Frontend design review

Frontend Design Review

Review UI implementations against design quality standards and your design system OR create distinctive, production-grade frontend interfaces from scratch.

Two Modes

Mode 1: Design Review

Evaluate existing UI for design system compliance, three quality pillars (Frictionless, Quality Craft, Trustworthy), accessibility, and code quality.

Mode 2: Creative Frontend Design

Create distinctive interfaces that avoid generic "AI slop" aesthetics, have clear conceptual direction, and execute with precision.

Creative Frontend Design

Before coding, commit to an aesthetic direction:

• Purpose: What problem does this solve? Who uses it?
• Tone: minimal, maximalist, retro-futuristic, organic, luxury, playful, editorial, brutalist, art deco, soft/pastel, industrial, etc.
• Constraints: Framework, performance, accessibility requirements.
• Differentiation: What makes this distinctive and context-appropriate?

Aesthetics Guidelines

• Typography: Distinctive fonts that elevate aesthetics. Pair a display font with a refined body font. Avoid Inter, Roboto, Arial, Space Grotesk.
• Color & Theme: Cohesive palette with CSS variables. Dominant colors + sharp accents > timid, evenly-distributed palettes.
• Motion: CSS-only preferred. One well-orchestrated page load with staggered reveals > scattered micro-interactions.
• Spatial Composition: Asymmetry, overlap, diagonal flow, grid-breaking elements, generous negative space OR controlled density.
• Backgrounds: Gradient meshes, noise textures, geometric patterns, layered transparencies, dramatic shadows, grain overlays.

AVOID: Overused fonts, cliched color schemes, predictable layouts, cookie-cutter design without context-specific character.

Match implementation complexity to vision. Maximalist = elaborate code. Minimalist = restraint and precision.

Design Review

Design System Workflow

Before implementing:

1. Review component in your Storybook / component library for API and usage
2. Use Figma Dev Mode to get exact specs (spacing, tokens, properties)
3. Implement using design system components + design tokens

During review:

1. Compare implementation to Figma design
2. Verify design tokens are used (not hardcoded values)
3. Check all variants/states are implemented correctly
4. Flag deviations (needs design approval)

If component doesn't exist:

1. Check if existing component can be adapted
2. Reach out to design for new component creation
3. Document exception and rationale in code

Review Process

1. Identify user task
2. Check design system for matching patterns
3. Evaluate aesthetic direction
4. Identify scope (component, feature, or flow)
5. Evaluate each pillar
6. Score and prioritize issues (blocking/major/minor)
7. Provide recommendations with design system examples

Core Principles

• Task completion: Minimum clicks. Every screen answers "What can I do?" and "What happens next?"
• Action hierarchy: 1-2 primary actions per view. Progressive disclosure for secondary.
• Onboarding: Explain features on introduction. Smart defaults over configuration.
• Navigation: Clear entry/exit points. Back/cancel always available. Breadcrumbs for deep flows.

Quality Pillars

1. Frictionless Insight to Action

Evaluate: Task completable in ≤3 interactions? Primary action obvious and singular?

Red flags: Excessive clicks, multiple competing primary buttons, buried actions, dead ends.

2. Quality is Craft

Evaluate:

• Design system compliance: matches Figma specs, uses design tokens
• Aesthetic direction: distinctive typography, cohesive colors, intentional motion
• Accessibility: Grade C minimum (WCAG 2.1 A), Grade B ideal (WCAG 2.1 AA)

Red flags: Generic AI aesthetics, hardcoded values, implementation doesn't match Figma, broken reflow, missing focus indicators.

3. Trustworthy Building

Evaluate:

• AI transparency: disclaimer on AI-generated content
• Error transparency: actionable error messages

Red flags: Missing AI disclaimers, opaque errors without guidance.

Review Output Format

See references/review-output-format.md for the full review template.

Review Type Modifiers

See references/review-type-modifiers.md for context-specific review focus areas (PR, Creative, Design, Accessibility).

Quick Checklist

See references/quick-checklist.md for the pre-approval checklist covering design system compliance, aesthetic quality, frictionless, quality craft, and trustworthy pillars.

Pattern Examples

See references/pattern-examples.md for good/bad examples of creative frontend and design system review work.

Acknowledgments

Creative frontend principles inspired by Anthropic's frontend-design skill. Design review principles and quality pillar framework created by @Quirinevwm for systematic UI evaluation.