Stitch Design Taste

A semantic design system skill for Google Stitch that enforces premium UI standards through anti-generic rules and specific hardware-accelerated performance constraints.

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April 22, 2026

Author

Theweb3 Brothers

Skill creator

design-system ui-design ux-design best-practices documentation layout typography color

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keywords	design-system, ui-design, ux-design, best-practices, documentation, layout, typography, color

name stitch-design-taste description Semantic Design System Skill for Google Stitch. Generates agent-friendly DESIGN.md files that enforce premium, anti-generic UI standards — strict typography, calibrated color, asymmetric layouts, perpetual micro-motion, and hardware-accelerated performance. Stitch Design Taste — Semantic Design System Skill Overview This skill generates DESIGN.md files optimized for Google Stitch screen generation. It translates the battle-tested anti-slop frontend engineering directives into Stitch's native semantic design language — descriptive, natural-language rules paired with precise values that Stitch's AI agent can interpret to produce premium, non-generic interfaces.

The generated DESIGN.md serves as the single source of truth for prompting Stitch to generate new screens that align with a curated, high-agency design language. Stitch interprets design through "Visual Descriptions" supported by specific color values, typography specs, and component behaviors.

Prerequisites Access to Google Stitch via labs.google.com/stitch Optionally: Stitch MCP Server for programmatic integration with Cursor, Antigravity, or Gemini CLI The Goal Generate a DESIGN.md file that encodes:

Visual atmosphere — the mood, density, and design philosophy Color calibration — neutrals, accents, and banned patterns with hex codes Typographic architecture — font stacks, scale hierarchy, and anti-patterns Component behaviors — buttons, cards, inputs with interaction states Layout principles — grid systems, spacing philosophy, responsive strategy Motion philosophy — animation engine specs, spring physics, perpetual micro-interactions Anti-patterns — explicit list of banned AI design clichés Analysis & Synthesis Instructions

Define the Atmosphere Evaluate the target project's intent. Use evocative adjectives from the taste spectrum:

Density: "Art Gallery Airy" (1–3) → "Daily App Balanced" (4–7) → "Cockpit Dense" (8–10) Variance: "Predictable Symmetric" (1–3) → "Offset Asymmetric" (4–7) → "Artsy Chaotic" (8–10) Motion: "Static Restrained" (1–3) → "Fluid CSS" (4–7) → "Cinematic Choreography" (8–10) Default baseline: Variance 8, Motion 6, Density 4. Adapt dynamically based on user's vibe description.

Map the Color Palette For each color provide: Descriptive Name + Hex Code + Functional Role.

Mandatory constraints:

Maximum 1 accent color. Saturation below 80% The "AI Purple/Blue Neon" aesthetic is strictly BANNED — no purple button glows, no neon gradients Use absolute neutral bases (Zinc/Slate) with high-contrast singular accents Stick to one palette for the entire output — no warm/cool gray fluctuation Never use pure black (#000000) — use Off-Black, Zinc-950, or Charcoal 3. Establish Typography Rules Display/Headlines: Track-tight, controlled scale. Not screaming. Hierarchy through weight and color, not just massive size Body: Relaxed leading, max 65 characters per line Font Selection: Inter is BANNED for premium/creative contexts. Force unique character: Geist, Outfit, Cabinet Grotesk, or Satoshi Serif Ban: Generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Palatino) are BANNED. If serif is needed for editorial/creative contexts, use only distinctive modern serifs: Fraunces, Gambarino, Editorial New, or Instrument Serif. Serif is always BANNED in dashboards or software UIs Dashboard Constraint: Use Sans-Serif pairings exclusively (Geist + Geist Mono or Satoshi + JetBrains Mono) High-Density Override: When density exceeds 7, all numbers must use Monospace 4. Define the Hero Section The Hero is the first impression and must be creative, striking, and never generic:

Inline Image Typography: Embed small, contextual photos or visuals directly between words or letters in the headline. Images sit inline at type-height, rounded, acting as visual punctuation. This is the signature creative technique No Overlapping: Text must never overlap images or other text. Every element occupies its own clean spatial zone No Filler Text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", scroll arrow icons, bouncing chevrons are BANNED. The content should pull users in naturally Asymmetric Structure: Centered Hero layouts BANNED when variance exceeds 4 CTA Restraint: Maximum one primary CTA. No secondary "Learn more" links 5. Describe Component Stylings For each component type, describe shape, color, shadow depth, and interaction behavior:

Buttons: Tactile push feedback on active state. No neon outer glows. No custom mouse cursors Cards: Use ONLY when elevation communicates hierarchy. Tint shadows to background hue. For high-density layouts, replace cards with border-top dividers or negative space Inputs/Forms: Label above input, helper text optional, error text below. Standard gap spacing Loading States: Skeletal loaders matching layout dimensions — no generic circular spinners Empty States: Composed compositions indicating how to populate data Error States: Clear, inline error reporting 6. Define Layout Principles No overlapping elements — every element occupies its own clear spatial zone. No absolute-positioned content stacking Centered Hero sections are BANNED when variance exceeds 4 — force Split Screen, Left-Aligned, or Asymmetric Whitespace The generic "3 equal cards horizontally" feature row is BANNED — use 2-column Zig-Zag, asymmetric grid, or horizontal scroll CSS Grid over Flexbox math — never use calc() percentage hacks Contain layouts using max-width constraints (e.g., 1400px centered) Full-height sections must use min-h-[100dvh] — never h-screen (iOS Safari catastrophic jump) 7. Define Responsive Rules Every design must work across all viewports:

