Reference Design Contract

When someone says "make it feel like that app" or hands you a screenshot pile, this turns taste signals into a reusable design contract before you build anything. You get three files: a standard nine-section DESIGN.md, a decision record that splits every reference into keep/change/do-not-copy boundaries, and a short implementation handoff. The goal is to freeze a visual direction so the next prototype or redesign can execute without guessing. It asks at most two clarifying questions, labels inferences explicitly, and treats "same style" as borrowing controllable qualities, not cloning subject matter. Use it when references are vague but the output needs to stay consistent across multiple artifacts.

skills.sh installs: 1.9K
GitHub stars: 106.9K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add nexu-io/open-design --skill reference-design-contract --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Reference Design Contract

Use this skill when the user has taste signals, references, or a rough "like this" request and needs a reusable design contract before generation. The goal is not to write a longer prompt. The goal is to make design decisions explicit enough that a later prototype, deck, redesign, or image-remix run can execute without guessing.

What this skill produces

Create three files:

DESIGN.md — the reusable visual direction, following OpenDesign's standard nine-section design-system shape.
design-contract.md — the decision record: evidence used, keep/change boundaries, rationale, risks, and quality gate.
implementation-handoff.md — concise build instructions for the next artifact-producing skill or coding agent.

If a preview is useful, also create example.html as a small hand-built contract preview. Do not make it the main deliverable.