🎨 Design Auditor — Claude Skill

A Claude skill that audits designs against 18 professional design categories — built for developers, non-designers, and anyone who wants expert design validation without needing to know the rules themselves.

Works with Figma files (via Figma MCP), code (HTML/CSS/React/Vue), screenshots, wireframes, and written descriptions. Supports English and Korean.

Compatible with Claude, Manus, and other agents that support SKILL.md-based skills.

What It Does

Drop in a Figma link, paste your CSS, upload a screenshot, or share a wireframe — Design Auditor checks your work against 18 categories of design rules and gives you:

A score out of 100 with per-category breakdown
A separate Accessibility Score (WCAG coverage across Cat 2, 6, 7, 16)
A separate Ethics Score (dark patterns and manipulative design across Cat 18)
A 🚫 Blocker tier for legal/compliance violations (WCAG AA, GDPR, PECR) — separate from Critical issues
Issues ranked by severity (🚫 Blocker / 🔴 Critical / 🟡 Warning / 🟢 Tip)
Plain-language explanations of why each rule matters
An Issue Priority Matrix — every issue plotted by effort vs. impact
Before/after code diffs when fixing issues in HTML/CSS/React/Vue
Direct fixes in your Figma file via Figma MCP
Figma Code Connect — detects design-to-code mapping gaps (get_code_connect_suggestions)
Wireframe to Spec — converts wireframes into annotated dev-ready specs
Visual audit report exportable to Canva for stakeholder sharing
Developer handoff report — CSS spec table, a11y checklist, critical fixes
Export report as Markdown — ready for Notion, GitHub, Linear, or Jira

The 18 Audit Categories

| # | Category | What It Checks | |---|---|---| | 1 | Typography | Hierarchy, font count, size, line height, contrast | | 2 | Color & Contrast | WCAG ratios, semantic color use, palette consistency | | 3 | Spacing & Layout | 8-point grid, proximity, alignment, whitespace | | 4 | Visual Hierarchy | Primary action clarity, reading patterns, size/contrast mapping | | 5 | Consistency | Component reuse, icon families, corner radius, interaction states | | 6 | Accessibility (A11y / WCAG) | Touch targets, focus states, alt text, form labels, reading order | | 7 | Forms & Inputs | Labels, sizing, validation timing, error placement, submit states | | 8 | Motion & Animation | Purpose, duration, easing, reduced-motion support | | 9 | Dark Mode | Not just inverted, surface elevation, saturation, icon legibility | | 10 | Responsive & Adaptive | Breakpoints, overflow, touch targets, type scaling | | 11 | Loading, Empty & Error States | Skeletons, empty state anatomy, error levels, success confirmation | | 12 | Content & Microcopy | Button labels, error messages, tone consistency, terminology | | 13 | Internationalization & RTL | Text expansion, RTL mirroring, locale-aware formatting, font support | | 14 | Elevation & Shadows | Shadow scale, elevation hierarchy, dark mode depth | | 15 | Iconography | Icon families, optical sizing, touch targets, meaning consistency | | 16 | Navigation Patterns | Tabs, breadcrumbs, back buttons, mobile nav, active states | | 17 | Design Tokens & Variables | Semantic naming, hardcoded values, dark mode token swapping | | 18 | Ethical Design & Dark Patterns | Confirmshaming, false urgency, pre-checked consent, CTA hierarchy inversion, privacy zuckering, hidden costs, and 15 more manipulative patterns across 5 groups |

Who It's For

Developers building UIs who don't have a design background
Designers who want a fast second opinion or WCAG check
Teams using Figma MCP or VS Code who want design validation in their workflow
Product managers and founders who want to ship ethical, accessible products
Anyone who's ever wondered "does this look right?"