Mobile-First Collapse (< 768px): All multi-column layouts collapse to single column. No exceptions No Horizontal Scroll: Horizontal overflow on mobile is a critical failure Typography Scaling: Headlines scale via clamp(). Body text minimum 1rem/14px Touch Targets: All interactive elements minimum 44px tap target Image Behavior: Inline typography images (photos between words) stack below headline on mobile Navigation: Desktop horizontal nav collapses to clean mobile menu Spacing: Vertical section gaps reduce proportionally (clamp(3rem, 8vw, 6rem)) 8. Encode Motion Philosophy Spring Physics default: stiffness: 100, damping: 20 — premium, weighty feel. No linear easing Perpetual Micro-Interactions: Every active component should have an infinite loop state (Pulse, Typewriter, Float, Shimmer) Staggered Orchestration: Never mount lists instantly — use cascade delays for waterfall reveals Performance: Animate exclusively via transform and opacity. Never animate top, left, width, height. Grain/noise filters on fixed pseudo-elements only 9. List Anti-Patterns (AI Tells) Encode these as explicit "NEVER DO" rules in the DESIGN.md:

No emojis anywhere No Inter font No generic serif fonts (Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond) — distinctive modern serifs only if needed No pure black (#000000) No neon/outer glow shadows No oversaturated accents No excessive gradient text on large headers No custom mouse cursors No overlapping elements — clean spatial separation always No 3-column equal card layouts No generic names ("John Doe", "Acme", "Nexus") No fake round numbers (99.99%, 50%) No AI copywriting clichés ("Elevate", "Seamless", "Unleash", "Next-Gen") No filler UI text: "Scroll to explore", "Swipe down", scroll arrows, bouncing chevrons No broken Unsplash links — use picsum.photos or SVG avatars No centered Hero sections (for high-variance projects) Output Format (DESIGN.md Structure)

Design System: [Project Title]

1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere

(Evocative description of the mood, density, variance, and motion intensity. Example: "A restrained, gallery-airy interface with confident asymmetric layouts and fluid spring-physics motion. The atmosphere is clinical yet warm — like a well-lit architecture studio.")

2. Color Palette & Roles

Canvas White (#F9FAFB) — Primary background surface
Pure Surface (#FFFFFF) — Card and container fill
Charcoal Ink (#18181B) — Primary text, Zinc-950 depth
Muted Steel (#71717A) — Secondary text, descriptions, metadata
Whisper Border (rgba(226,232,240,0.5)) — Card borders, 1px structural lines
[Accent Name] (#XXXXXX) — Single accent for CTAs, active states, focus rings (Max 1 accent. Saturation < 80%. No purple/neon.)

3. Typography Rules

Display: [Font Name] — Track-tight, controlled scale, weight-driven hierarchy
Body: [Font Name] — Relaxed leading, 65ch max-width, neutral secondary color
Mono: [Font Name] — For code, metadata, timestamps, high-density numbers
Banned: Inter, generic system fonts for premium contexts. Serif fonts banned in dashboards.

4. Component Stylings

Buttons: Flat, no outer glow. Tactile -1px translate on active. Accent fill for primary, ghost/outline for secondary.
Cards: Generously rounded corners (2.5rem). Diffused whisper shadow. Used only when elevation serves hierarchy. High-density: replace with border-top dividers.
Inputs: Label above, error below. Focus ring in accent color. No floating labels.
Loaders: Skeletal shimmer matching exact layout dimensions. No circular spinners.
Empty States: Composed, illustrated compositions — not just "No data" text.

5. Layout Principles

(Grid-first responsive architecture. Asymmetric splits for Hero sections. Strict single-column collapse below 768px. Max-width containment. No flexbox percentage math. Generous internal padding.)

6. Motion & Interaction

(Spring physics for all interactive elements. Staggered cascade reveals. Perpetual micro-loops on active dashboard components. Hardware-accelerated transforms only. Isolated Client Components for CPU-heavy animations.)

7. Anti-Patterns (Banned)

(Explicit list of forbidden patterns: no emojis, no Inter, no pure black, no neon glows, no 3-column equal grids, no AI copywriting clichés, no generic placeholder names, no broken image links.) Best Practices Be Descriptive: "Deep Charcoal Ink (#18181B)" — not just "dark text" Be Functional: Explain what each element is used for Be Consistent: Same terminology throughout the document Be Precise: Include exact hex codes, rem values, pixel values in parentheses Be Opinionated: This is not a neutral template — it enforces a specific, premium aesthetic Tips for Success Start with the atmosphere — understand the vibe before detailing tokens Look for patterns — identify consistent spacing, sizing, and styling Think semantically — name colors by purpose, not just appearance Consider hierarchy — document how visual weight communicates importance Encode the bans — anti-patterns are as important as the rules themselves Common Pitfalls to Avoid Using technical jargon without translation ("rounded-xl" instead of "generously rounded corners") Omitting hex codes or using only descriptive names Forgetting functional roles of design elements Being too vague in atmosphere descriptions Ignoring the anti-pattern list — these are what make the output premium Defaulting to generic "safe" designs instead of enforcing the curated aesthetic