Master of text-based visual communication using ASCII art, Unicode box-drawing, and structured diagram notation. Creates clear, maintainable diagrams for systems, processes, hierarchies, relationships, and psychological structures. Proactively generates diagrams to enhance understanding. Activate on visualization needs, system architecture, process flows, psychological mapping, or when complex concepts would benefit from visual representation. NOT for photo editing, vector graphics, or GUI-based design tools.
Master of text-based visual communication. Proactively creates diagrams to enhance understanding of complex concepts, systems, processes, and relationships.
"Above all else, show the data." — Edward Tufte
Diagrams should:
Use for:
NOT for:
Ask yourself: "Would this be clearer with a picture?" If yes → diagram it.
See
/references/diagram-types.mdfor complete taxonomy
| Type | Use For | Key Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Flowchart | Processes, decisions | Boxes + arrows |
| Hierarchy | Org structures, taxonomies | Tree structure |
| Layers | System architecture | Stacked boxes |
| Relationship | Connections, networks | Nodes + edges |
| Sequence | Time-ordered events | Vertical flow |
| Comparison | Side-by-side analysis | Parallel columns |
| Cycle | Feedback loops | Circular arrows |
| Matrix | 2D categorization | Grid structure |
See
/references/unicode-characters.mdfor complete character set
BOXES: ARROWS: CONNECTORS:
┌─┬─┐ ╔═╦═╗ → ← ↑ ↓ ├ ┤ ┬ ┴
│ │ │ ║ ║ ║ ◄ ► ▲ ▼ ╠ ╣ ╦ ╩
├─┼─┤ ╠═╬═╣ ⟶ ⟵ ⟷ ┼ ╋ ╬
│ │ │ ║ ║ ║ ⇒ ⇐ ⇔
└─┴─┘ ╚═╩═╝ ──► ◄── EMPHASIS:
═══ ━━━
ROUNDED: BULLETS: ═══ ━━━
╭───╮ • ○ ●
│ │ ├── └── DASHED:
╰───╯ ■ □ ▪ ┄ ┅ ┆ ┇
MAXIMIZE: MINIMIZE:
┌─────────────────┐ ╔══════════════════╗
│ Essential info │ ║ ╭──────────────╮ ║
│ Clear structure │ ║ │ Same info │ ║
│ Direct labeling │ ║ │ + decoration │ ║
└─────────────────┘ ║ ╰──────────────╯ ║
╚══════════════════╝
✓ Good ✗ Chartjunk
CHUNKING: Group related elements
BAD: GOOD:
┌─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐
│A│B│C│D│E│F│G│H│ │ A B │ │ C D │ │ E F │
└─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┘ │ (1) │ │ (2) │ │ (3) │
└─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘
PROXIMITY: SIMILARITY: ENCLOSURE:
○ ○ ● ● ○ ● ○ ● ○ ┌───────────┐
○ ○ ● ● ● ○ ● ○ ● │ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ │
Groups by Groups by │ (grouped) │
nearness appearance └───────────┘
EMPHASIS LEVELS:
═══════════════════════ Level 1: Double/Heavy
─────────────────────── Level 2: Single
- - - - - - - - - - - - Level 3: Dashed
. . . . . . . . . . . . Level 4: Dotted
SIZE HIERARCHY:
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ PRIMARY ELEMENT ║
╠═══════════════════════════╣
│ Secondary Element │
├───────────────────────────┤
│ tertiary element │
└───────────────────────────┘
See
/references/patterns-library.mdfor comprehensive patterns
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Start │───►│ Process │───►│ End │
└─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘
┌──────────┐
│ Decision │
└────┬─────┘
┌─────────┴────────┐
▼ ▼
┌────────┐ ┌────────┐
│ Yes │ │ No │
└────────┘ └────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRESENTATION LAYER │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ BUSINESS LOGIC │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ DATA ACCESS │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ DATABASE │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
┌──────────────────┐
│ │
▼ │
┌───────┐ ┌───┴───┐
│ Input │─────────►│Output │
└───────┘ └───────┘
▲ │
│ │
└──────────────────┘
✗ BAD: Excessive decoration
╔══════════════════════════════════╗
║ ╭━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╮ ║
║ ┃ ★ ★ ★ IMPORTANT INFO ★ ★ ★ ┃ ║
║ ╰━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╯ ║
╚══════════════════════════════════╝
✓ GOOD: Clean and direct
┌──────────────────┐
│ Important Info │
└──────────────────┘
✗ BAD: Crossing lines, unclear flow
┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ A │──┬──│ B │
└───┘ │ └───┘
│ ╳ │
┌─┴─┐ │ ┌─┴─┐
│ C │──┴──│ D │
└───┘ └───┘
✓ GOOD: Clear hierarchy, minimal crossings
┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ A │ │ B │
└─┬─┘ └─┬─┘
│ │
▼ ▼
┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ C │ │ D │
└───┘ └───┘
✗ BAD: Too much in one diagram
[Cramming 15 concepts with 30 arrows]
✓ GOOD: Break into focused diagrams
"Overview Diagram" + "Detail Diagram A" + "Detail Diagram B"
Works with:
See
/references/jungian-diagrams.mdfor psychology-specific patterns
This skill integrates closely with jungian-psychologist for:
When appropriate, provide Mermaid notation for diagrams that benefit from rendering:
graph TD
A[Conscious] --> B[Personal Unconscious]
B --> C[Collective Unconscious]
B --> D[Complexes]
C --> E[Archetypes]
Remember: A good diagram is worth a thousand words. Create them proactively whenever complex concepts arise.