When applied to an existing project, follow this sequence:
Scan — Read the codebase. Identify the framework, styling method (Tailwind, vanilla CSS, styled-components, etc.), and current design patterns.
Diagnose — Run through the audit below. List every generic pattern, weak point, and missing state you find.
Fix — Apply targeted upgrades working with the existing stack. Do not rewrite from scratch. Improve what's there.
Design Audit
Typography
Check for these problems and fix them:
Browser default fonts or Inter everywhere. Replace with a font that has character. Good options: Geist, Outfit, Cabinet Grotesk, Satoshi. For editorial/creative projects, pair a serif header with a sans-serif body.
Headlines lack presence. Increase size for display text, tighten letter-spacing, reduce line-height. Headlines should feel heavy and intentional.
Body text too wide. Limit paragraph width to roughly 65 characters. Increase line-height for readability.
Only Regular (400) and Bold (700) weights used. Introduce Medium (500) and SemiBold (600) for more subtle hierarchy.
Numbers in proportional font. Use a monospace font or enable tabular figures (font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums) for data-heavy interfaces.
Missing letter-spacing adjustments. Use negative tracking for large headers, positive tracking for small caps or labels.
Orphaned words. Single words sitting alone on the last line. Fix with text-wrap: balance or text-wrap: pretty.
Color and Surfaces
Pure#000000 background. Replace with off-black, dark charcoal, or tinted dark (#0a0a0a, #121212, or a dark navy).
Oversaturated accent colors. Keep saturation below 80%. Desaturate accents so they blend with neutrals instead of screaming.
More than one accent color. Pick one. Remove the rest. Consistency beats variety.
Mixing warm and cool grays. Stick to one gray family. Tint all grays with a consistent hue (warm or cool, not both).
Purple/blue "AI gradient" aesthetic. This is the most common AI design fingerprint. Replace with neutral bases and a single, considered accent.
Genericbox-shadow. Tint shadows to match the background hue. Use colored shadows (e.g., dark blue shadow on a blue background) instead of pure black at low opacity.
Flat design with zero texture. Add subtle noise, grain, or micro-patterns to backgrounds. Pure flat vectors feel sterile.
Perfectly even gradients. Break the uniformity with radial gradients, noise overlays, or mesh gradients instead of standard linear 45-degree fades.
Inconsistent lighting direction. Audit all shadows to ensure they suggest a single, consistent light source.
A single dark-background section breaking an otherwise light page looks like a copy-paste accident. Either commit to a full dark mode or keep a consistent background tone throughout. If contrast is needed, use a slightly darker shade of the same palette — not a sudden jump to in the middle of a cream page.
Layout
Everything centered and symmetrical. Break symmetry with offset margins, mixed aspect ratios, or left-aligned headers over centered content.
Three equal card columns as feature row. This is the most generic AI layout. Replace with a 2-column zig-zag, asymmetric grid, horizontal scroll, or masonry layout.
Usingheight: 100vh for full-screen sections. Replace with min-height: 100dvh to prevent layout jumping on mobile browsers (iOS Safari viewport bug).
Complex flexbox percentage math. Replace with CSS Grid for reliable multi-column structures.
No max-width container. Add a container constraint (around 1200-1440px) with auto margins so content doesn't stretch edge-to-edge on wide screens.
Cards of equal height forced by flexbox. Allow variable heights or use masonry when content varies in length.
Uniform border-radius on everything. Vary the radius: tighter on inner elements, softer on containers.
No overlap or depth. Elements sit flat next to each other. Use negative margins to create layering and visual depth.
Symmetrical vertical padding. Top and bottom padding are always identical. Adjust optically — bottom padding often needs to be slightly larger.
Dashboard always has a left sidebar. Try top navigation, a floating command menu, or a collapsible panel instead.
Missing whitespace. Double the spacing. Let the design breathe. Dense layouts work for data dashboards, not for marketing pages.
When cards have different content lengths, CTAs end up at random heights. Pin buttons to the bottom of each card so they form a clean horizontal line regardless of content above.
