🎨 Design Auditor — Claude Skill

A Claude skill that audits designs against 19 professional design categories — built for developers, non-designers, and anyone who wants expert design validation without needing to know the rules themselves.

Works with Figma files (via Figma MCP), code (HTML/CSS/React/Vue), screenshots, wireframes, and written descriptions. Supports English and Korean.

Compatible with Claude, Manus, and other agents that support SKILL.md-based skills.

What It Does

Drop in a Figma link, paste your CSS, upload a screenshot, or share a wireframe — Design Auditor checks your work against 19 categories of design rules and gives you:

A score out of 100 with per-category breakdown (with mini bar chart per row)
A separate Accessibility Score (WCAG coverage across Cat 2, 6, 7, 15, 16)
A separate Ethics Score (dark patterns and manipulative design across Cat 18)
A separate Usability Score (Cat 19 — H1/H2/H3/H6/H7/H10, with Nielsen cross-reference for H4/H5/H8/H9)
A 🚫 Blocker tier for legal/compliance violations (WCAG AA, GDPR, PECR) — separate from Critical issues
Issues ranked by severity (🚫 Blocker / 🔴 Critical / 🟡 Warning / 🟢 Tip)
Color blindness context — every failing color pair annotated with the affected blindness type
SVG accessibility checks — decorative vs. meaningful SVG patterns, aria-hidden, role="img"
Design System detection — MUI, Chakra, shadcn/ui, Ant Design, Radix, Bootstrap (system-specific fixes)
Figma Auto Layout scan — detects frames using manual positioning where Auto Layout should be used
Plain-language explanations of why each rule matters
"Teach Me" mode — explains the design principles behind your top 3 issues, not just the fixes
An Issue Priority Matrix — every issue plotted by effort vs. impact
Before/after code diffs when fixing issues in HTML/CSS/React/Vue
Direct fixes in your Figma file via Figma MCP
Figma Code Connect — detects design-to-code mapping gaps (get_code_connect_suggestions)
Wireframe to Spec — converts wireframes into annotated dev-ready specs
Visual audit report exportable to Canva for stakeholder sharing
Developer handoff report — CSS spec table, a11y checklist, critical fixes
Export report as Markdown — ready for Notion, GitHub, Linear, or Jira

The 19 Audit Categories

#	Category	What It Checks
1	Typography	Hierarchy, font count, size, line height, contrast
2	Color & Contrast	WCAG ratios, semantic color use, palette consistency
3	Spacing & Layout	8-point grid, proximity, alignment, whitespace
4	Visual Hierarchy	Primary action clarity, reading patterns, size/contrast mapping
5	Consistency	Component reuse, icon families, corner radius, interaction states
6	Accessibility (A11y / WCAG)	Touch targets, focus states, alt text, form labels, reading order
7	Forms & Inputs	Labels, sizing, validation timing, error placement, submit states
8	Motion & Animation	Purpose, duration, easing, reduced-motion support
9	Dark Mode	Not just inverted, surface elevation, saturation, icon legibility
10	Responsive & Adaptive	Breakpoints, overflow, touch targets, type scaling
11	Loading, Empty & Error States	Skeletons, empty state anatomy, error levels, success confirmation, Peak-End Rule, Goal Gradient progress checks
12	Content & Microcopy	Button labels, error messages, tone consistency, terminology
13	Internationalization & RTL	Text expansion, RTL mirroring, locale-aware formatting, font support
14	Elevation & Shadows	Shadow scale, elevation hierarchy, dark mode depth
15	Iconography	Icon families, optical sizing, touch targets, meaning consistency
16	Navigation Patterns	Tabs, breadcrumbs, back buttons, mobile nav, active states
17	Design Tokens & Variables	Semantic naming, hardcoded values, dark mode token swapping
18	Ethical Design & Dark Patterns	Confirmshaming, false urgency, pre-checked consent, CTA hierarchy inversion, privacy zuckering, hidden costs, decoy pricing, manipulative anchoring, and 17 more manipulative patterns across 6 groups — including a Regulatory Compliance Baseline (cookie consent, subscription disclosure, privacy at collection, cancellation policy, age gates, accessibility legal status)
19	Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics Rules	Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics are the most widely used framework for evaluating interface usability. They were developed by Jakob Nielsen and are grounded in decades of usability research

Who It's For

Developers building UIs who don't have a design background
Designers who want a fast second opinion or WCAG check
Teams using Figma MCP or VS Code who want design validation in their workflow
Product managers and founders who want to ship ethical, accessible products
Anyone who's ever wondered "does this look right?"

