brainstorming

Brainstorming Ideas Into Designs

Overview

Help turn ideas into fully formed designs and specs through natural collaborative dialogue.

Start by understanding the current project context, then ask questions one at a time to refine the idea. Once you understand what you're building, present the design in small sections (200-300 words), checking after each section whether it looks right so far.

How to Interact With the User

Always use the AskUserQuestion tool for every question or choice you present to the user during this process. Never ask questions via plain text output — use the tool so the user gets a structured, interactive prompt.

• For multiple-choice questions: provide 2-4 options with descriptions via the tool's options field
• For validation checks ("does this section look right?"): use options like "Looks good" / "Needs changes"
• For open-ended input: provide contextual options but rely on the user selecting "Other" to type freely
• Keep header short (max 12 chars) — e.g., "Purpose", "Approach", "Validation"
• You may ask up to 4 questions per AskUserQuestion call when questions are independent

The Process

Understanding the idea:

• Check out the current project state first (files, docs, recent commits)
• Use AskUserQuestion to ask questions one at a time to refine the idea
• Prefer multiple choice questions when possible, but open-ended is fine too
• Only one question per message - if a topic needs more exploration, break it into multiple questions
• Focus on understanding: purpose, constraints, success criteria

Exploring approaches:

• Propose 2-3 different approaches with trade-offs
• Use AskUserQuestion to present options with your recommendation first (add "(Recommended)" to its label) and reasoning in the descriptions
• Lead with your recommended option and explain why

Visual design (for features with UI):

• Ask about the desired visual style/mood (minimal, bold, corporate, playful, dark, etc.)
• Ask for reference sites, apps, or design systems to draw inspiration from
• For new apps: establish a visual direction — color palette, typography feel, spacing density, component style (flat, shadowed, outlined, glassmorphic, etc.)
• For existing apps: identify existing design patterns and ask whether to follow or evolve them
• Include a Visual Design section in the design document with concrete decisions: primary/accent colors, typography scale, spacing system, component style, light/dark mode, and any reference screenshots or sites

Presenting the design:

• Once you believe you understand what you're building, present the design
• Break it into sections of 200-300 words
• Use AskUserQuestion after each section to check whether it looks right so far (options: "Looks good" / "Needs changes")
• Cover: architecture, components, data flow, error handling, testing, visual design (if UI)
• Be ready to go back and clarify if something doesn't make sense

After the Design

Documentation:

• Write the validated design to docs/design/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md
• Use elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely skill if available
• Commit the design document to git

Key Principles

• Always use AskUserQuestion - Never ask questions via plain text; always use the tool
• One question at a time - Don't overwhelm with multiple questions
• Multiple choice preferred - Easier to answer than open-ended when possible
• YAGNI ruthlessly - Remove unnecessary features from all designs
• Explore alternatives - Always propose 2-3 approaches before settling
• Incremental validation - Present design in sections, validate each
• Be flexible - Go back and clarify when something doesn't make sense