Sota frontend design

SOTA Frontend Design

Purpose

Make every interface this agent builds — and every interface it reviews — meet 2026 state-of-the-art for visual craft, UX, accessibility, motion, and CSS architecture. The skill has two operating modes (BUILD and AUDIT) backed by seven rules files. WCAG 2.2 AA is the hard floor in both modes; distinctive, intentional design (not template/AI-generic output) is the quality bar. Rules are written for an expert reader: imperative, numeric, with good/bad pairs.

BUILD mode

When creating or modifying UI (components, pages, styles, animations):

1. Lock the system before the screens. Establish or locate the project's tokens first: type scale, color ramps (OKLCH, semantic layer), 4/8pt space scale, radius scale, depth language, duration/easing tokens. If a design system exists, conform to it — extend tokens rather than inlining values. Read rules/01 + rules/03 before writing the first stylesheet.
2. Default stack: semantic HTML → CSS grid/flex with gap → container queries for component responsiveness → logical properties → cascade layers. Headless library or native element (<dialog>, popover, <details>) for any interactive widget before hand-rolling.
3. Build all states, not the happy path. Every interactive component ships the 9-state contract (hover, focus-visible, active, disabled, loading, error, empty, skeleton + default); every data view ships loading/error/empty/partial/ideal (rules/03 §4, rules/04).
4. Accessibility is built in, not bolted on: labels, keyboard model per APG, focus management, live regions, contrast verified in both themes, prefers-reduced-motion honored from the first animation (rules/05, rules/06 §6).
5. Motion is purposeful: every animation justifies itself as orientation, feedback, continuity, or status; transform/opacity only; durations 200–300ms enter / faster exit (rules/06).
6. Be distinctive on purpose: make ≥ 3 deliberate global design decisions (typeface with character, OKLCH accent, signature element) and apply the anti-generic kill list (rules/07 §5). Spend personality on marketing/empty surfaces; keep product surfaces calm.
7. Self-check before finishing: run the relevant rules-file audit checklists against your own output. Test mentally (or actually) at 320px, 200% zoom, keyboard-only, dark mode, RTL, and with worst-case content (long strings, 0 items, 10k items).

AUDIT mode

When reviewing existing UI code, designs, or rendered pages:

1. Scope pass: identify surfaces (pages/components), the token/system layer (or its absence), and the framework. Grep for systemic smells first — they multiply findings: hex/px literals in components, outline: none, transition: all, user-scalable=no, placeholder-as-label, click-handler <div>s, :focus without :focus-visible, will-change in static CSS, physical properties (margin-left) in new code.
2. Per-domain pass: walk each rules file's "Audit checklist" section against the code. Prioritize rules/05 (accessibility) — it carries legal weight — then rules/04 (UX states), then visual/system/motion.
3. Runtime verification where possible (Playwright/browser): keyboard-only task completion, 320px reflow, 200% zoom, both themes, reduced-motion emulation, axe scan. Static review alone misses focus order, announcement, and jank.
4. Rank, don't list. Findings ordered by severity then by fix leverage (token-level fixes beat per-screen fixes).

Severity conventions

Accessibility findings rank by WCAG level × user/task impact — never by fix effort:

Severity	Definition
Blocker	WCAG Level A failure preventing task completion for keyboard/AT users (trap, unlabeled required field, SR-silent error, invisible focus on core flow); data-loss UX (wiped form input, no-undo hard delete); broken Back button
Critical	Level A/AA failure with workaround (contrast < 4.5:1 body text, dialog without focus return, missing landmarks); missing error/loading states on core flows; layout broken at 320px or 200% zoom
Major	AA failure of limited scope; incomplete state coverage (no empty state, color-only validation); motion without reduced-motion handling; systemic token violations breaking theming; touch targets < 24px
Minor	AAA/best-practice gaps (24–43px targets, terse alt text); visual drift (rogue radii/shadows/font sizes); generic-template aesthetics; missing polish states

A small diff never downgrades severity; a locked-out user never rates "Minor".

