Designer Skills by podo — AI Skill for Any LLM

Overview

Publisher	podo
Repository	`design-agent-skills`
Skill name	`designer-skills`
Stars	27
Forks	3
Bundled files	1
License	MIT
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions

A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

Works with any LLM

AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

1 bundled files

Scripts, templates, and references the model can read while it works. Files are read-only and never executed.

Open source

Published by podo on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Designer Skills AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
https://github.com/podo/design-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/designer-skills
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/podo/design-agent-skills.git /tmp/design-agent-skills
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/design-agent-skills/skills/designer-skills .claude/skills/designer-skills

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Designer Skills in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Designer Skills on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Designer Skills is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed

The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

Switch models mid-chat

Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

designer-skills

Catalogue stub — full package: Owl-Listener/designer-skills

Decision tree

Is the full skill already installed? This package installs 111 skills (a-b-test-design, accessibility-audit, accessibility-test-plan, aesthetic-usability, affinity-diagram, animation-principles, behavioural-analytics, business-design, card-sort-analysis, case-study, click-test-plan, color-system, competitive-analysis, component-spec, concept-selection, content-strategy, conversational-ux, critique-affordance, critique-brand-consistency, critique-color, critique-composition, critique-information-density, critique-typography, critique-visual-hierarchy, dark-mode-design, data-visualization, design-brief, design-critique, design-debt-audit, design-impact-reporting, design-negotiation, design-principles, design-qa-checklist, design-rationale, design-review-process, design-sprint-plan, design-system-adoption, design-system-governance, design-token, design-token-audit, diary-study-plan, documentation-template, doherty-threshold, empathy-map, error-handling-ux, experience-map, feedback-patterns, fitts-law, form-design, gesture-patterns, handoff-spec, heuristic-evaluation, hicks-law, icon-system, illustration-style, information-architecture, interfaces-that-feel, interview-script, jakobs-law, jobs-to-be-done, journey-map, law-of-closure, law-of-common-region, law-of-continuity, law-of-figure-ground, law-of-proximity, law-of-similarity, layout-grid, loading-states, localization-design, metrics-definition, micro-interaction-spec, millers-law, motion-system, naming-convention, navigation-patterns, north-star-vision, onboarding-design, opportunity-framework, parallel-concepts, pattern-library, peak-end-rule, platform-conventions, presentation-deck, prototype-strategy, qual-quant-triangulation, readable-measure, research-repository, responsive-design, search-ux, serial-position-effect, service-blueprint, spacing-system, stakeholder-alignment, state-machine, summarize-interview, survey-design, team-workflow, teslers-law, test-scenario, theming-system, typography-scale, usability-test-plan, user-flow-diagram, user-persona, ux-writing, version-control-strategy, visual-hierarchy, von-restorff-effect, wireframe-spec, zeigarnik-effect); checking the first.
- Global: f=~/.agents/skills/a-b-test-design/SKILL.md; [ -f "$f" ] && ! grep -q "^das:" "$f" && echo "installed" || echo "pointer"
- Project: f=.agents/skills/a-b-test-design/SKILL.md; [ -f "$f" ] && ! grep -q "^das:" "$f" && echo "installed" || echo "pointer"
- installed → the skill is installed as a-b-test-design, invoke it and proceed
- pointer → go to step 2

Detect scope, then install:

bash
[ -e ~/.agents/skills/designer-skills ] && echo "global" || echo "project"

Global:

bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills -g -y

Project:

bash
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills -y

Claude Code: send a command as a chat message starting with ! to run it without leaving the conversation.

Claude Code plugin route:


/plugin marketplace add Owl-Listener/designer-skills
/plugin install design-research@designer-skills
/plugin install design-systems@designer-skills
/plugin install ux-strategy@designer-skills
/plugin install ui-design@designer-skills
/plugin install interaction-design@designer-skills
/plugin install prototyping-testing@designer-skills
/plugin install design-ops@designer-skills
/plugin install designer-toolkit@designer-skills
/plugin install visual-critique@designer-skills

Heads-up

License: MIT
Name collision: data-visualization is also written by data-viz-agent (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.
Name collision: design-brief is also written by design-brief (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.
Name collision: interview-script, summarize-interview is also written by phuryn-pm-skills (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.
Name collision: jobs-to-be-done is also written by wondelai-skills (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.
Name collision: service-blueprint is also written by service-blueprint (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.
Name collision: ux-writing is also written by ux-writing-skill (its install or its catalogue pointer); installing both overwrites the earlier one.

Invoke after install

This package installs many individual skills rather than one called designer-skills; each is invoked by its own name or picked automatically from the request. Examples:

Research: user-persona, journey-map, interview-script, usability-test-plan
Systems: design-token, component-spec, design-system-governance
UX strategy: information-architecture, content-strategy, user-flow-diagram
UI: color-system, typography-scale, layout-grid, responsive-design
Interaction: micro-interaction-spec, form-design, error-handling-ux, onboarding-design
Prototyping and testing: wireframe-spec, heuristic-evaluation, a-b-test-design
Ops and handoff: handoff-spec, design-critique, design-qa-checklist
Critique: critique-visual-hierarchy, critique-typography, critique-color
Plugin route only: /designer-toolkit:start-here, upstream's router that names the stage you are at and the commands to run next

What it does

A designer toolkit by Marie Claire Dean (Owl-Listener) organised by domain: design-research (personas, empathy and journey maps, interviews, usability testing, card sorting), design-systems (tokens, component specs, naming, spacing, accessibility standards, documentation), ux-strategy (information architecture, content strategy, navigation, user flows), ui-design (color, typography, layout grids, responsive and dark mode, visual hierarchy, Gestalt laws), interaction-design (micro-interactions, animation, state machines, gestures, error handling, feedback, UX laws such as Fitts's and Hick's), prototyping-testing (wireframe specs, heuristic evaluations, accessibility audits, A/B tests), design-ops (handoff specs, critique facilitation, sprint planning, QA checklists, design debt), designer-toolkit (rationale, case studies, presentations, UX writing), and visual-critique (hierarchy, brand consistency, composition, typography).

The pointer installs the whole design-practice collection, which is a large number of skills and descriptions in the agent's context. For a handful, pass their names after --skill to the same npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills command, or use the single-skill pointers in this catalogue. The upstream marketplace also lists four sibling collections (AI product design, UX program management, design leadership, inclusive design) that live in separate repos and are not installed here.

When NOT to use

Single-skill needs — installing the full suite may be heavier than needed
If you only need design review — use plan-design-review or creative-director

Frequently asked questions

What does the Designer Skills AI skill do?

A comprehensive designer toolkit by Marie Claire Dean, organised into nine plugins: design-research, design-systems, ux-strategy, ui-design, interaction-design, prototyping-testing, design-ops, designer-toolkit, and visual-critique. Covers the design practice from research to systems, UI, interaction, testing, and handoff.

Why use Designer Skills on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Designer Skills is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Designer Skills in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/podo/design-agent-skills/tree/main/skills/designer-skills. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and bundles its files and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Designer Skills?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Designer Skills?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Designer Skills with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Designer Skills AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by podo under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

designer-skills

Decision tree

Invoke after install

What it does

When NOT to use

Bundled files

Frequently asked questions

Related AI Skills

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