Frontend Design Standards

Overview

AI-generated UI suffers from systematic failures: generic aesthetics, accessibility violations, div soup, small text, missing states, and brand blindness. This skill enforces production-quality standards that prevent the "AI look."

Core principle: Every component must pass accessibility, theming, responsiveness, and semantic HTML checks BEFORE considering the task complete.

Mandatory Checklist

Run through EVERY category for EVERY component. No exceptions.

1. Theme Compliance (Zero Hardcoded Colors)

FORBIDDEN - Tailwind color classes:

// WRONG - hardcoded colors
className="bg-gray-50 text-gray-900 border-gray-200"
className="bg-blue-600 text-white hover:bg-blue-700"
className="text-green-500 bg-red-100"

REQUIRED - Theme variables:

// CORRECT - uses theme system
className="bg-background text-foreground border-border"
className="bg-primary text-primary-foreground hover:bg-primary/90"
className="text-success bg-destructive/10"

FORBIDDEN - Hardcoded Hex Values:

// WRONG - magic numbers/colors
className="bg-[#F3F4F6] text-[#111827]"
style={{ backgroundColor: '#ff0000' }}

Verification:

# Find violations - any match is a failure
grep -rn "bg-gray\|bg-blue\|bg-green\|bg-red\|text-gray\|text-blue" --include="*.tsx"
grep -rn "#[0-9a-fA-F]\{3,6\}" --include="*.tsx"  # Catch hex codes

If a semantic color doesn't exist, ADD IT to the theme system - don't use raw Tailwind colors or Hex values.

2. Typography Standards (16px Minimum Body Text)

FORBIDDEN:

// WRONG - below 16px minimum for readable content
className="text-sm"  // 14px - TOO SMALL for body
className="text-xs"  // 12px - TOO SMALL for any readable content

ALLOWED uses of small text:

• Timestamps, metadata, captions: text-sm acceptable
• Legal disclaimers: text-xs acceptable
• Labels for inputs: text-sm acceptable

Body text, paragraphs, descriptions MUST be:

className="text-base"  // 16px - minimum
className="text-lg"    // 18px - preferred for long-form

Line height requirement:

// REQUIRED - 1.5 minimum for paragraphs
className="leading-relaxed"  // 1.625
className="leading-normal"   // 1.5

3. Semantic HTML (No Div Soup)

FORBIDDEN - Generic divs for semantic content:

// WRONG
<div className="navigation">
  <div onClick={handleClick}>Home</div>
</div>

REQUIRED - Proper semantic elements:

Content Type	Required Element
Navigation	<nav aria-label="Main">
Main content area	<main>
Article/post	<article>
Section with heading	<section aria-labelledby="id">
Side content	<aside>
Page footer	<footer>
Clickable action	<button type="button">
Form submission	<button type="submit">
Navigation link	<a href=""> or Next.js <Link>
List of items	<ul>/<ol> with <li>
Headings	<h1> through <h6> in order

Heading hierarchy rule: Never skip levels. After <h2>, use <h3>, not <h4>.

4. Accessibility Requirements

Skip link for keyboard users (on page layouts):

// REQUIRED at top of page layouts
<a
  href="#main-content"
  className="sr-only focus:not-sr-only focus:absolute focus:top-4 focus:left-4 focus:z-50 focus:px-4 focus:py-2 focus:bg-background focus:text-foreground focus:ring-2 focus:ring-ring"
>
  Skip to main content
</a>
// ... later
<main id="main-content">

Every interactive element MUST have:

// Buttons with icons only
<button
  aria-label="Close dialog"  // REQUIRED for icon-only buttons
  type="button"
>
  <X className="h-5 w-5" />
</button>

// Toggle buttons
<button
  aria-expanded={isOpen}  // REQUIRED for expandable controls
  aria-controls="menu-id"  // REQUIRED - ID of controlled element
>

// Form inputs
<label htmlFor="email">Email</label>  // REQUIRED - visible label
<input
  id="email"
  aria-describedby="email-error"  // REQUIRED when error present
  aria-invalid={hasError}  // REQUIRED when validation fails
/>
<p id="email-error" role="alert">{error}</p>  // Announced to screen readers

Focus management:

// REQUIRED - visible focus indicator
className="focus:ring-2 focus:ring-ring focus:ring-offset-2"
className="focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2"

Color contrast: Verify all text meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).

