Design Is — Dieter Rams Ten-Principle Design Audit
Audits a UI against Dieter Rams' ten principles with cited evidence, then issues a NEW/REFINE/REDESIGN verdict and a ready-to-run /make-plan handoff prompt.
Design & UIAdvanced★ 94,479⑂ 8,352AI score 9/10Last updated: Sep 22, 2026
What it does
- Locks scope first (Phase 0): audited surface, primary user, primary task, constraints, references.
- Fans out five evidence subagents in parallel — structural, visual, copy & honesty, weight & friction, accessibility — each required to return counts, measurements and
file:linecitations, never opinions or scores. - Scores all ten Rams principles 0–3 (max 30) using verbatim per-principle anchors, with a tie-break-down rule and a "score the worst instance, not the mean" rule.
- Produces exactly one verdict — NEW, REFINE (≥20 and no zeros) or REDESIGN (<20 or a zero on a load-bearing principle).
- Writes
00-scope.mdthrough04-handoff-prompt.md, ending in a self-contained/make-planprompt with the verdict and top 3–5 moves inlined.
Who it's for
- Frontend engineers and product designers who want evidence-based UI critique instead of taste arguments.
- Leads and PMs who must justify "iterate" vs "start over" to a team.
- Teams hunting dark patterns, overclaiming copy, and missing states (empty/loading/error/focus/disabled).
Example uses
- "Audit this dashboard" → scorecard citing interactive-element counts, spacing/type scales, lowest contrast ratio; total 22/30 → REFINE with a keep-list and regression checks.
- "Is our landing page good by Rams' standards?" → flags fake scarcity and unbacked superlatives with file:line; #6 honest scores 0 → REDESIGN.
- "Nothing exists yet, I need a new checkout flow" → skips evidence phases, verdict = NEW, emits a from-scratch
/make-planprompt with non-goals and token decisions.
· · · Install guide · · ·
Try it now, no install
Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.
Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thedotmack/claude-mem/HEAD/plugin/skills/design-is/SKILL.md What I want: (describe your task here)
If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.
↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.
Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
- Download the ZIP with the button below.
- In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
- Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
Install in Claude Code
Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code
Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart. Copy the plugin/skills/design-is folder from the GitHub repo thedotmack/claude-mem into my ~/.claude/skills/design-is/. When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.
Install with a command instead
git clone https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem.git && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r claude-mem/plugin/skills/design-is ~/.claude/skills/⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.
- Open a terminal.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem.git - Create the skills directory:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills - Copy the skill:
cp -r claude-mem/plugin/skills/design-is ~/.claude/skills/ - Verify that
~/.claude/skills/design-is/SKILL.mdexists. - Restart Claude Code and trigger it with a phrase like "design audit this screen" or "check this UI against Rams".
- For full functionality, also install the companion
/make-plancommand and theagent-browserskill from the same repo (used for the handoff and for screenshot/computed-style evidence).
View source on GitHub ↗License: Apache-2.0