Visual and static design intelligence. Use alongside the core aesthetic-craft skill when creating posters, flyers, social media graphics, mockups, business cards, banners, album covers, book covers, logos, brand identity, invitations, menus, signage, or any static visual composition. Covers print design principles, composition for fixed frames, typography as art, brand identity and logo design, and the unique challenges of design that exists in a single view — no scroll, no interaction, no second chance.
Prerequisites: Always read aesthetic-craft/SKILL.md (core) first. This sub-skill adds guidance for static visual design.
Static design has no scroll, no hover, no animation, no progressive disclosure. Everything competes for attention simultaneously in a single frame. This makes hierarchy not just important — it's the entire game. If someone can't parse the most important information in 2 seconds, the design has failed.
Three realities:
Every static design should have a deliberate eye path — a visual sequence the viewer follows:
Common composition structures:
The single most powerful tool in static design. If everything is the same size, nothing matters. Create dramatic scale differences:
The ratio rule: The most important element should be at least 3-4x larger than the secondary elements. Subtle size differences create confusion, not hierarchy.
Whitespace is not empty — it's active. In static design, whitespace:
In static design, typography is not just communication — it IS the visual. A poster can be nothing but type and be extraordinary.
| Mood | Color Direction |
|---|---|
| Premium / luxury | Black, deep navy, gold, lots of whitespace |
| Energetic / youth | Saturated primaries, neons, high contrast |
| Calm / wellness | Muted greens, soft blues, earth tones, low contrast |
| Bold / rebellious | High contrast, black + one vivid color, or clashing combinations |
| Warm / inviting | Terracotta, warm cream, amber, burnt orange |
| Cool / professional | Slate gray, navy, minimal accent, clean whites |
| Vintage / nostalgic | Desaturated tones, sepia, muted pastels, off-white paper feel |
| Playful / fun | Bright varied palette, rounded shapes, primary colors |
Brand identity is the foundation that every other visual output builds on. A logo isn't just a picture — it's a system that must work across every medium, size, and context.
Simplicity is survival. A logo will appear on a favicon (16px), a business card, a billboard, an email signature, and embroidered on a hat. Complexity dies at small sizes. The strongest logos are reducible to their simplest form and still recognizable.
The scalability test: Design the logo at 240px wide. Then view it at 16px (favicon), 32px (browser tab), 60px (mobile app icon), and 480px (print header). It must work at ALL of these. If detail disappears at small sizes, the logo is too complex.
The one-color test: The logo must work in a single color — black on white, white on black. If it depends on color to be understood, it's not a logo yet. Color is enhancement, not structure.
The silhouette test: Squint at the logo until you can only see its outline. Is the shape distinctive? Can you tell it apart from competitors? The silhouette is what people actually remember.
A logo isn't one file — it's a system of versions:
A logo alone is not a brand identity. The full system includes:
| AI Pattern | What to Do Instead |
|---|---|
| Overly complex logo with gradients and detail | Simple enough to work at 16px. One-color test first. |
| Logo that only works in full color | Design in black and white first, add color after |
| Generic icon + generic font = "logo" | The mark must be distinctive. If it could be any company's logo, iterate. |
| No system — just one logo file | Build the full system: lockups, one-color, reversed, clear space, minimum size |
| Brand palette of 8+ colors | 2-3 primary, 1-2 accent, plus neutrals. More than that is unmanageable. |
| "Modern" brand that looks like every other startup | Find the one thing that makes this brand NOT generic. Lead with that. |
| AI Pattern | What to Do Instead |
|---|---|
| Centered everything | Use off-center composition. Rule of thirds. Diagonal tension. |
| Generic stock photo feel | Illustration, custom typography, or photography with actual personality |
| Gradient backgrounds as a crutch | Solid colors, textures, photography, or bold type on white |
| Same "floating mockup in space" template | Context-appropriate mockups with consistent lighting |
| Too many fonts / too many colors | 2 typefaces max. 3-5 colors max. Restraint creates cohesion. |
| No clear eye path | Define entry point, flow, and anchor. Test by squinting. |
| Text that works at 100% but not at thumbnail | Simplify until it reads at small sizes |
| Decorative elements with no purpose | Every shape, line, and texture must serve composition or meaning |
| Uniform spacing everywhere | Vary spacing to create rhythm and hierarchy. Tight where grouped, open where separated. |
| Playing it safe with a "clean" template | Static design should have personality. Take a position. |
| Logo that's just a generic icon + text | Distinctive mark that passes the scalability, one-color, and silhouette tests |