Design newsletter header

Skill slogsdon/skills-design/skills/design-newsletter-header

Twenty-three brand-agnostic design templates for Claude Code: LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, blog hero, podcast.

Install

npx -y skills add slogsdon/skills-design --skill design-newsletter-header

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One thing to look at

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What its author says it does

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Generate a newsletter email header banner — pixel-exact 600×200 HTML canvas (the standard email-client safe-zone width). Self-contained, INLINE styles only (no external <style> blocks beyond <head>) for email-client compat. Intended to be screenshot to PNG and embedded as <img> in email — the rendered image is what readers see, regardless of their email client. Reads ./design/<brand-slug>/DESIGN.md and tokens.css. Triggers include "newsletter header", "email header for X", "email banner", "/newsletter-header".

SKILL.md

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Skill: newsletter-header

Produces a 600×200 pixel-exact HTML canvas for use as a newsletter email header. The canvas is small — typography choices must be ruthless. Display sizes top out around 36–48px; meta around 11–14px. The artifact is meant to be screenshot to PNG and embedded as <img> in the email — the email client never sees raw HTML, so font and CSS quirks don't matter for delivery.

When to use

User publishes a newsletter and needs a branded header banner image
A DESIGN.md exists for the brand

Inputs

Required: brand slug, newsletter title or issue identifier (e.g. "Working notes — May 2026")
Optional: issue number, dateline, tagline (max 6 words)

Output

./design/<brand-slug>/artifacts/newsletter-header-YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.html

Steps

1. Verify brand exists

test -f ./design/<brand-slug>/tokens.css

If missing, stop and tell the user to run /design-system <brand-slug> first.

2. Gather the brief

Ask in one message:

1. Header text — the masthead string (max 6 words)
2. Optional issue number / dateline (e.g. "Issue 003 · 2026.05.02")
3. Optional tagline / subtitle (max 6 words)

If the user gives 8+ words, push back: "600×200 won't hold that legibly. Cut to the masthead + meta." Don't proceed until they agree.

3. Pick variation — ARCHITECTURE FIRST

Pick ONE. Newsletter headers favor restraint — pick the simplest archetype that carries the brand register:

chrome-led — masthead title + meta strip (issue / date). The classic newsletter header pattern; brand-earned for editorial titles.
type-only — title alone at maximum scale; no meta at all.
inverse-text — full canvas dark inversion (canonical v2 feature treatment) — masthead in cream on ink.
object-of-content — looks like a printed masthead from a magazine/quarterly cover.

Then pick:

Layout: symmetric | asymmetric | full-bleed | split
Color usage: monochrome | single-accent | inverted

Cross-artifact rule: vary from the brand's most recent header (issue 002 vs issue 003 should not be visually identical).

4. Generate the canvas HTML

Template:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title><Brand> — Newsletter header — <issue></title>
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=<families>&display=swap">
<style>
/* Inline tokens (no external CSS — though Google Fonts <link> is allowed since it's a font, not CSS) */
<minimal subset of tokens.css needed for this artifact>

html, body { margin: 0; padding: 0; background: #2a2a2a; min-height: 100vh; display: grid; place-items: center; font-family: var(--type-sans-family); }

.canvas {
  width: 600px;
  height: 200px;
  background: var(--color-surface);   /* or --color-ink for inversion */
  color: var(--color-ink);
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
  padding: 24px 32px;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  /* Layout per variation */
}

@page { size: 600px 200px; margin: 0; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<!--
Variation choices:
  archetype: <picked>
  layout:    <picked>
  color:     <picked>
-->
<article class="canvas">
  <!-- masthead content per archetype -->
</article>
</body>
</html>

For the masthead itself:

chrome-led: small mono dateline at top, masthead in display serif (~36-44px), tagline in small caps below
type-only: the masthead title alone, scaled to fill the canvas (clamp 44-72px depending on word count)
inverse-text: full canvas dark; same masthead pattern but inverted text colors

5. Verify and report

Canvas is exactly 600×200px
Architecture archetype documented AND differs from the most recent artifact in this brand
Read ../design-anti-patterns.md and verify the artifact violates none of its rules. Pay special attention to sections 2 (type emphasis) and 5 (no editorial-cosplay markers unless brand-earned)
Header text is at most 6 words; tagline is at most 6 words
Display type doesn't exceed ~48px (smaller canvas, smaller scale ceiling)

Newsletter header at ./design/<brand-slug>/artifacts/newsletter-header-YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.html.

Variation: <archetype> × <layout> × <color>.

Export PNG: open in browser → DevTools → set viewport to 600×200 → screenshot the .canvas element. Embed the PNG as <img> in your email at full resolution (the email client renders the image directly, no font/CSS dependencies).

Anti-Slop Rules

Governed by three shared canonical references — read them, do not restate them:

../design-anti-patterns.md — the hard floor. Wins every conflict.
../design-principles.md — the craft floor (typographic hierarchy, spatial rhythm, color theory, layout logic, visual tension).
../design-variation-sop.md — the named-aesthetic roster + the procedure for varying every invocation.

Forbidden (fast scan — the references hold the full list):

Indigo/violet/purple as default accent or primary — the hsl(230–280) family on a near-white surface. The single loudest AI tell.
Purple→blue / "aurora" / gradient-mesh backgrounds; gradient-fill text.
Glassmorphism without an explicit AA-contrast scrim; floating gradient "blobs" as atmosphere.
The three-up icon-card feature grid; the "hero → 3 cards → CTA" median skeleton.
One global border-radius on every element; timid evenly-weighted low-contrast palette.
Inter / Roboto / Arial / Open Sans / Lato / Helvetica / system as the primary family (Space Grotesk = yellow flag). Use a category-matched stack from the variation roster.
Value-free CTAs ("Get Started", "Learn More", "Sign Up"); the two-CTA hero. Name the real action and its value.

Required variation (every invocation):

Make at least two intentional decisions that differ from the safe defaults (palette, layout structure, typographic voice, or spatial density) AND from the most recent artifact in this brand.
Never default to "clean / minimal / modern" — that is the absence of a direction (variation-sop Rule 1).
Sketch three distinct directions, offer them as a one-line menu, generate the best-fit by default, all three only if asked (variation-sop Rule 3).

Authenticity: prefer specific over generic everywhere — real datelines (not "today"), the brand's actual voice (not "build the future" filler), concrete CTAs over placeholders.

Rules

Pixel exactness. Canvas is 600×200 — the email-safe width. No rounding.
Display scale ceiling. ~48px max. The canvas is small; oversized type breaks the proportions.
Word count discipline. 6 words max for the masthead, 6 max for the tagline. Push back on the user if they exceed it.
Token-pure. Every visual value via var(--*) from the embedded tokens. Only literal pixel values allowed: 1px for hairlines and the canvas dimensions.
One masthead per file. If the user wants alternates, make multiple files.
Anti-pattern compliance. This skill defers to three shared canonical references: ../design-anti-patterns.md (the hard floor — wins every conflict), ../design-principles.md (the craft floor), and ../design-variation-sop.md (direction roster + offer-3 procedure). The anti-patterns file is the canonical anti-tell list. If you find a new tell in the output, add it there.