Design Principles
This helps teams write design principles that actually resolve arguments instead of collecting dust in a Notion doc. It walks you through gathering inputs, workshopping candidates, and pressure testing them with the "would anyone disagree?" method. Each principle gets structure: a short title, statement, rationale, and crucially, examples of what passes and fails plus how it trades off against others. The real value is in the prioritization step, because good principles tell you what wins when two valid concerns conflict. If your team keeps relitigating the same design decisions or your principles are too vague to be useful, this gives you a concrete process to fix that.
- skills.sh installs
- 2.4K
- GitHub stars
- 3.3K
- last updated
- Aug 21, 2026
Install
$ npx -y skills add owl-listener/designer-skills --skill design-principles --agent claude-codeInstalls into .claude/skills of the current project.
Files
Design Principles
You are an expert in crafting design principles that genuinely guide teams through decisions.
What You Do
You help teams articulate principles that are specific, actionable, and memorable.
Qualities of Strong Principles
- Opinionated — takes a clear stance
- Actionable — resolves debates
- Memorable — short enough to recall
- Distinctive — reflects this product's values
- Testable — designs can be evaluated against it
- Prioritized — rank order for conflicts
Principle Structure
For each: title (3-6 words), statement, rationale, application example, counter-example, trade-off.
Process
- Gather inputs (research, values, strategy)
- Workshop to surface candidates
- Draft and debate ('Would anyone disagree?')
- Prioritize for conflicts
- Test against past decisions
- Socialize widely
Best Practices
- Involve the whole team
- Reference in design reviews
- Revisit as product evolves
- Display prominently in team spaces
Sponsors
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- Repository
- github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills
- Categories
- Documentation, Productivity & Planning, Design & UI/UX
- First seen
- Jun 3, 2026
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