design-is

design-is is an open-source design skill for Claude Code and compatible agents, published by thedotmack. Its author describes it as: “Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten "Good design is..." principles, then hand off a /make-plan prompt for one of three outcomes — new design, refine design, or redesign. Use when the user says "audit this design",…”. The project has 91k stars on GitHub and is available under the Apache-2.0 license. Add it to your setup with `/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem`.

What design-is does

- Routine UI code reviews → use `/review` - Pure copy edits → use a separate copy pass - Pre-design ideation with no artifact yet → start with `/make-plan` directly

Installation

Add design-is to your agent with:

/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem

Always review a skill's source before installing it. This command comes from the skill's public repository; the linked repo is the source of truth for exact setup steps.

What's inside

The SKILL.md for design-is is organised into these sections:

• Do not use for
• The Ten Principles (Dieter Rams)
• Delegation Model
• Subagent Reporting Contract (MANDATORY)
• Output Artifacts
• Phases
• Phase 0: Scope Lock (ALWAYS FIRST)
• Phase 1: Evidence Gathering (FAN OUT)
• Phase 2: Scorecard (ORCHESTRATOR)
• Phase 3: Verdict (ORCHESTRATOR)
• Phase 4: /make-plan Handoff
• Key Principles (for the auditor)

When to use it

Reach for design-is when you want design help from your agent without writing the same instructions every session. Load the skill and the agent picks it up automatically for relevant tasks.

Strengths

• Clear Apache-2.0 license — safe to read and adapt
• Ships in thedotmack/claude-mem, an established project with 91,126 GitHub stars
• Actively maintained (recent commits)

Topics

Frequently asked questions

What does design-is do?

Audit a design against Dieter Rams' ten "Good design is..." principles, then hand off a /make-plan prompt for one of three outcomes — new design, refine design, or redesign. Use when the user says "audit this design", "design review", "check this UI against Rams", "is this UI good", "critique this design", "design audit", or asks for a critique that should lead to a plan.

How do I install design-is?

Run /plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem in your agent, then reload your skills. Review the source at https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem before installing.

Is design-is free to use?

Yes. design-is is free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can read, run, and adapt it within that license's terms.

Where does design-is come from?

design-is ships inside thedotmack/claude-mem, a repository that contains 21 catalogued skills in total. The repository's 91,126 GitHub stars apply to that whole collection, not to this skill on its own.