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terracotta — Claude Code skill: warm editorial design system

A skill that hands your coding agent the Terracotta design system: cream surfaces, ink-brown serif headlines and one terracotta accent.

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

What terracotta does

This skill turns the agent into an author of Terracotta design-system guidance. It ships the palette as tokens (primary=#C56A3C, secondary=#F3E9D8, surface=#FFFFFF, text=#111827), a type scale of 14/16/18/24/32/40, DM Serif Display with JetBrains Mono, and a spacing scale of 4/8/12/16/24/32. The look targets long-form reading, blogs and editorial layouts where rhythm and readability carry the page.

The workflow has six steps: restate the intent in one sentence, define tokens and constraints, write component rules, add testable accessibility criteria, list anti-patterns with migration notes, and finish with a QA checklist for code review. Output follows a fixed structure, and every rule has to be anchored to a token, a threshold or an example rather than an adjective.

Accessibility is pinned to WCAG 2.2 AA: visible focus states, keyboard-first interaction, touch targets of 44px and up. Here is the catch — if your project already has a design system, this skill will argue with it, because it pushes system-wide consistency over local fixes. Decide whose tokens win before you install it.

What it helps with

  • write a design system an engineer can implement straight away
  • replace scattered hex values with named color tokens
  • cover hover, focus-visible and error states for each component
  • turn accessibility goals into criteria you can test in review
  • collect anti-patterns and migration notes for legacy UI

Example prompts for the agent

  • Write the Terracotta design system for our blog: tokens, typography, component states
  • Audit this article card against the Terracotta rules and list the accessibility problems
  • Build a QA checklist for code review from the Terracotta guideline

How to install terracotta

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

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

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/terracotta/SKILL.md

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

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

Questions about terracotta

How do I install terracotta in Claude?

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

What does terracotta do?

It gives the agent design-system rules: color tokens, type and spacing scales, component states, WCAG 2.2 AA requirements and a fixed structure for the guideline it writes.

What kind of interface is this style meant for?

Long-form reading, blogs and editorial layouts. The palette runs on cream surfaces, ink-brown headlines and a single terracotta accent.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: "terracotta"
description: "A sun-baked, clay-toned editorial interface built on warm cream surfaces, ink-brown headlines set in a display serif, and a single terracotta accent."
metadata:
  author: typeui.sh
---

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

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

## Brand
A sun-baked, clay-toned editorial interface built on warm cream surfaces, ink-brown headlines set in a display serif, and a single terracotta accent. Earthy, human, and content-first — tuned for long-form reading, blogs, storytelling, and editorial layouts where readability and visual rhythm matter.

## Style Foundations
- Visual style: modern, clean, high-contrast, playful
- Typography scale: 14/16/18/24/32/40 | Fonts: primary=DM Serif Display, display=DM Serif Display, mono=JetBrains Mono | weights=100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900
- Color palette: primary, neutral, success, warning, danger | Tokens: primary=#C56A3C, secondary=#F3E9D8, 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, 44px+ touch targets, high-contrast support

## 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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