/design-lead — Design Strategy & Quality

Bridge strategy and design. Set design direction, establish design tenets, review design quality, and ensure products feel like they came from a single mind.

When to Use

• User says "design review", "design direction", "design strategy", "creative direction"
• Translating positioning/brand strategy into design decisions
• Establishing design tenets for a new product
• Reviewing design work for quality and consistency
• Setting the creative direction before detailed design work begins

Before Starting

Check for existing context:

1. Read projects/<project>/onboarding.md for project context
2. Read projects/<project>/positioning.md for positioning (critical input)
3. Read projects/<project>/discovery.md for audience insights
4. Check for existing brand guidelines or design systems
5. Check docs/strategy/ for brand strategy work

Process

Step 1: Understand the Need

AskUserQuestion:
  question: "What kind of design leadership do you need right now?"
  header: "Need"
  options:
    - label: "Set design direction"
      description: "Establish the design vision, tenets, and creative direction for a product"
    - label: "Review design work"
      description: "Evaluate existing designs for quality, consistency, and strategy alignment"
    - label: "Bridge strategy → design"
      description: "Translate positioning and brand strategy into design decisions"
    - label: "Design system guidance"
      description: "Establish design principles, component patterns, and quality standards"

Step 2: Context Gathering

Based on the need, gather relevant context:

For setting direction:

• What's the product? Who's it for?
• What are the brand personality attributes? (If from /gtm-positioning: which 2 Aaker dimensions?)
• What products do you admire? Why? (This reveals taste preferences)
• What do you want to be known for? What do you want to avoid?
• What's the competitive design landscape? (Are competitors minimal, maximalist, playful, serious?)

For reviewing work:

• What are the existing design tenets? (If none exist, we'll establish them first)
• What are the design files or URLs to review?
• What's the target audience and their expectations?
• What's the strategic context — what is this design trying to achieve?

For strategy → design bridge:

• What positioning and brand strategy exists?
• What are the key messages that need to be communicated?
• What actions should users take?
• What emotional response should the design evoke?

Step 3: Establish Design Tenets

If no design tenets exist, create them. Tenets are decision-making tools, not platitudes.

The tenet test: Would someone reasonably argue the opposite? If not, it's a principle, not a tenet.

Process:

1. Identify the top 3-4 design debates that keep recurring (or will recur)
2. For each, take a clear position
3. Write each tenet as a memorable, specific statement
4. Ensure tenets create real trade-offs (gaining X means giving up Y)
5. Max 3-4 tenets — everyone must memorize them

Present tenets for approval before proceeding.

Step 4A: Design Direction (if setting direction)

Build a design direction document covering:

1. Design Vision

• One paragraph describing what the product should feel like to use
• Reference the brand personality ("We are X, but not Y")
• Anchored in the user's emotional journey

2. Design Tenets

• 3-4 decision-making tenets (from Step 3)
• For each: the tenet, why it matters, an example of how it resolves a real decision

3. Competitive Design Landscape

• How competitors approach design (visual style, interaction patterns, tone)
• Where there's design white space — an unclaimed aesthetic or interaction territory

4. First Mile Design

• How new users should experience the product in the first 60 seconds (Belsky)
• What value they should see immediately
• Minimum decisions on the first screen

5. Quality Bar

• What "done" looks like — craft expectations for spacing, typography, animation, responsiveness
• Review cadence — when and how design quality is checked

Step 4B: Design Review (if reviewing work)

Evaluate designs against these dimensions:

Review format:

1. Start with what's working — name the strengths specifically
2. Identify the single biggest structural issue (not a laundry list)
3. Offer specific direction: "Try [specific change] to achieve [specific outcome]"
4. Ask before prescribing: "What were you optimizing for here?"
5. Close with priority: "If you only change one thing, make it [X]"

Step 4C: Strategy → Design Bridge (if bridging)

Translate strategy artifacts into design decisions:

Step 5: Document and Save

Save design direction or review to: projects/<project>/design-direction.md

Include:

• Design vision (1 paragraph)
• Design tenets (3-4)
• Key design decisions and rationale
• Quality standards and review criteria
• Reference examples (products to learn from)

Methodology

See references/design-principles.md for detailed frameworks.

Key sources: Bob Baxley (tenets, craft, Apple design culture), Katie Dill (beauty as business driver), Karri Saarinen (opinionated design, craft), Scott Belsky (first mile experience).

Output

Save to: projects/<project>/design-direction.md

Next Steps

• Need the full brand? → /brand-strategist
• Need a name? → /product-naming
• Ready to build? → /engineer-plan to plan implementation
• Need a proposal with design direction? → /proposal-writer