1---
2name: bolder
3description: Amplify safe or boring designs to make them more visually interesting and stimulating. Increases impact while maintaining usability. Use when the user says the design looks bland, generic, too safe, lacks personality, or wants more visual impact and character.
4version: 2.1.1
5user-invocable: true
6argument-hint: "[target]"
7---
8
9Increase visual impact and personality in designs that are too safe, generic, or visually underwhelming, creating more engaging and memorable experiences.
10
11## MANDATORY PREPARATION
12
13Invoke /impeccable — 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 /impeccable teach first.
14
15---
16
17## Assess Current State
18
19Analyze what makes the design feel too safe or boring:
20
211. **Identify weakness sources**:
22 - **Generic choices**: System fonts, basic colors, standard layouts
23 - **Timid scale**: Everything is medium-sized with no drama
24 - **Low contrast**: Everything has similar visual weight
25 - **Static**: No motion, no energy, no life
26 - **Predictable**: Standard patterns with no surprises
27 - **Flat hierarchy**: Nothing stands out or commands attention
28
292. **Understand the context**:
30 - What's the brand personality? (How far can we push?)
31 - What's the purpose? (Marketing can be bolder than financial dashboards)
32 - Who's the audience? (What will resonate?)
33 - What are the constraints? (Brand guidelines, accessibility, performance)
34
35If any of these are unclear from the codebase, STOP and call the `question` tool to clarify.
36
37**CRITICAL**: "Bolder" doesn't mean chaotic or garish. It means distinctive, memorable, and confident. Think intentional drama, not random chaos.
38
39**WARNING - AI SLOP TRAP**: When making things "bolder," AI defaults to the same tired tricks: cyan/purple gradients, glassmorphism, neon accents on dark backgrounds, gradient text on metrics. These are the OPPOSITE of bold—they're generic. Review ALL the DON'T guidelines in the impeccable skill before proceeding. Bold means distinctive, not "more effects."
40
41## Plan Amplification
42
43Create a strategy to increase impact while maintaining coherence:
44
45- **Focal point**: What should be the hero moment? (Pick ONE, make it amazing)
46- **Personality direction**: Maximalist chaos? Elegant drama? Playful energy? Dark moody? Choose a lane.
47- **Risk budget**: How experimental can we be? Push boundaries within constraints.
48- **Hierarchy amplification**: Make big things BIGGER, small things smaller (increase contrast)
49
50**IMPORTANT**: Bold design must still be usable. Impact without function is just decoration.
51
52## Amplify the Design
53
54Systematically increase impact across these dimensions:
55
56### Typography Amplification
57- **Replace generic fonts**: Swap system fonts for distinctive choices (see impeccable skill for inspiration)
58- **Extreme scale**: Create dramatic size jumps (3x-5x differences, not 1.5x)
59- **Weight contrast**: Pair 900 weights with 200 weights, not 600 with 400
60- **Unexpected choices**: Variable fonts, display fonts for headlines, condensed/extended widths, monospace as intentional accent (not as lazy "dev tool" default)
61
62### Color Intensification
63- **Increase saturation**: Shift to more vibrant, energetic colors (but not neon)
64- **Bold palette**: Introduce unexpected color combinations—avoid the purple-blue gradient AI slop
65- **Dominant color strategy**: Let one bold color own 60% of the design
66- **Sharp accents**: High-contrast accent colors that pop
67- **Tinted neutrals**: Replace pure grays with tinted grays that harmonize with your palette
68- **Rich gradients**: Intentional multi-stop gradients (not generic purple-to-blue)
69
70### Spatial Drama
71- **Extreme scale jumps**: Make important elements 3-5x larger than surroundings
72- **Break the grid**: Let hero elements escape containers and cross boundaries
73- **Asymmetric layouts**: Replace centered, balanced layouts with tension-filled asymmetry
74- **Generous space**: Use white space dramatically (100-200px gaps, not 20-40px)
75- **Overlap**: Layer elements intentionally for depth
76
77### Visual Effects
78- **Dramatic shadows**: Large, soft shadows for elevation (but not generic drop shadows on rounded rectangles)
79- **Background treatments**: Mesh patterns, noise textures, geometric patterns, intentional gradients (not purple-to-blue)
80- **Texture & depth**: Grain, halftone, duotone, layered elements—NOT glassmorphism (it's overused AI slop)
81- **Borders & frames**: Thick borders, decorative frames, custom shapes (not rounded rectangles with colored border on one side)
82- **Custom elements**: Illustrative elements, custom icons, decorative details that reinforce brand
83
84### Motion & Animation
85- **Entrance choreography**: Staggered, dramatic page load animations with 50-100ms delays
86- **Scroll effects**: Parallax, reveal animations, scroll-triggered sequences
87- **Micro-interactions**: Satisfying hover effects, click feedback, state changes
88- **Transitions**: Smooth, noticeable transitions using ease-out-quart/quint/expo (not bounce or elastic—they cheapen the effect)
89
90### Composition Boldness
91- **Hero moments**: Create clear focal points with dramatic treatment
92- **Diagonal flows**: Escape horizontal/vertical rigidity with diagonal arrangements
93- **Full-bleed elements**: Use full viewport width/height for impact
94- **Unexpected proportions**: Golden ratio? Throw it out. Try 70/30, 80/20 splits
95
96**NEVER**:
97- Add effects randomly without purpose (chaos ≠bold)
98- Sacrifice readability for aesthetics (body text must be readable)
99- Make everything bold (then nothing is bold - need contrast)
100- Ignore accessibility (bold design must still meet WCAG standards)
101- Overwhelm with motion (animation fatigue is real)
102- Copy trendy aesthetics blindly (bold means distinctive, not derivative)
103
104## Verify Quality
105
106Ensure amplification maintains usability and coherence:
107
108- **NOT AI slop**: Does this look like every other AI-generated "bold" design? If yes, start over.
109- **Still functional**: Can users accomplish tasks without distraction?
110- **Coherent**: Does everything feel intentional and unified?
111- **Memorable**: Will users remember this experience?
112- **Performant**: Do all these effects run smoothly?
113- **Accessible**: Does it still meet accessibility standards?
114
115**The test**: If you showed this to someone and said "AI made this bolder," would they believe you immediately? If yes, you've failed. Bold means distinctive, not "more AI effects."
116
117Remember: Bold design is confident design. It takes risks, makes statements, and creates memorable experiences. But bold without strategy is just loud. Be intentional, be dramatic, be unforgettable.