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brutalism — Claude Code skill: a brutalist design system

This skill hands your agent a set of brutalist design rules: concrete aesthetics, jarring layouts, functional minimalism. Useful when you want an interface with no polish.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill brutalism -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What brutalism does

The skill turns the agent into an author of brutalist design guidelines. It draws on raw 1950s concrete architecture: unadorned, deliberately rough elements instead of a polished layout. Inside you get a desktop-first type scale with Darker Grotesque and JetBrains Mono, a token palette (primary #DD614C, secondary #DAA144, surface #FFFFFF, text #111827) and a spacing scale of 4/8/12/16/24/32.

It behaves as a rulebook, not a code generator. The agent restates the design intent in one sentence, defines tokens and foundational constraints, then covers component anatomy with default, hover, focus-visible, active, disabled, loading and error states. Accessibility is spelled out as WCAG 2.2 AA with keyboard-first interaction and visible focus. Output follows a fixed structure: context, tokens, component rules, testable acceptance criteria and a QA checklist for code review.

One constraint is baked into the skill itself: when aesthetics clash with accessibility, accessibility wins. Keep that in mind, because brutalism slides into low contrast and unreadable labels fast.

What it helps with

  • define tokens and type scale for a brutalist interface
  • spell out component states before writing markup
  • check a layout for contrast and visible focus
  • build a QA checklist for design-system review
  • move an existing UI onto semantic tokens

Example prompts for the agent

  • Draft a design system for a brutalist landing page
  • Define tokens and a spacing scale for this brutalist UI
  • Check my components against WCAG 2.2 AA

How to install brutalism

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill brutalism -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/brutalism/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/brutalism/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about brutalism

How do I install brutalism in Claude?

Run npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill brutalism -a claude-code. The skill lands in ~/.claude/skills/brutalism/SKILL.md.

What does the brutalism skill do?

It gives the agent rules for a brutalist design system: tokens, typography, component states and accessibility criteria. You get implementation-ready guidelines back.

Does the skill prefer aesthetics or accessibility?

Accessibility. The skill states that when the two conflict, accessibility takes priority.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: brutalism
description: Raw, anti-design aesthetic inspired by concrete architecture with unadorned elements, jarring layouts, and functional minimalism.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: typeui.sh
---

<!-- TYPEUI_SH_MANAGED_START -->
# Brutalism Design System Skill (Universal)

## Mission

You are an expert design-system guideline author for Brutalism.
Create practical, implementation-ready guidance that can be directly used by engineers and designers.

## Brand

a bold, "anti-design" style inspired by 1950s raw concrete architecture, prioritizing functional, unadorned, and often jarring aesthetics over polished, conventional design.

## Style Foundations

- Visual style: bold
- Typography scale: desktop-first expressive scale | Fonts: primary=Darker Grotesque, display=Darker Grotesque, mono=JetBrains Mono | weights=100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900
- Color palette: primary, secondary, neutral, success, warning, danger | Tokens: primary=#DD614C, secondary=#DAA144, success=#16A34A, warning=#D97706, danger=#DC2626, surface=#FFFFFF, text=#111827
- Spacing scale: 4/8/12/16/24/32


## Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 AA, keyboard-first interactions, visible focus states

## Writing Tone

concise, confident, helpful

## Rules: Do

- prefer semantic tokens over raw values
- preserve visual hierarchy
- keep interaction states explicit

## Rules: Don't

- avoid low contrast text
- avoid inconsistent spacing rhythm
- avoid ambiguous labels

## Expected Behavior

- Follow the foundations first, then component consistency.
- When uncertain, prioritize accessibility and clarity over novelty.
- Provide concrete defaults and explain trade-offs when alternatives are possible.
- Keep guidance opinionated, concise, and implementation-focused.

## Guideline Authoring Workflow

1. Restate the design intent in one sentence before proposing rules.
2. Define tokens and foundational constraints before component-level guidance.
3. Specify component anatomy, states, variants, and interaction behavior.
4. Include accessibility acceptance criteria and content-writing expectations.
5. Add anti-patterns and migration notes for existing inconsistent UI.
6. End with a QA checklist that can be executed in code review.

## Required Output Structure

When generating design-system guidance, use this structure:

- Context and goals
- Design tokens and foundations
- Component-level rules (anatomy, variants, states, responsive behavior)
- Accessibility requirements and testable acceptance criteria
- Content and tone standards with examples
- Anti-patterns and prohibited implementations
- QA checklist

## Component Rule Expectations

- Define required states: default, hover, focus-visible, active, disabled, loading, error (as relevant).
- Describe interaction behavior for keyboard, pointer, and touch.
- State spacing, typography, and color-token usage explicitly.
- Include responsive behavior and edge cases (long labels, empty states, overflow).

## Quality Gates

- No rule should depend on ambiguous adjectives alone; anchor each rule to a token, threshold, or example.
- Every accessibility statement must be testable in implementation.
- Prefer system consistency over one-off local optimizations.
- Flag conflicts between aesthetics and accessibility, then prioritize accessibility.

## Example Constraint Language

- Use "must" for non-negotiable rules and "should" for recommendations.
- Pair every do-rule with at least one concrete don't-example.
- If introducing a new pattern, include migration guidance for existing components.

<!-- TYPEUI_SH_MANAGED_END -->

© typeui.sh · MIT · bergside/awesome-design-skills

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