How to Install

Download design-auditor.skill from the releases page
Go to Claude.ai → Customize → Skills
Click Upload skill and select the file
Done — the skill is now active in your conversations

How to Use

Once installed, just talk to Claude naturally:

English:

hljs language-sql

"Check my design" → choose scope (full / quick / custom), then audit
"Is this accessible?" → accessibility-focused audit
"Review my form" → partial audit, relevant categories only
"Does this follow WCAG?" → contrast & a11y audit
"Check my Figma file: [link]" → Figma MCP audit
"Any dark patterns here?" → ethics audit
"Wireframe to spec" → annotated dev-ready spec from wireframe

Korean:

hljs language-arduino

"디자인 검토해줘" → 전체 감사
"접근성 확인해줘" → 접근성 중심 감사
"내 디자인 괜찮아 보여?" → 전체 감사
"UI 검토해줘" → 전체 감사
"색상 대비 확인해줘" → 색상 및 접근성 감사
"와이어프레임 스펙 출력해줘" → 와이어프레임 스펙 모드

Example Output

hljs language-markdown

## 🔍 Design Audit Report

**Input:** Checkout flow · 3 frames
**Type:** Figma MCP
**Confidence:** 🟢 High
**Component health:** 71% coverage · 2 detached instances · 8 unnamed layers
**Code Connect:** 8 components mapped · 3 unmapped

### Overall Score: 62/100
100 − (1 × 🚫 12) − (2 × 🔴 8) − (4 × 🟡 4) − (2 × 🟢 1) = 62/100
A legal compliance failure and contrast issues are the main drag.

### Accessibility Score: 55/100 — significant gaps ⚠️ Contains legal compliance failures
### Ethics Score: 85/100 — minor concerns

### 🚫 Blockers (−12pts each)
- **Text contrast failure** — #aaa on white = 2.3:1 → Fix: use #595959 (7:1)
  Legal basis: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3

### 🔴 Critical Issues (−8pts each)
- **Missing form labels** — placeholder-only inputs lose label on type
  → Fix: add <label> above each input.

### 🟡 Warnings (−4pts each)
- **Off-grid spacing** — padding: 13px → Fix: use 12px or 16px
- **CTA hierarchy inversion** — "Accept all" primary, "Reject all" grey text
  → Fix: equivalent visual weight (GDPR requirement)

Skill Structure

hljs language-css

design-auditor/
├── SKILL.md                        — Main skill instructions (19 categories)
└── references/
    ├── typography.md               — Font rules, sizing, hierarchy, type scale algorithm
    ├── color.md                    — WCAG luminance formula, contrast, palette guidance
    ├── spacing.md                  — 8-point grid, layout, proximity, code checks
    ├── corner-radius.md            — Nested radius rule, scale, pill shapes, code checks
    ├── elevation.md                — Shadow scale, elevation hierarchy, code shadow audit
    ├── iconography.md              — Icon families, sizing, touch targets
    ├── navigation.md               — Tabs, breadcrumbs, back buttons, mobile nav, code checks
    ├── tokens.md                   — Design tokens, semantic naming, dark mode architecture
    ├── figma-mcp.md                — Figma MCP workflow, Code Connect, page structure, safe editing
    ├── heuristics.md               — Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics: H1/H2/H3/H6/H7/H10 gap coverage
    ├── states.md                   — Loading, empty, error, success states + code checks
    ├── microcopy.md                — Button labels, errors, tone, per-role audit guide
    ├── animation.md                — Easing curves, duration scales, reduced motion, code checks
    ├── i18n.md                     — RTL support, locale formatting, i18n
    └── ethics.md                   — Dark patterns, ethical design, persuasion vs manipulation

Changelog

v1.2.13

Regulatory Compliance Baseline added to Cat 18.

