Refactoring UI - Claude Code Skill

A Claude Code skill that teaches AI to build better UIs using tactical design principles from Refactoring UI.

Why this matters: AI can write functional code but often produces generic, poorly designed interfaces. This skill gives Claude Code a design system and tactical rules to follow, resulting in more professional UIs.

What’s Inside

.claude/
├── skills/ui-refactor/
│   ├── SKILL.md              # Main skill definition
│   └── references/
│       ├── hierarchy.md      # Visual hierarchy tactics
│       ├── layout-spacing.md # Spacing systems & grids
│       ├── typography.md     # Type scales & fonts
│       ├── color.md          # HSL palettes & contrast
│       └── depth-and-polish.md # Shadows & finishing touches
│
└── commands/                 # Slash commands for quick fixes
    ├── ui-refactor.md
    ├── fix-hierarchy.md
    ├── fix-typography.md
    ├── fix-layout.md
    └── fix-colors.md

Usage

1. Copy the .claude folder to your project root
2. Ask Claude Code to build UI or use the skill directly:

/ui-refactor Create a dashboard with stats cards and a data table

Or just describe what you want:

"Build me a pricing page with three tiers"
"Make this form look more professional"
"Fix the visual hierarchy on this card component"

Key Principles

The skill enforces these tactical rules:

• No arbitrary values - Uses defined spacing scales (4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64px)
• Hand-picked type scales - Not ratio-based (12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36px)
• HSL colors - With proper saturation curves and hue rotation for shades
• Visual hierarchy - Through weight and color, not just size
• Elevation system - Defined shadow levels for consistent depth

Example Output

The /design folder contains an example dashboard built using this skill:

• index.html - Dashboard with sidebar, stats, charts, and data table
• styles.css - Complete design system with CSS custom properties
• script.js - Interactive functionality

Live Demo

Credits

Design principles from Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger. This skill is a distillation of their book into actionable rules for AI code generation.

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Built with Claude Code