Per-app distinctive frontend design — adopt the frontend-design skill principles family-wide

rule Mon Jun 22 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) ruledesignfrontendper-appdistinctiveidentity

Per-app distinctive frontend design

Reversal context

Earlier (sweeps #3-#5) we tried family-wide chrome (Header/Footer/Wordmark/Sidebar/BottomBar). After three iterations:

Sweep #3 + #4 consolidated → user said "remove per-app content"
Sweep #5 reverted → restored per-app content
Tonight (2026-06-22 final): user said "I think it was a bad idea to decide that each app will have same Header/Footer/Sidebar/BottomBar. They have different taste. Follow frontend-design skill properly."

What stays same family-wide

@chirag127/astro-shell shell() + token base layer (CSS custom properties, mostly overridden per-app)
@chirag127/astro-chrome/Footer.astro mega-sitemap data SOURCE (FAMILY_APPS/BOOKS/PACKAGES) — but footer's visual TREATMENT may differ per app
@chirag127/astro-billing Pricing page (single tier table; same prices)
@chirag127/oriz-seo per-page meta + JSON-LD
@chirag127/oriz-analytics analytics wrappers
@chirag127/oriz-consent consent banner
@chirag127/oriz-rate-limit usage caps
@chirag127/oriz-ai-providers LLM fallback chain
Firebase Auth + Firestore (cross-app SSO)

What differs per-app

Header design — per-app composition (broadsheet meta-row, sticky narrow bar, command palette, etc.)
Wordmark — per-app typographic treatment
Sidebar visual style — drawer, sticky column, floating dock, etc.
BottomBar visual style — only when present; minimal vs labeled, fixed vs floating
Hero composition — different "thesis" per app
Type stack — display + body + utility per-app (subject-driven)
Color palette — 4-6 hex per app, subject-driven, not cluster defaults
Signature element — one unique memorable thing per app
Motion — orchestrated moment per app

Frontend-design skill principles (locked into knowledge)

Ground in the subject

If the brief doesn't pin the product, pin it. Name one concrete subject, audience, page's single job. Build with the brief's real content. The subject's vernacular is where distinctive choices come from.

Hero is a thesis

Open with the most characteristic thing in the subject's world (headline / image / animation / live demo / interactive moment). Be deliberate.

Typography carries personality

Pair display + body deliberately, not defaults. Set type scale with intentional weights, widths, spacing. Make type itself a memorable part.

Structure is information

Numbering, eyebrows, dividers, labels encode TRUE things about the content, not decoration. 01 / 02 / 03 only if content is a real sequence.

Motion deliberate

Page-load sequence, scroll-triggered reveal, hover micro-interaction, ambient atmosphere. Orchestrated moment > scattered effects. Sometimes less is more.

Match complexity to vision

Maximalist needs elaborate execution. Minimal needs precision.

Consider written content

Copy can make a design feel templated. Real words from the subject's world. Active voice. Name things by what people control. Failure/empty states = direction, not mood. Plain verbs, sentence case, no filler.

AI-cluster defaults to avoid (unless brief calls for them)

Warm cream #F4F1EA + high-contrast serif + terracotta accent
Near-black bg + acid-green / vermilion accent
Broadsheet hairline rules + zero border-radius + dense columns

These are LEGITIMATE for some briefs but if the brief leaves an axis free, DON'T default to one of these.

Process

Brainstorm → explore → plan → critique → build → critique again.

Compact token system per page: 4-6 hex palette + 2+ type roles + layout concept + signature element.

Review plan against brief: if any part reads as generic default, revise + say what changed.

Quality floor without announcing it

Responsive down to mobile. Visible keyboard focus. Reduced motion respected. Take screenshots; remove one accessory before publishing.

Per-app design brief workflow

For each of 26 apps, write a brief file at <app>/knowledge/design-brief.md:

Subject + audience + page's single job
4-6 hex palette (named)
Display + body + utility type stack
Layout concept (1-sentence + ASCII wireframe)
Signature element

The design agent runs this brief through the frontend-design skill, generates the per-app chrome, commits.

Cross-refs

4-nav surfaces (structural family-wide; visual now per-app) → [[decisions/frontend/four-nav-surfaces-every-app]]
Minimal UI library set (primitives stay; brand differs) → [[decisions/ops/maximum-libraries-policy]]
Design divergence rule → [[rules/design-divergence-vs-dedup]]
Per-app briefs → [[decisions/apps/per-app-briefs-2026-06-22]]