New: Regulatory Compliance Baseline (Cat 18 Group F) 6 cross-jurisdiction UI-detectable compliance checks — applicable across EU, US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia. 🚫 Blocker when a legal requirement is clearly absent, 🟡 Warning when ambiguous. Each includes a code signal and a caveat that this is a UI signal layer, not a legal audit. Full Korean translations throughout.

Cookie & consent banner — GDPR, PECR, CCPA: banner presence, Reject All at equal prominence to Accept All, granular consent categories
Subscription & auto-renewal disclosure — FTC, CMA, EU Consumer Rights: renewal frequency, amount, and cancellation method visible before confirmation
Privacy at point of collection — GDPR Art. 13, CCPA, PIPEDA: policy link or "why we need this" near sensitive input fields
Right of withdrawal / cancellation policy — EU CRD, UK CRA, FTC: policy link visible near final checkout CTA
Age gate for restricted content — COPPA, GDPR Art. 8, UK Age-Appropriate Design Code: verification mechanism before restricted content
Accessibility legal baseline — ADA/Section 508 (US), EAA (EU — mandatory June 2025), PSBAR (UK), DDA (Australia), AODA (Canada): Cat 6 Blockers carry legal weight

v1.2.12

Behavioural patterns from nudges.fyi, bug fixes, and visual report improvements.

New: 5 behavioural pattern additions

Overchoice Paradox → Cat 4 — 4+ equal-weight sibling actions with no primary → 🟡; 6+ → 🔴. Exempt: lists, nav menus, data tables
Peak-End Rule → Cat 11 — audits success/completion screens for memorability: named action, next step, positive visual signal, auto-redirect timing
Goal Gradient Theory → Cat 11 — detects multi-step flows with no progress bar, static fill bars, missing step totals, and aria-valuenow gaps
Decoy Pricing → Cat 18 Group A — 3-column pricing with one tier strictly dominated on every axis
Manipulative Anchoring → Cat 18 Group D — text-decoration: line-through / .was-price / .rrp patterns near current price elements

Bug fixes

Cat 18 pattern count updated: 20 → 22 (both READMEs)
Cat 6 SVG <use>: added xlink:href legacy check alongside href
Cat 19 H1 "Multi-step progress" cross-references new Cat 11 Goal Gradient checks to avoid double-flagging
Scores panel: Ethics Score formula caveat added — 🔴 −15 · 🟡 −7 · 🟢 0, distinct from standard formula
heuristics.md separator in skill structure: - → —
README Cat 11 row updated to mention Peak-End Rule and Goal Gradient

Visual report improvements

Radar chart: binary purple/red → three-colour scale — purple (8–10) · amber (6–7) · red (≤ 5)
Radar chart: fallback to Score by Category table when Visualizer unavailable (EN + KR)
Issue Priority Matrix: Korean axis labels added — 수정 난이도 (x) · 개선 효과 (y)
Score by Category table: score band footnote — ≥ 8 ✅ · 5–7 🟡 · ≤ 4 🔴 (EN + KR)
Re-audit delta: before/after bar pair rendered via Visualizer with colour-coded delta badge
Teach Me mode: 3-card Visualizer layout after lessons, each card clickable via sendPrompt()

v1.2.11

Code parity, design system detection, accessibility improvements, and bug fixes.