How to Install

Download design-auditor.skill from the releases page
Go to Claude.ai → Customize → Skills
Click Upload skill and select the file
Done — the skill is now active in your conversations

How to Use

Once installed, just talk to Claude naturally:

English:

"Check my design" → choose scope (full / quick / custom), then audit
"Is this accessible?" → accessibility-focused audit
"Review my form" → partial audit, relevant categories only
"Does this follow WCAG?" → contrast & a11y audit
"Check my Figma file: [link]" → Figma MCP audit
"Any dark patterns here?" → ethics audit
"Wireframe to spec" → annotated dev-ready spec from wireframe

Korean:

"디자인 검토해줘" → 전체 감사
"접근성 확인해줘" → 접근성 중심 감사
"내 디자인 괜찮아 보여?" → 전체 감사
"UI 검토해줘" → 전체 감사
"색상 대비 확인해줘" → 색상 및 접근성 감사
"와이어프레임 스펙 출력해줘" → 와이어프레임 스펙 모드

Example Output

## 🔍 Design Audit Report

**Input:** Checkout flow · 3 frames
**Type:** Figma MCP
**Confidence:** 🟢 High
**Component health:** 71% coverage · 2 detached instances · 8 unnamed layers
**Code Connect:** 8 components mapped · 3 unmapped

### Overall Score: 62/100
100 − (1 × 🚫 12) − (2 × 🔴 8) − (4 × 🟡 4) − (2 × 🟢 1) = 62/100
A legal compliance failure and contrast issues are the main drag.

### Accessibility Score: 55/100 — significant gaps ⚠️ Contains legal compliance failures
### Ethics Score: 85/100 — minor concerns

### 🚫 Blockers (−12pts each)
- **Text contrast failure** — #aaa on white = 2.3:1 → Fix: use #595959 (7:1)
  Legal basis: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3

### 🔴 Critical Issues (−8pts each)
- **Missing form labels** — placeholder-only inputs lose label on type
  → Fix: add <label> above each input.

### 🟡 Warnings (−4pts each)
- **Off-grid spacing** — padding: 13px → Fix: use 12px or 16px
- **CTA hierarchy inversion** — "Accept all" primary, "Reject all" grey text
  → Fix: equivalent visual weight (GDPR requirement)

Skill Structure

design-auditor/
├── SKILL.md                        — Main skill instructions (18 categories)
└── references/
    ├── typography.md               — Font rules, sizing, hierarchy, type scale algorithm
    ├── color.md                    — WCAG luminance formula, contrast, palette guidance
    ├── spacing.md                  — 8-point grid, layout, proximity, code checks
    ├── corner-radius.md            — Nested radius rule, scale, pill shapes, code checks
    ├── elevation.md                — Shadow scale, elevation hierarchy, code shadow audit
    ├── iconography.md              — Icon families, sizing, touch targets
    ├── navigation.md               — Tabs, breadcrumbs, back buttons, mobile nav, code checks
    ├── tokens.md                   — Design tokens, semantic naming, dark mode architecture
    ├── figma-mcp.md                — Figma MCP workflow, Code Connect, page structure, safe editing
    ├── states.md                   — Loading, empty, error, success states + code checks
    ├── microcopy.md                — Button labels, errors, tone, per-role audit guide
    ├── animation.md                — Easing curves, duration scales, reduced motion, code checks
    ├── i18n.md                     — RTL support, locale formatting, i18n
    └── ethics.md                   — Dark patterns, ethical design, persuasion vs manipulation

Changelog

v1.2.6

Wireframe to Spec mode

New output mode alongside the standard audit. When a wireframe is detected (greyscale, box placeholders, skeleton fidelity), the skill offers Spec mode before running a scored audit.

Produces a structured design specification: Layout & Dimensions, Spacing, Typography, Components Required (with states), Copy Placeholders, Interaction Notes, Accessibility Requirements, and an Open Questions section that surfaces gaps the wireframe doesn't answer.

No score or severity labels — Spec mode annotates, it doesn't audit
Estimated values clearly flagged with ~ prefix
Uses Figma layer data when available; falls back to standard defaults from reference files
Output as downloadable .md file
Auto-detected from wireframe input; also available in "What next?" widget post-audit
Triggers on: "wireframe to spec", "annotate my wireframe", "turn this wireframe into a spec", "spec out this design"

Canva visual audit report

After any audit, "Export to Canva" generates a visual report card in Canva — score rings, issue summary, top 3 fixes, positives. Stakeholder-friendly format for sharing with non-technical audiences. Separate from the full technical Markdown export.

Trigger vocabulary expanded

Wireframe-specific trigger phrases added to YAML description. Stale version stamps in report templates fixed (were showing v1.2.2).

v1.2.5

Figma MCP — three new tools integrated

get_code_connect_suggestions — AI-suggested Figma→code component mappings. Enriches Cat 5 and Cat 17. Flags unmapped components. Adds Code Connect line to report header.
get_code_connect_map — confirmed mappings, powers the handoff table
create_design_system_rules — generates enforcement rules for the repo, offered post-audit when token/component health is poor. Always requires explicit confirmation.