Finding format

[SEVERITY] <domain>: <one-line problem>
  Where: <file:line or component/page>
  Rule: <rules/NN §section> (+ WCAG SC number if a11y)
  Impact: <who is affected and how>
  Fix: <concrete change, ideally token/pattern-level>
  Effort: trivial | small | medium | large

End every audit with: counts per severity, the top 3 highest-leverage fixes, and which checklists were NOT verified (e.g., no screen-reader pass performed) so coverage is honest.

Rules index

File	Read this when...
rules/01-typography-and-color.md	Choosing/reviewing type scales, fluid type with clamp(), line length/height, variable fonts and loading, OKLCH palettes and ramps, contrast math (4.5:1 / 3:1), semantic color tokens, dark mode architecture
rules/02-layout-spacing-responsive.md	Spacing systems (4/8pt, gap-over-margin), CSS grid/subgrid layouts, container queries, breakpoints, logical properties/RTL, :has(), nesting, cascade layers, anchor positioning/popover, scrolling and overflow
rules/03-design-systems-components.md	Design tokens (W3C DTCG format, three tiers), theming, component API design (composition, controlled/uncontrolled, asChild), the 9-state completeness contract, headless UI layering, Storybook isolation, versioning
rules/04-ux-patterns.md	Forms (validation timing, autocomplete/inputmode, error recovery), loading strategy (skeletons vs spinners, optimistic UI), empty/error states, destructive actions (undo > confirm), navigation, touch targets/gestures, feedback timing
rules/05-accessibility.md	Anything a11y: semantic HTML vs ARIA, keyboard/focus management, focus-visible styling, dialogs/focus traps, live regions, screen-reader test matrix, WCAG 2.2 specifics, top-10 audit failures ranked, severity mapping
rules/06-motion-design.md	Any animation/transition: purpose test, duration/easing numbers, springs, stagger/choreography, CSS vs WAAPI vs FLIP vs Motion, View Transitions, scroll-driven animation, transform/opacity-only perf, will-change, prefers-reduced-motion
rules/07-visual-craft-distinctiveness.md	Visual hierarchy and scan paths, Gestalt/alignment, depth languages (borders/shadows/surfaces), icon and detail craft, avoiding generic "AI slop" aesthetics, density calibration, microcopy, visual-drift auditing

Multiple domains usually apply — e.g., a new dialog touches 03 (API), 04 (confirm/undo), 05 (focus trap), 06 (enter/exit motion). Read every file whose trigger matches.

Top 10 non-negotiables

1. WCAG 2.2 AA always: contrast 4.5:1 text / 3:1 UI (both themes), keyboard-complete, visible :focus-visible ring, no outline: none without replacement, no user-scalable=no.
2. Semantic HTML before ARIA; ARIA only per complete APG pattern (role + props + keyboard). No click-handler <div>s, ever.
3. All states or it isn't done: hover/focus-visible/active/disabled/loading/error/empty/ skeleton per component; loading/error/empty/partial/ideal per view.
4. Tokens, not literals: components consume semantic tokens only — no hex, no magic px, no ad-hoc durations. Dark mode is a token swap and a redesign, never an inversion.
5. Spacing from the 4/8 scale, parents own it via gap — components carry no outer margins.
6. Focus is managed: dialogs trap and restore, SPA route changes move focus and set title, deletions relocate focus, errors get focused.
7. Forms: visible labels (never placeholder-only), full autocomplete/inputmode stack, validate on blur → re-validate on input, specific adjacent errors, user input never wiped.
8. Motion: purpose-driven, transform/opacity only, enter 200–300ms ease-out, exit faster, prefers-reduced-motion honored in CSS and JS — replace movement with fades, don't just delete feedback.
9. Undo over confirm for destructive actions; when confirming, name the object and consequence, verb-label the button, focus cancel.
10. Distinctive but disciplined: ≥ 3 deliberate brand decisions, no generic-template kill-list items; usability outranks personality everywhere they conflict.