Code superpowers — added 📋 Code input: blocks to Cat 4 (Visual Hierarchy), Cat 5 (Consistency), Cat 11 (States), Cat 12 (Microcopy), Cat 14 (Elevation), Cat 15 (Iconography) — completing all 19 categories
Design System detection — auto-detects MUI, Chakra UI, shadcn/ui, Ant Design, Radix, Bootstrap; system-specific issue types and fix paths
Color blindness context — every failing color pair annotated with affected blindness type (Deuteranopia, Protanopia, Tritanopia)
SVG accessibility — decorative aria-hidden, meaningful role="img" + <title>, icon-button label checks across Cat 6 and Cat 15
Figma Auto Layout scan — detects frames using manual positioning where Auto Layout should be used; shown in report header
Accessibility Score — expanded from Cat 2/6/7/16 to Cat 2/6/7/15/16 (Cat 15 SVG checks are WCAG legal violations)
Nielsen cross-reference — H4/H5/H8/H9 mapped in scores panel to Cat 5/7/4/11–12
"Teach Me" mode — explains design principles behind top 3 issues (beginner + expert depth, full Korean)
Scoring formula — Blockers now explicit: 100 − (blockers × 12) − (criticals × 8) − (warnings × 4) − (tips × 1)
Dev Handoff Report — added missing 🟢 Tips section; Korean translation included
Output — mini bar column in Score by Category table; Design System + Auto Layout rows in report header; Cat 9 color-scheme meta tag check
Bug fixes — category count "17" → "19" throughout; Cat 18/19 numbering corrected; i19n.md → i18n.md; Korean README category count corrected

v1.2.10

Dev Handoff Report, Wireframe to Spec — restructured. Korean coverage for both.

Dev Handoff Report restructured:

━━━ dividers between all sections for consistent visual separation
Blockers separated into their own section (🚫 BLOCKERS — fix before any other work) above Critical Fixes — previously grouped together
All four scores in the metadata table: Overall, A11y, Ethics, Usability (with conditional notes for Ethics and Usability)
Code Connect mapping table included in template
Consistent ━━━-wrapped footer

Wireframe to Spec restructured:

All 8 sections now have ━━━ dividers with emoji headers (📐 📏 🔤 🧩 ✍️ 🖱️ ♿ ❓)
Context notes moved into section headers directly after each ━━━ block, instead of scattered inline

Korean support added for both:

Dev Handoff Report — Korean note block: title, all 6 field labels, all 7 section headers, all 12 table column headers, footer
Wireframe to Spec — bilingual footer lines + Korean note block: title, field labels, all 8 section headers with context notes, table column headers

README:

v1.0.0–v1.2.4 changelog entries collapsed into a <details> block

v1.2.9

Korean language coverage — full audit pass

Audited all changes made since v1.2.4 for missing Korean support and filled every gap found.

SKILL.md gaps fixed:

Category 19 checklist — All 19 heuristic checklist items now have bilingual labels (e.g. "Async button feedback / 비동기 버튼 피드백")
Category 19 triggers — Korean trigger phrases added: "휴리스틱 검토", "닐슨 감사", "사용성 휴리스틱", "H1/H2/H6 확인"
Usability Score bands — All four bands now bilingual: "Heuristically sound / 사용성 기준 충족", "Minor gaps / 사소한 사용성 문제", etc.
Usability Score note in report — Korean version: "H4(일관성), H5(오류 예방), H8(미적 디자인), H9(오류 복구)는 각각 Cat 5, 7, 4, 11/12에서 다룹니다."
URL report header — Korean format added for all URL-type audits (라이브 URL, 신뢰도, 제한사항)
Wireframe spec fidelity line — Korean added: "값은 권장사항이며 실측값이 아닙니다"

heuristics.md Korean support added:

Korean terminology table — 22 key UX terms with Korean equivalents (사용성 휴리스틱, 로딩 상태, 진행 표시기, 온보딩, 일괄 작업, etc.)
Korean severity labels — 🚫 차단 · 🔴 심각 · 🟡 경고 · 🟢 팁
Korean heuristic note — Standard report note translated
Usability Score bands — All four bands bilingual in the ref file
Quick Reference Checklist — All 19 checklist items translated (e.g. "비동기 작업 버튼에 로딩 상태 있음", "파괴적 작업에 확인 대화상자 있음")

v1.2.8

Heuristics.md coverage — no loose ends.