Images require alt text:

// Informative image
<img src="chart.png" alt="Sales increased 40% in Q3" />

// Decorative image (empty alt, not missing)
<img src="decorative-swoosh.svg" alt="" role="presentation" />

// WRONG - missing alt
<img src="product.jpg" />  // Screen readers say "image" with no context

5. Component States (No Happy Path Only)

Every component that loads data or accepts input MUST handle:

State	Required Implementation
Loading	Skeleton or spinner with aria-busy="true"
Error	Error message with role="alert", retry action
Empty	Helpful empty state with action suggestion
Success	Confirmation with role="status"

FORBIDDEN - Silent failures:

// WRONG - just logs to console
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

REQUIRED - User-visible feedback:

} catch (error) {
  setError("Failed to load. Please try again.");
}

// In render:
{error && (
  <div role="alert" className="text-destructive">
    {error}
    <button onClick={retry}>Retry</button>
  </div>
)}

6. Responsive Design Requirements

Touch target minimum:

// REQUIRED - 44px minimum for touch targets
className="min-h-[44px] min-w-[44px]"
// Or use padding to achieve:
className="p-3"  // 12px padding + content = ~44px

Mobile-first breakpoints:

// CORRECT - mobile first, add complexity upward
className="flex flex-col md:flex-row"
className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3"

// WRONG - desktop first with mobile overrides
className="flex flex-row sm:flex-col"  // Backwards

Required responsive considerations:

• Does navigation collapse to hamburger menu?
• Do touch targets meet 44px minimum?
• Does text remain readable without horizontal scroll?
• Do images have responsive sizing?

7. Brand Differentiation (Anti-Generic)

Before generating UI, ASK or DETERMINE:

1. Color personality: What emotions should colors evoke?
2. Typography character: Playful, professional, technical, luxurious?
3. Shape language: Sharp/angular or soft/rounded?
4. Density: Spacious/breathing or compact/efficient?
5. Motion: Bouncy/playful or subtle/refined?

If brand requirements are vague, DO NOT default to:

• Gray backgrounds with blue accents
• Inter/system font with slate text
• Standard 3-column feature grids
• Purple gradients

Instead, ask: "What makes this brand/product unique? What should users FEEL?"

8. Motion and Micro-interactions (Anti-Dead Interface)

AI-generated UIs often feel "static" or "dead." Consider:

// Add meaningful transitions
className="transition-colors duration-200"
className="transition-transform hover:scale-105"

// Loading feedback
className="animate-pulse"  // skeleton loading
className="animate-spin"   // spinner

Motion principles:

• Hover states on all interactive elements
• Transitions between states (not instant jumps)
• Loading indicators for async operations
• Success/error feedback animations

Don't overdo it: Subtle > flashy. Respect prefers-reduced-motion.

9. Code Validity (No Hallucinations)

AI sometimes generates non-existent CSS properties or imports libraries/components that aren't installed.

FORBIDDEN - Hallucinated/obsolete CSS:

/* These don't exist */
width: fit-parent;
text-fill-color: transparent;

/* Obsolete vendor prefixes for modern properties */
-webkit-border-radius: 8px;  /* Just use border-radius */

FORBIDDEN - Hallucinated Imports:

// WRONG - Do not import things that don't exist
import { Sparkles } from '@heroicons/react/solid'; // Check if 'solid' exists in your version
import { useMagicHook } from 'react-use'; // Check if 'react-use' is installed

Rule:

1. Check package.json before importing a 3rd party library.
2. Check file structure before importing local components (don't assume @/components/ui/card exists).
3. Check MDN if unsure about a CSS property.

10. Project Structure (Anti-Monolith)

AI tends to dump everything into a single file. This is unmaintainable.

FORBIDDEN - The "God Component":

• Single file > 250 lines (unless it's a complex data table).
• Defining multiple complex sub-components in the same file.
• Mixing heavy business logic (useEffect, data fetching) with UI rendering.

REQUIRED - Separation of Concerns:

1. Extract Types: Move interfaces to types.ts if shared, or top of file.
2. Extract Hooks: Move complex logic to useFeatureName.ts.
3. Extract Components: If a sub-component renders > 20 lines of JSX, move it to its own file.
4. Colocation: Keep related files together (e.g., components/Feature/Feature.tsx, components/Feature/useFeature.ts).

