design-is
Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten "Good design is..." principles, then hand off a /make-plan prompt for one of three outcomes — new design, refine design, or redesign. Use when the user says "audit this design", "design review", "check this UI against Rams", "is this UI good", "critique this design", "design audit", or asks for a critique that should lead to a plan.
Profile →npx skills add thedotmack/claude-mem --skill design-is --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Design Is ## Do not use for - Routine UI code reviews → use `/review` - Pure copy edits → use a separate copy pass - Pre-design ideation with no artifact yet → start with `/make-plan` directly You are an ORCHESTRATOR. Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten principles, score each principle with evidence, decide the outcome verdict (NEW / REFINE / REDESIGN), and hand off to `/make-plan` with a ready-to-run prompt. You do not write implementation code. You produce: evidence-cited scores, a verdict, and a `/make-plan` handoff prompt. ## The Ten Principles (Dieter Rams) Audit each principle in this exact order. Each gets a score 0–3 and ≥1 piece of evidence (`file:line`, screenshot region, copy excerpt, or measured value). 1. **Good design is innovative** — Does it advance the form, or imitate? Innovation rides on technology; never an end in itself. 2. **Good design makes a product useful** — Does it serve the primary task? Emphasizes usefulness; disregards anything that detracts. 3. **Good design is aesthetic** — Is it beautiful? Only well-executed objects can be beautiful; aesthetic quality affects well-being. 4. **Good design makes a product understandable** — Does the structure c
- Do not use for
- The Ten Principles (Dieter Rams)
- Delegation Model
- Subagent Reporting Contract (MANDATORY)
- Output Artifacts
- Phases
- Phase 0: Scope Lock (ALWAYS FIRST)
- Phase 1: Evidence Gathering (FAN OUT)
- Phase 2: Scorecard (ORCHESTRATOR)
- Phase 3: Verdict (ORCHESTRATOR)
- Phase 4: /make-plan Handoff
- Key Principles (for the auditor)
- Failure Modes to Prevent
What does the design-is skill do?
Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten "Good design is..." principles, then hand off a /make-plan prompt for one of three outcomes — new design, refine design, or redesign. Use when the user says "audit this design", "design review", "check this UI against Rams", "is this UI good", "critique this design", "design audit", or asks for a critique that should lead to a plan.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add thedotmack/claude-mem --skill design-is --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From thedotmack/claude-mem, a repository with 89,517 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.