Scope declaration (H4/H5/H8/H9 explicitly excluded with reasons)
Usability Score model with bands
H1 gaps — async button loading state, form success confirmation, multi-step progress indicator
H2 — jargon/error code detection, icon meaning mismatch, locale-aware date/number formats
H3 gaps — modal close mechanism, flow back navigation, destructive action confirmation
H6 — icon-only nav, disappearing floating labels, dropdown selection visibility
H7 — keyboard shortcut hints, bulk action support, preference persistence
H10 — helper text on complex fields, actionable error messages, contextual tooltips, onboarding guidance
Quick reference checklist covering all 6 heuristics

Every entry has: definition, why it matters, Figma detection, code detection, severity, fix, and context note.

v1.2.7

URL inputs — full support added

The skill now recognises and audits from any URL type, not just Figma links.

URL Type	Confidence	How it's handled
Live website (`https://...`)	🟡 Medium	`web_fetch`, login handling, multi-page offer
Vercel / Netlify preview	🟡 Medium	Same as live website
GitHub file URL	🟢 High	Converts to raw URL, full code audit
GitHub repo URL	🟡 Medium	Browses key files, scope selector widget
CodeSandbox / StackBlitz	🟡–🟢	Source if accessible, preview fallback
CodePen	🟡 Medium	Debug URL fetch, source extraction
Storybook	🟡 Medium	Component/variant detection from URL path

Each URL type has a dedicated spec: how to fetch, what confidence to set, what limitations to declare in the report header, how to handle login walls, and what to offer the user after the audit.

GitHub file URLs get full 🟢 High confidence — raw source is treated identically to pasted code. All other URL types get 🟡 Medium with explicit limitation notes in the report header.

Agent compliance — mandatory output enforcement

Following reports of third-party agents (e.g. TRAE Solo) producing free-form UX reviews instead of scored reports, two mandatory enforcement notices were added:

⚠️ OUTPUT FORMAT IS MANDATORY — DO NOT DEVIATE at the top of Step 2
⚠️ MANDATORY — ALL AGENTS — NO EXCEPTIONS at the top of the Strict Output Template

Both explicitly prohibit substituting a generic critique for the scored report. Skipping the score is never acceptable — agents must estimate and flag with 🟡 Medium confidence if uncertain.

Input widget updated — "Live URL" and "GitHub URL" added as input type options alongside Figma, Screenshot, and Code.

All version stamps updated — report footers now correctly show v1.2.7.

v1.2.6

Wireframe to Spec mode

New output mode alongside the standard audit. When a wireframe is detected (greyscale, box placeholders, skeleton fidelity), the skill offers Spec mode before running a scored audit.

Produces a structured design specification: Layout & Dimensions, Spacing, Typography, Components Required (with states), Copy Placeholders, Interaction Notes, Accessibility Requirements, and an Open Questions section that surfaces gaps the wireframe doesn't answer.

No score or severity labels — Spec mode annotates, it doesn't audit
Estimated values clearly flagged with ~ prefix
Uses Figma layer data when available; falls back to standard defaults from reference files
Output as downloadable .md file
Auto-detected from wireframe input; also available in "What next?" widget post-audit
Triggers on: "wireframe to spec", "annotate my wireframe", "turn this wireframe into a spec", "spec out this design"

Canva visual audit report

After any audit, "Export to Canva" generates a visual report card in Canva — score rings, issue summary, top 3 fixes, positives. Stakeholder-friendly format for sharing with non-technical audiences. Separate from the full technical Markdown export.

Trigger vocabulary expanded

Wireframe-specific trigger phrases added to YAML description. Stale version stamps in report templates fixed (were showing v1.2.2).

v1.2.5

Figma MCP — three new tools integrated

get_code_connect_suggestions — AI-suggested Figma→code component mappings. Enriches Cat 5 and Cat 17. Flags unmapped components. Adds Code Connect line to report header.
get_code_connect_map — confirmed mappings, powers the handoff table
create_design_system_rules — generates enforcement rules for the repo, offered post-audit when token/component health is poor. Always requires explicit confirmation.