Interactivity and States
No hover states on buttons. Add background shift, slight scale, or translate on hover.
No active/pressed feedback. Add a subtle scale(0.98) or translateY(1px) on press to simulate a physical click.
Instant transitions with zero duration. Add smooth transitions (200-300ms) to all interactive elements.
Missing focus ring. Ensure visible focus indicators for keyboard navigation. This is an accessibility requirement, not optional.
No loading states. Replace generic circular spinners with skeleton loaders that match the layout shape.
No empty states. An empty dashboard showing nothing is a missed opportunity. Design a composed "getting started" view.
No error states. Add clear, inline error messages for forms. Do not use window.alert().
Dead links. Buttons that link to #. Either link to real destinations or visually disable them.
No indication of current page in navigation. Style the active nav link differently so users know where they are.
Placeholder company names like "Acme Corp", "Nexus", "SmartFlow". Invent contextual, believable brand names.
AI copywriting cliches. Never use "Elevate", "Seamless", "Unleash", "Next-Gen", "Game-changer", "Delve", "Tapestry", or "In the world of...". Write plain, specific language.
Exclamation marks in success messages. Remove them. Be confident, not loud.
"Oops!" error messages. Be direct: "Connection failed. Please try again."
Passive voice. Use active voice: "We couldn't save your changes" instead of "Mistakes were made."
All blog post dates identical. Randomize dates to appear real.
Component Patterns
Generic card look (border + shadow + white background). Remove the border, or use only background color, or use only spacing. Cards should exist only when elevation communicates hierarchy.
Always one filled button + one ghost button. Add text links or tertiary styles to reduce visual noise.
Pill-shaped "New" and "Beta" badges. Try square badges, flags, or plain text labels.
Accordion FAQ sections. Use a side-by-side list, searchable help, or inline progressive disclosure.
3-card carousel testimonials with dots. Replace with a masonry wall, embedded social posts, or a single rotating quote.
Pricing table with 3 towers. Highlight the recommended tier with color and emphasis, not just extra height.
Modals for everything. Use inline editing, slide-over panels, or expandable sections instead of popups for simple actions.
Avatar circles exclusively. Try squircles or rounded squares for a less generic look.
Light/dark toggle always a sun/moon switch. Use a dropdown, system preference detection, or integrate it into settings.
Footer link farm with 4 columns. Simplify. Focus on main navigational paths and legally required links.
Iconography
Lucide or Feather icons exclusively. These are the "default" AI icon choice. Use Phosphor, Heroicons, or a custom set for differentiation.
Rocketship for "Launch", shield for "Security". Replace cliche metaphors with less obvious icons (bolt, fingerprint, spark, vault).
Inconsistent stroke widths across icons. Audit all icons and standardize to one stroke weight.
Missing favicon. Always include a branded favicon.
Stock "diverse team" photos. Use real team photos, candid shots, or a consistent illustration style instead of uncanny stock imagery.
Code Quality
Div soup. Use semantic HTML: <nav>, <main>, <article>, <aside>, <section>.
Inline styles mixed with CSS classes. Move all styling to the project's styling system.
Hardcoded pixel widths. Use relative units (%, rem, em, max-width) for flexible layouts.
Missing alt text on images. Describe image content for screen readers. Never leave alt="" or on meaningful images.
Strategic Omissions (What AI Typically Forgets)
No legal links. Add privacy policy and terms of service links in the footer.
No "back" navigation. Dead ends in user flows. Every page needs a way back.
No custom 404 page. Design a helpful, branded "page not found" experience.
No form validation. Add client-side validation for emails, required fields, and format checks.
No "skip to content" link. Essential for keyboard users. Add a hidden skip-link.
No cookie consent. If required by jurisdiction, add a compliant consent banner.
Upgrade Techniques
When upgrading a project, pull from these high-impact techniques to replace generic patterns:
Typography Upgrades
Variable font animation. Interpolate weight or width on scroll or hover for text that feels alive.
