Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Design Is agent skill to audit a design
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Design Is is an agent skill that audits a user interface or product design against Dieter Rams' ten 'Good design is...' principles. It scores each principle from 0 to 3 with cited evidence, gives a verdict of new design, refine, or redesign, and writes a /make-plan prompt for that path. This guide covers what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it with natural requests, what it needs, and the safety notes you should know before running it.
Design Isthedotmack/claude-mem · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the Design Is skill ZIP from its page on this directory.
- 2Unzip it into a skills folder. Unzip into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into .claude/skills/ inside one project.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP.
- 4Make sure /make-plan is available. The skill hands off to /make-plan, so that skill or command must also be present.
- 5Ask for an audit. Describe the design and use a phrase such as 'audit this design' or 'design review', giving a URL, repo path, or component name.
What the Design Is skill makes the agent do
When the skill is active, the agent reviews a design against Dieter Rams' ten principles, in a fixed order. Each principle gets a score from 0 to 3 and at least one piece of evidence, such as a file and line, a screenshot region, a copy excerpt, or a measured value.
After scoring, the agent gives a verdict of NEW, REFINE, or REDESIGN and writes a ready-to-run /make-plan prompt for the chosen path. The skill is an orchestrator: it plans and critiques but does not write implementation code itself.
- Scores ten principles: innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, thorough, environmentally friendly, and as little design as possible.
- Requires evidence for every score, so claims point to something you can check.
- Produces a verdict and a /make-plan handoff prompt.
- Writes its output into a DESIGN-IS folder with dated name at the repo root or the project you point it at.
How do you install the Design Is skill?
You can install the skill in Claude Code or in the Claude apps. Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory, then choose one of the options below.
For Claude Code, unzip the download into your user skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/ so it is available in every project. To limit it to one project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.
In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside the project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP
How do you trigger the Design Is skill with natural requests?
You do not need a special command. The skill is meant to be triggered by plain requests. Its description lists phrases that should activate it, so use wording close to these.
If you want a critique that ends in a plan, say so in the request. The skill also handles requests that ask for a critique leading to a plan.
- "Audit this design"
- "Design review" or "design audit"
- "Check this UI against Rams"
- "Is this UI good?"
- "Critique this design"
- Any request for a critique that should lead to a plan
What does the skill need to run?
The skill requires a /make-plan skill or command, because the verdict is handed off to it. The agent-browser skill is optional. It is used for screenshots and computed-style inspection when there is a reachable URL or a running dev server. If there is only a static repo with no running instance, the agent reads source CSS, tokens, and component files instead, and marks those findings as inferred.
According to the skill's listing, it runs no scripts and uses no network access.
- Required: a /make-plan skill or command for the handoff step
- Optional: the agent-browser skill, for a live URL or dev server
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
What about safety, and when should you not use it?
Because the skill runs no scripts and uses no network, its main effect is on the files it reads and the output folder it writes. Check the output and the handoff prompt before you act on them.
Do not use this skill for routine code reviews of UI components. Use /review for those. Pure copy edits need a separate copy pass. If you have no design artifact yet, start with /make-plan directly.
- Use /review for routine UI code reviews.
- Use a separate copy pass for copy-only edits.
- For early ideation with no artifact, start with /make-plan.
- Tip: give the agent a URL, repo path, or component name so it has something concrete to audit.
What people use it for
- A designer reviews a product screen against Rams' principles and gets a scored critique with cited evidence.
- A developer audits a settings page and receives a /make-plan prompt to refine it.
- A team preparing a redesign creates a documented scope, evidence list, and scorecard before planning the work.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the Design Is agent skill?
Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory. In Claude Code, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project. In the Claude apps, upload it under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
Is the Design Is skill free?
This guide does not state pricing or licence terms beyond the licence listed for the source, which is Apache-2.0. Check the licence file in the source repository for the terms that apply.
What does Design Is need to work?
It needs a /make-plan skill or command, because the verdict is handed off to it. The agent-browser skill is optional and is used for screenshots and style inspection of a live URL or dev server.
Does Design Is write code for me?
No. It is an orchestrator that audits, scores, gives a verdict, and writes a /make-plan prompt. It does not write implementation code itself.
Is Design Is a good alternative to /review?
Not for routine UI code reviews. The skill says those should use /review. Design Is is for principle-based critiques of a screen or product that should lead to a plan.
Why does the agent say my design can't be audited?
The skill needs something concrete to inspect, such as a live URL, a repo path, a Figma frame, or a component name. If the design does not exist yet, the skill goes straight to a NEW verdict and skips the evidence phases.
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Our verdict
Design Is suits designers who want a structured, principle-based critique of a screen, developers who want a UI review that turns into an actionable plan, and teams planning a redesign who need documented evidence. It is a poor fit for routine UI code reviews, copy-only edits, or early ideation with no design artifact yet, where /review, a copy pass, or /make-plan directly are better choices.
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