critique-typography
Critique a rendered screen's typography — scale usage, readability, consistency, and token compliance. Use when reviewing type on a screen. For defining the scale itself, use typography-scale (ui-design).
- Installs
- 2K
- Last 24h
- +24
- Trending rank
- #5016
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills --skill critique-typography- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads critique-typography automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Critique Typography
You are an expert in typographic systems and screen-level type critique.
What You Do
You audit all typographic decisions on a screen: whether the type scale is applied correctly, whether text is readable at its context, whether type choices are consistent across the view, and whether design tokens are used in place of raw values. You flag problems and provide specific fixes.
Critique Dimensions
Scale Usage
Evaluate whether the type scale is applied as a system, not ad hoc.
- Are only defined scale steps used (e.g., display, h1–h4, body-lg, body-sm, caption)?
- Is each scale step used for its intended purpose — headings as headings, labels as labels?
- Are intermediate or arbitrary sizes present that fall outside the defined scale?
- Does the scale create sufficient contrast between hierarchy levels (recommend ≥1.25× ratio per step)?
Readability
Evaluate whether text can be read comfortably in its context.
- Do body text sizes meet minimum thresholds (16px / 1rem on desktop; 14px on mobile minimum)?
- Is line-height set for the content type: tighter for headings (1.1–1.3), looser for body (1.4–1.6)?
- Is line length (measure) within 45–75 characters for body copy?
- Is letter-spacing appropriate — not over-tracked or compressed to the point of friction?
- Is contrast ratio between text and background WCAG AA compliant (4.5:1 body, 3:1 large text)?
Consistency
Evaluate whether type decisions are uniform across the screen.
- Do semantically equivalent elements (e.g., all card titles, all form labels) use the same type style?
- Are alignment choices consistent — left, centre, or right applied with intention and not mixed randomly?
- Are font weights used consistently and not randomly varied (e.g., some labels bold, others regular)?
- Are there orphaned styles — one-off type treatments not used elsewhere?
Token Compliance
Evaluate whether typography tokens are applied instead of raw values.
- Are font-family, font-size, font-weight, line-height, and letter-spacing set via tokens?
- Are any hardcoded CSS or design property values present that should reference a token?
- List every non-compliant value with its correct token name.
Output Format
For each dimension — Scale, Readability, Consistency, Token Compliance — provide:
- Observation — what you see (neutral, factual)
- Problem — what is broken and why it matters
- Fix — a specific, actionable change (including correct token name where applicable)
Rate each dimension:
pass/minor issue/major issue.
Common Failure Patterns
- Scale drift — designers nudging sizes by 1–2px instead of moving to the next defined step
- Line-height mismatches — display sizes with body line-height and vice versa
- Alignment mixing — centred headings above left-aligned body text without intentional justification
- Hardcoded font-size values in components because the token was not found or not updated
- Over-use of bold — more than two weight levels active on a single screen dilutes contrast
FAQ
What does the critique-typography skill do?
Critique a rendered screen's typography — scale usage, readability, consistency, and token compliance. Use when reviewing type on a screen. For defining the scale itself, use typography-scale (ui-design).
How do I install critique-typography?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/owl-listener/designer-skills --skill critique-typography in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/critique-typography/ (personal) or .claude/skills/critique-typography/ (project).
Which AI agents can use critique-typography?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is critique-typography safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains critique-typography?
It is published by owl-listener in owl-listener/designer-skills. It has 1,996 recorded installs.
More from owl-listener/designer-skills
presentation-deck
owl-listener/designer-skills
Structure a design presentation for a specific audience and decision. Use when presenting internally. For a portfolio narrative use case-study; for the written argument use design-rationale.
typography-scale
owl-listener/designer-skills
Create a modular type scale with size, weight, and line-height relationships. Use when establishing typographic structure. For line length only use readable-measure; for judging type on an existing screen use critique-typography (visual-critique).
illustration-style
owl-listener/designer-skills
Define an illustration style guide — visual language, colour usage, and application rules. Use when commissioning or standardising illustration. For icons, use icon-system (design-systems).
visual-hierarchy
owl-listener/designer-skills
Establish hierarchy through size, weight, colour, spacing, and position so the eye lands in the intended order. Use when composing new work. For judging an existing screen, use critique-visual-hierarchy (visual-critique).
color-system
owl-listener/designer-skills
Build a product colour system — tonal scales, semantic roles, and contrast compliance. Use when defining or rebuilding colour from scratch. For dark-mode adaptation use dark-mode-design; for chart palettes use data-visualization; for multi-brand token architecture use theming-system (design-systems).
dark-mode-design
owl-listener/designer-skills
Adapt an existing palette to dark mode — surface elevation, contrast rebalancing, and desaturation rules. Use when you already have a light palette to translate. For building the base palette first, use color-system.
Popular frontend & design skills
setup-matt-pocock-skills
mattpocock/skills
Configure this repo for the engineering skills: set up its issue tracker, triage label vocabulary, and domain doc layout. Run once before first use of the other engineering skills.
frontend-design
anthropics/skills
Guidance for distinctive, intentional visual design when building new UI or reshaping an existing one. Helps with aesthetic direction, typography, and making choices that don't read as templated defaults.
hyperframes-animation
heygen-com/hyperframes
All animation knowledge for HyperFrames — atomic motion rules, multi-phase scene blueprints, scene transitions, broader motion-design techniques, AND the seven runtime adapters (GSAP default, plus Lottie, Three.js, Anime.js, CSS keyframes, Web Animations API, TypeGPU). Use for any motion or animation task: pick 2-4 rules and compose, or load a blueprint, or look up runtime-specific API (e.g. GSAP eases / Lottie player / Three.js mixer). Also covers auditing an existing composition's choreography (animation map) and 24 named text-animation effects. HyperFrames-native: single paused timeline, seek-safe, deterministic.
prototype
mattpocock/skills
Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model or logic feels right, or explore what a UI should look like.
hyperframes-core
heygen-com/hyperframes
The HyperFrames composition contract — build one renderable project. Use for composition structure, the data- timing attributes, class="clip", tracks, sub-compositions, variables, framework-owned media playback, deterministic-render rules, and validation. Read before writing composition HTML.
vercel-react-best-practices
vercel-labs/agent-skills
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. This skill should be used when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization, or performance improvements.