Outlined-to-fill transitions. Text starts as a stroke outline and fills with color on scroll entry or interaction.
Text mask reveals. Large typography acting as a window to video or animated imagery behind it.
Layout Upgrades
Broken grid / asymmetry. Elements that deliberately ignore column structure — overlapping, bleeding off-screen, or offset with calculated randomness.
Whitespace maximization. Aggressive use of negative space to force focus on a single element.
Parallax card stacks. Sections that stick and physically stack over each other during scroll.
Split-screen scroll. Two halves of the screen sliding in opposite directions.
Motion Upgrades
Smooth scroll with inertia. Decouple scrolling from browser defaults for a heavier, cinematic feel.
Staggered entry. Elements cascade in with slight delays, combining Y-axis translation with opacity fade. Never mount everything at once.
Spring physics. Replace linear easing with spring-based motion for a natural, weighty feel on all interactive elements.
Scroll-driven reveals. Content entering through expanding masks, wipes, or draw-on SVG paths tied to scroll progress.
Surface Upgrades
True glassmorphism. Go beyond backdrop-filter: blur. Add a 1px inner border and a subtle inner shadow to simulate edge refraction.
Spotlight borders. Card borders that illuminate dynamically under the cursor.
Grain and noise overlays. A fixed, pointer-events-none overlay with subtle noise to break digital flatness.
Colored, tinted shadows. Shadows that carry the hue of the background rather than using generic black.
Fix Priority
Apply changes in this order for maximum visual impact with minimum risk:
Font swap — biggest instant improvement, lowest risk
Color palette cleanup — remove clashing or oversaturated colors
Hover and active states — makes the interface feel alive
Layout and spacing — proper grid, max-width, consistent padding
Replace generic components — swap cliche patterns for modern alternatives
Add loading, empty, and error states — makes it feel finished
Polish typography scale and spacing — the premium final touch
Rules
Work with the existing tech stack. Do not migrate frameworks or styling libraries.
Do not break existing functionality. Test after every change.
Before importing any new library, check the project's dependency file first.
If the project uses Tailwind, check the version (v3 vs v4) before modifying config.
If the project has no framework, use vanilla CSS.
Keep changes reviewable and focused. Small, targeted improvements over big rewrites.
Random dark sections in a light mode page (or vice versa).
#111
Empty, flat sections with no visual depth. Sections that are just text on a plain background feel unfinished. Add high-quality background imagery (blurred, overlaid, or masked), subtle patterns, or ambient gradients. Use reliable placeholder sources like https://picsum.photos/seed/{name}/1920/1080 when real assets are not available. Experiment with background images behind hero sections, feature blocks, or CTAs — even a subtle full-width photo at low opacity adds presence.
Buttons not bottom-aligned in card groups.
Feature lists starting at different vertical positions. In pricing tables or comparison cards, the list of features should start at the same Y position across all columns. Use consistent spacing above the list or fixed-height title/price blocks.
Inconsistent vertical rhythm in side-by-side elements. When placing cards, columns, or panels next to each other, align shared elements (titles, descriptions, prices, buttons) across all items. Misaligned baselines make the layout look broken.
Mathematical alignment that looks optically wrong. Centering by the math doesn't always look centered to the eye. Icons next to text, play buttons in circles, or text in buttons often need 1-2px optical adjustments to feel right.
Animations usingtop, left, width, height. Switch to transform and opacity for GPU-accelerated, smooth animation.
Same avatar image for multiple users. Use unique assets for every distinct person.
Lorem Ipsum. Never use placeholder latin text. Write real draft copy.
Title Case On Every Header. Use sentence case instead.
alt="image"
Arbitrary z-index values like9999. Establish a clean z-index scale in the theme/variables.
Commented-out dead code. Remove all debug artifacts before shipping.
Import hallucinations. Check that every import actually exists in package.json or the project dependencies.
Missing meta tags. Add proper <title>, description, og:image, and social sharing meta tags.