Scoring calibration — Blocker tier

| Severity | Deduction | Basis | |---|---|---| | 🚫 Blocker | −12pts | Legal/compliance — WCAG AA, GDPR, PECR | | 🔴 Critical | −8pts | Usability failure | | 🟡 Warning | −4pts | Degrades experience | | 🟢 Tip | −1pt | Polish |

Blocker examples: contrast below 4.5:1 (SC 1.4.3), keyboard-inaccessible element (SC 2.1.1), missing alt (SC 1.1.1), pre-checked marketing consent (GDPR), skip link missing (SC 2.4.1).

Accessibility Score updated: Blockers use −12. Any Blocker appends "⚠️ Contains legal compliance failures".

Trigger vocabulary expanded — 15+ new phrases: "is this GDPR compliant", "check my onboarding", "review my checkout", "is this manipulative", "any dark patterns here", "is my form accessible", and more.

v1.2.4

New: Category 18 — Ethical Design & Dark Patterns

20 manipulative patterns across 5 groups: Deceptive Interface, Coercive Flows, Consent & Privacy, False Urgency & Scarcity, Emotional Manipulation.

Ethics severity model: 🔴 Deceptive (−15pts) · 🟡 Questionable (−7pts) · 🟢 Noted (0pts). Ethics Score shown alongside Accessibility Score.

New ethics.md reference file — 877 lines with full pattern taxonomy, detection signals, and Ethical Persuasion reference.

v1.2.3

Code parity complete — all 17 categories now check from source code.

Cat 3 — off-grid detection, z-index audit, padding consistency, content margin, logical properties
Cat 16 — <nav> semantics, aria-current, skip link, tab vs nav misuse, keyboard handling, breadcrumb structure
spacing.md, navigation.md, animation.md, corner-radius.md — all with full code-specific audit sections

v1.2.2

get_design_pages as mandatory F1.5 step — file structure before auditing
Type Scale Stack triggers on every audit — extracts font sizes directly from get_design_context
Component health metric in report header — coverage %, detached instances, unnamed layers
2-frame cross-check for consistency (Cat 5)
Microcopy reads every text node, classifies by role, cites exact text + node ID
Issue deduplication — same root cause → one grouped entry
Framework detection + before/after code diffs for code input
Code superpowers added to Cat 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 17
Standardised report template with fixed sections
Re-audit spec, Explain an issue depth, Developer Handoff Report template

v1.2.1

Scoring formula always shown in every report
Color contrast via design tokens — get_variable_defs drives Cat 2
animation.md added — full Cat 8 reference
Figma fix loop partial failure recovery
Auto-layout ops and component instance caveat in figma-mcp.md

v1.2.0

5 interactive audit widgets: Type Scale Stack, Contrast Checker, 8pt Grid Visualizer, States Coverage Map, Issue Priority Matrix
Smart defaults — scope, stage, WCAG level inferred from request
Component-type detection and confidence scoring
Session progress tracker with sparkline
Full Korean coverage

v1.1.5

Figma Variables integration, audit goal context, WCAG level selector
Separate Accessibility Score, Developer handoff mode
Fix all Critical loop, bilingual widget labels

v1.1.4

Audit scope selector: Full / Quick / Custom
Partial audit mode, severity filter, Markdown export

v1.1.3

Figma MCP fallback, per-category scores, before/after diffs, re-audit delta

v1.1.2

Deterministic scoring formula, confidence level, strict output template

v1.1.1

Korean language support

v1.1.0

17 categories: added Corner Radius, Elevation, Iconography, Navigation, Design Tokens

v1.0.0

Initial release: 13 audit categories, 7 reference files

Contributing

Found a design rule that should be in here? Open an issue or PR.

Areas that could use expansion:

UX flow analysis & information architecture
Data visualization & charts
Native mobile (iOS/Android) specific patterns
Print / PDF layout rules

License

MIT — use it, fork it, build on it.

Built with Claude · Skill format by Anthropic

claude design auditor skill

Installation

Kompatibilitaet

Beschreibung