Scoring calibration — Blocker tier

Severity	Deduction	Basis
🚫 Blocker	−12pts	Legal/compliance — WCAG AA, GDPR, PECR
🔴 Critical	−8pts	Usability failure
🟡 Warning	−4pts	Degrades experience
🟢 Tip	−1pt	Polish

Blocker examples: contrast below 4.5:1 (SC 1.4.3), keyboard-inaccessible element (SC 2.1.1), missing alt (SC 1.1.1), pre-checked marketing consent (GDPR), skip link missing (SC 2.4.1).

Accessibility Score updated: Blockers use −12. Any Blocker appends "⚠️ Contains legal compliance failures".

Trigger vocabulary expanded — 15+ new phrases: "is this GDPR compliant", "check my onboarding", "review my checkout", "is this manipulative", "any dark patterns here", "is my form accessible", and more.

v1.0.0–v1.2.4 — earlier versions

v1.2.4

New: Category 19 — Ethical Design & Dark Patterns

20 manipulative patterns across 5 groups: Deceptive Interface, Coercive Flows, Consent & Privacy, False Urgency & Scarcity, Emotional Manipulation.

Ethics severity model: 🔴 Deceptive (−15pts) · 🟡 Questionable (−7pts) · 🟢 Noted (0pts). Ethics Score shown alongside Accessibility Score.

New ethics.md reference file — 877 lines with full pattern taxonomy, detection signals, and Ethical Persuasion reference.

v1.2.3

Code parity complete — all 17 categories now check from source code.

Cat 3 — off-grid detection, z-index audit, padding consistency, content margin, logical properties
Cat 16 — <nav> semantics, aria-current, skip link, tab vs nav misuse, keyboard handling, breadcrumb structure
spacing.md, navigation.md, animation.md, corner-radius.md — all with full code-specific audit sections

v1.2.2

get_design_pages as mandatory F1.5 step — file structure before auditing
Type Scale Stack triggers on every audit — extracts font sizes directly from get_design_context
Component health metric in report header — coverage %, detached instances, unnamed layers
2-frame cross-check for consistency (Cat 5)
Microcopy reads every text node, classifies by role, cites exact text + node ID
Issue deduplication — same root cause → one grouped entry
Framework detection + before/after code diffs for code input
Code superpowers added to Cat 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17
Standardised report template with fixed sections
Re-audit spec, Explain an issue depth, Developer Handoff Report template

v1.2.1

Scoring formula always shown in every report
Color contrast via design tokens — get_variable_defs drives Cat 2
animation.md added — full Cat 8 reference
Figma fix loop partial failure recovery
Auto-layout ops and component instance caveat in figma-mcp.md

v1.2.0

5 interactive audit widgets: Type Scale Stack, Contrast Checker, 8pt Grid Visualizer, States Coverage Map, Issue Priority Matrix
Smart defaults — scope, stage, WCAG level inferred from request
Component-type detection and confidence scoring
Session progress tracker with sparkline
Full Korean coverage

v1.1.5

Figma Variables integration, audit goal context, WCAG level selector
Separate Accessibility Score, Developer handoff mode
Fix all Critical loop, bilingual widget labels

v1.1.4

Audit scope selector: Full / Quick / Custom
Partial audit mode, severity filter, Markdown export

v1.1.3

Figma MCP fallback, per-category scores, before/after diffs, re-audit delta

v1.1.2

Deterministic scoring formula, confidence level, strict output template

v1.1.1

Korean language support

v1.1.0

17 categories: added Corner Radius, Elevation, Iconography, Navigation, Design Tokens

v1.0.0

Initial release: 13 audit categories, 7 reference files

Contributing

Found a design rule that should be in here? Open an issue or PR.

Areas that could use expansion:

UX flow analysis & information architecture
Data visualization & charts
Native mobile (iOS/Android) specific patterns
Print / PDF layout rules

License

MIT — use it, fork it, build on it.

Built with Claude · Skill format by Anthropic

claude-design-auditor-skill