refactoring-ui

Refactoring UI Skill

Design advice grounded in the principles taught by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger in their book Refactoring UI. The book itself contains the original prose, illustrations, side-by-side examples, and case studies — buy it at https://refactoringui.com for the full material. This skill provides reformulated guidance for use as an AI assistant reference.

Required workflow (read before responding)

The SKILL.md alone is an index of references. The detail you need to give accurate answers lives in the reference files. Reading this SKILL.md is not enough.

Step 1 — Open the relevant reference files

Task involves	Required reading
Color systems, typography, spacing scales — defining the system	references/01-foundations.md
Layout, white space, visual hierarchy, page-level structure	references/02-page-mechanics.md
Color usage, HSL, greys, contrast, shadows, depth, images	references/03-visual-treatment.md
Empty states, borders, accents, finishing touches	references/04-polish.md
Motion, microinteractions, transitions, hover/press states, loading	references/05-motion.md
Dark mode, multi-theme color tokens, theme toggle, contrast strategy	references/06-dark-mode.md
Modals, forms, tables — component-specific layout and behavior patterns	references/07-component-patterns.md

Step 2 — Output contract

Every design recommendation, ratio, value, or rule you cite MUST be backed by a citation in the form:

[source: references/<file>.md]

Example: "Use weight and color, not just font size, to establish hierarchy [source: references/02-page-mechanics.md]"

Step 3 — If you must answer from memory

If you write a claim without having read the reference that backs it, prepend FROM_MEMORY (unverified): to that claim. Do not hide it.

Banned behaviors

• ❌ Inventing ratios, scale values, contrast numbers, or rules not in the references
• ❌ Reproducing the book's prose, illustrations, or examples verbatim — paraphrase only
• ❌ Mixing in advice from unrelated design systems (Material, HIG, Tailwind defaults) as if it were Refactoring UI doctrine
• ❌ Marking the answer complete without listing which reference files you read

When to use

• User asks "how do I make this look better?"
• User asks about color palettes, type scales, or spacing systems
• User asks about visual hierarchy or emphasis
• User is designing a UI component, page, or layout
• User wants a design review or critique
• User asks about shadows, depth, or layering
• User asks about handling images in UI
• User asks about empty states, borders, or decorative elements

Source

Inspired by 'Refactoring UI' by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger — refactoringui.com

Reference Files

File	Topics
references/01-foundations.md	Project mindset: feature-first work, scope discipline, defining systems, picking a voice
references/02-page-mechanics.md	Visual hierarchy, layout, white space, spacing scales, typography
references/03-visual-treatment.md	Color systems (HSL, shades, greys, contrast), depth and shadows, image handling
references/04-polish.md	Finishing touches: borders, accents, empty states, decorative defaults, design intuition
references/05-motion.md	Motion system (durations, easings), hover/press states, loading patterns, prefers-reduced-motion — complementary (not from RUI)
references/06-dark-mode.md	Dark mode color tokens, text contrast, shadow handling, images, theme toggle — complementary (extrapolates RUI's HSL principles)
references/07-component-patterns.md	Modals (focus, layout), forms (labels, validation), tables (density, alignment) — complementary (extends RUI principles to specific components)

Anti-Patterns to Watch For

• Designing layouts/navs/shells before designing real features [source: references/01-foundations.md]
• Using font size as the only tool for hierarchy (ignoring weight and color) [source: references/02-page-mechanics.md]
• Using opacity to create grey text on colored backgrounds [source: references/02-page-mechanics.md]
• Starting with too little white space and adding it later [source: references/02-page-mechanics.md]
• Using em for type scales (compounds when nested) [source: references/02-page-mechanics.md]
• Using color as the only signal for a UI state [source: references/03-visual-treatment.md]
• Designing with placeholder images instead of real content [source: references/03-visual-treatment.md]
• Shrinking a logo down to use as a favicon [source: references/03-visual-treatment.md]
• Using preprocessor lighten() / darken() to derive shades [source: references/03-visual-treatment.md]

Attribution

This skill summarizes design principles inspired by Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger. Concepts described here are paraphrased into the maintainer's own words; original text, examples, and illustrations remain the property of the authors and live in the book. Buy the book at https://refactoringui.com — it contains the full material with side-by-side visual examples and case studies that this skill does not reproduce.