Verification Checklist

Before marking any UI work complete, verify:

• Zero hardcoded Tailwind colors OR Hex codes (grep check passes)
• Body text uses text-base (16px) or larger
• Semantic HTML elements for all landmarks
• All interactive elements have accessible names
• Focus indicators visible on all interactive elements
• Loading, error, and empty states implemented
• Touch targets meet 44px minimum
• Mobile layout tested (or responsive classes verified)
• Brand differentiation considered (not generic gray/blue)
• Skip link present on page layouts
• aria-expanded on all toggle buttons
• All images have alt text (empty for decorative)
• Hover/transition states on interactive elements
• No hallucinated CSS properties or Imports (verify existence)
• No "God Components" (>250 lines) - extracted sub-components

Common Rationalizations

Excuse	Reality
"text-sm is fine for labels"	Labels yes, but body text/descriptions must be 16px+
"Gray is neutral and professional"	Gray is also generic and forgettable. Ask about brand.
"I'll add accessibility later"	Later never comes. 80% of sites fail WCAG. Do it now.
"Loading states weren't requested"	Real apps have latency. Always include loading states.
"The design looks clean"	"Clean" often means "generic." Ask what makes it unique.
"Tailwind gray matches the theme"	Use theme variables. bg-muted exists for this.
"Mobile can be handled later"	60%+ traffic is mobile. Design mobile-first.
"Div works fine here"	Divs have no semantic meaning. Use proper elements.
"Client is waiting, no time to ask"	5 min asking saves hours of rework. Ask about brand.
"Just console.error is fine"	Users see nothing. Always show visible error feedback.
"Skip link is overkill"	Keyboard users can't use your site without it. Required.
"I'll make it unique with colors"	Unique = structure + typography + spacing, not just hue.
"aria-label on every button is tedious"	Accessibility is not optional. Screen readers need it.
"Alt text can be added later"	Missing alt = broken for screen readers. Add it now.
"This CSS property should work"	If MDN doesn't have it, it doesn't exist. Check first.
"Animations are nice-to-have"	Static UIs feel dead. Basic transitions are required.

Red Flags - Stop and Reconsider

If you catch yourself doing ANY of these, STOP:

• Using bg-gray-*, text-gray-*, or Hex codes (#F3F4F6)
• Importing libraries without checking package.json
• Creating "God Components" (>250 lines) without splitting
• Body text smaller than 16px (text-sm for paragraphs)
• Interactive elements without accessible names
• No loading or error state handling
• All buttons/cards look identical
• Can't explain what makes this design unique
• No semantic landmarks (<nav>, <main>, <article>)
• Skip link not implemented for keyboard users
• Assuming brand requirements instead of asking
• Using console.error() without user-visible feedback
• Missing aria-expanded on toggle buttons
• Using onClick on divs instead of buttons
• Images without alt attributes
• Using CSS properties you haven't verified exist
• No hover states or transitions on buttons/links

Quick Reference

Semantic Color Mapping

Concept	Theme Variable	NOT This
Page background	bg-background	bg-white, bg-gray-50
Card background	bg-card	bg-white, bg-gray-100
Primary action	bg-primary	bg-blue-600, bg-indigo-500
Destructive	bg-destructive	bg-red-500, bg-red-600
Muted/secondary	bg-muted	bg-gray-100, bg-slate-100
Borders	border-border	border-gray-200
Main text	text-foreground	text-gray-900, text-black
Secondary text	text-muted-foreground	text-gray-500, text-gray-600

Text Size Guide

Usage	Class	Size	Line Height
Hero headline	text-4xl to text-6xl	36-60px	leading-tight
Section heading	text-2xl to text-3xl	24-30px	leading-snug
Card title	text-lg to text-xl	18-20px	leading-normal
Body text	text-base	16px	leading-relaxed
Metadata only	text-sm	14px	leading-normal

Essential ARIA Patterns

// Expandable content
<button aria-expanded={open} aria-controls="content-id">
<div id="content-id" hidden={!open}>

// Form error
<input aria-invalid={!!error} aria-describedby="error-id" />
<p id="error-id" role="alert">{error}</p>

// Loading content
<div aria-busy={loading} aria-live="polite">

// Dynamic announcements
<div role="status" aria-live="polite">{message}</div>