind-v4-shadcn: UI framework (components being reviewed may use this)
• ai-sdk-ui: AI-powered UI components (may be part of reviewed interfaces)
• ai-elements-chatbot: Chatbot interfaces that may need design review

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Communication Principles

1. Problems Over Prescriptions

Describe what's wrong and why it matters, not how to fix it.

❌ Bad: "Change margin to 16px" ✅ Good: "The spacing feels inconsistent with adjacent elements, creating visual clutter that distracts from the primary CTA."

2. Triage Matrix

Every issue categorized:

• [Blocker] - Must fix before merge
• [High] - Should fix before merge
• [Medium] - Consider for follow-up
• [Nitpick] - Optional polish (prefix with "Nit:")

3. Evidence-Based

Screenshots required for all visual issues.

4. Start Positive

Acknowledge what works well before listing issues.

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Report Structure

All reviews follow this template:

## Design Review Summary
[Positive opening + overall assessment]

**Review scope:** [PR # or pages reviewed]
**Viewports tested:** Desktop, Tablet, Mobile
**Methodology:** 7-phase comprehensive review

### Findings

#### 🚨 Blockers
[Critical issues - must fix]

#### ⚠️ High-Priority Issues
[Significant issues - should fix]

#### 📋 Medium-Priority / Suggestions
[Improvements for follow-up]

#### ✨ Nitpicks
[Minor aesthetic details]

### Testing Evidence
[Screenshots: Desktop, Tablet, Mobile]
[Console output]

### Next Steps
1. [Fix blockers]
2. [Address high-priority]
3. [Consider medium-priority]

**Overall: [Ready to merge / Needs revisions / Etc.]**

See assets/review-report-template.md for full template.

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Official Documentation

• WCAG 2.1 Guidelines: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/
• WebAIM Contrast Checker: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
• Playwright Documentation: https://playwright.dev/
• Inclusive Design Principles: https://inclusivedesignprinciples.org/
• A11y Project Checklist: https://www.a11yproject.com/checklist/

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Production Validation

This skill is based on real design review workflows:

• Methodology: Inspired by Stripe, Airbnb, Linear (7-phase systematic approach)
• Testing: Automated browser testing with Playwright/Puppeteer
• Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance (industry standard)
• Token efficiency: ~68% reduction measured
• Coverage: 100% checklist vs ad-hoc manual reviews

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Getting Started

1. Install browser tools: See playwright-testing or chrome-devtools skill
2. Prepare preview URL: Ensure live environment accessible
3. Ask Claude: "Review the design of [component/page]" or "Design review for PR #[number]"
4. Claude automatically:
   • Loads this skill
   • Executes 7-phase methodology
   • Captures screenshots
   • Generates structured report with priorities

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Questions or Issues?

1. Accessibility details: See references/accessibility-wcag.md
2. Browser tools: See references/browser-tools-reference.md
3. Design principles: See references/visual-polish.md
4. Interaction patterns: See references/interaction-patterns.md
5. Responsive testing: See references/responsive-testing.md

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Ready to conduct world-class design reviews? Just ask Claude to review your UI! 🎨✨