119 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
119 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: distill
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description: Strip designs to their essence by removing unnecessary complexity. Great design is simple, powerful, and clean. Use when the user asks to simplify, declutter, reduce noise, remove elements, or make a UI cleaner and more focused.
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---
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Remove unnecessary complexity from designs, revealing the essential elements and creating clarity through ruthless simplification.
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## MANDATORY PREPARATION
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Invoke /frontend-design — it contains design principles, anti-patterns, and the **Context Gathering Protocol**. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no design context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-impeccable first.
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---
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## Assess Current State
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Analyze what makes the design feel complex or cluttered:
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1. **Identify complexity sources**:
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- **Too many elements**: Competing buttons, redundant information, visual clutter
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- **Excessive variation**: Too many colors, fonts, sizes, styles without purpose
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- **Information overload**: Everything visible at once, no progressive disclosure
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- **Visual noise**: Unnecessary borders, shadows, backgrounds, decorations
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- **Confusing hierarchy**: Unclear what matters most
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- **Feature creep**: Too many options, actions, or paths forward
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2. **Find the essence**:
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- What's the primary user goal? (There should be ONE)
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- What's actually necessary vs nice-to-have?
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- What can be removed, hidden, or combined?
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- What's the 20% that delivers 80% of value?
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If any of these are unclear from the codebase, ask the user directly to clarify what you cannot infer.
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**CRITICAL**: Simplicity is not about removing features - it's about removing obstacles between users and their goals. Every element should justify its existence.
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## Plan Simplification
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Create a ruthless editing strategy:
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- **Core purpose**: What's the ONE thing this should accomplish?
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- **Essential elements**: What's truly necessary to achieve that purpose?
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- **Progressive disclosure**: What can be hidden until needed?
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- **Consolidation opportunities**: What can be combined or integrated?
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**IMPORTANT**: Simplification is hard. It requires saying no to good ideas to make room for great execution. Be ruthless.
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## Simplify the Design
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Systematically remove complexity across these dimensions:
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### Information Architecture
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- **Reduce scope**: Remove secondary actions, optional features, redundant information
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- **Progressive disclosure**: Hide complexity behind clear entry points (accordions, modals, step-through flows)
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- **Combine related actions**: Merge similar buttons, consolidate forms, group related content
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- **Clear hierarchy**: ONE primary action, few secondary actions, everything else tertiary or hidden
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- **Remove redundancy**: If it's said elsewhere, don't repeat it here
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### Visual Simplification
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- **Reduce color palette**: Use 1-2 colors plus neutrals, not 5-7 colors
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- **Limit typography**: One font family, 3-4 sizes maximum, 2-3 weights
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- **Remove decorations**: Eliminate borders, shadows, backgrounds that don't serve hierarchy or function
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- **Flatten structure**: Reduce nesting, remove unnecessary containers—never nest cards inside cards
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- **Remove unnecessary cards**: Cards aren't needed for basic layout; use spacing and alignment instead
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- **Consistent spacing**: Use one spacing scale, remove arbitrary gaps
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### Layout Simplification
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- **Linear flow**: Replace complex grids with simple vertical flow where possible
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- **Remove sidebars**: Move secondary content inline or hide it
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- **Full-width**: Use available space generously instead of complex multi-column layouts
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- **Consistent alignment**: Pick left or center, stick with it
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- **Generous white space**: Let content breathe, don't pack everything tight
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### Interaction Simplification
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- **Reduce choices**: Fewer buttons, fewer options, clearer path forward (paradox of choice is real)
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- **Smart defaults**: Make common choices automatic, only ask when necessary
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- **Inline actions**: Replace modal flows with inline editing where possible
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- **Remove steps**: Can signup be one step instead of three? Can checkout be simplified?
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- **Clear CTAs**: ONE obvious next step, not five competing actions
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### Content Simplification
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- **Shorter copy**: Cut every sentence in half, then do it again
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- **Active voice**: "Save changes" not "Changes will be saved"
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- **Remove jargon**: Plain language always wins
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- **Scannable structure**: Short paragraphs, bullet points, clear headings
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- **Essential information only**: Remove marketing fluff, legalese, hedging
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- **Remove redundant copy**: No headers restating intros, no repeated explanations, say it once
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### Code Simplification
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- **Remove unused code**: Dead CSS, unused components, orphaned files
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- **Flatten component trees**: Reduce nesting depth
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- **Consolidate styles**: Merge similar styles, use utilities consistently
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- **Reduce variants**: Does that component need 12 variations, or can 3 cover 90% of cases?
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**NEVER**:
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- Remove necessary functionality (simplicity ≠ feature-less)
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- Sacrifice accessibility for simplicity (clear labels and ARIA still required)
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- Make things so simple they're unclear (mystery ≠ minimalism)
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- Remove information users need to make decisions
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- Eliminate hierarchy completely (some things should stand out)
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- Oversimplify complex domains (match complexity to actual task complexity)
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## Verify Simplification
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Ensure simplification improves usability:
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- **Faster task completion**: Can users accomplish goals more quickly?
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- **Reduced cognitive load**: Is it easier to understand what to do?
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- **Still complete**: Are all necessary features still accessible?
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- **Clearer hierarchy**: Is it obvious what matters most?
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- **Better performance**: Does simpler design load faster?
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## Document Removed Complexity
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If you removed features or options:
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- Document why they were removed
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- Consider if they need alternative access points
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- Note any user feedback to monitor
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Remember: You have great taste and judgment. Simplification is an act of confidence - knowing what to keep and courage to remove the rest. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." |