snr-emphasis-economy

Guides budgeting of color, weight, size, and motion emphasis across UI surfaces.

8|3|Updated May 3, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/Deibler/universal-design-principles --skill snr-emphasis-economy-deibler
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: snr-emphasis-economy
Source: https://github.com/Deibler/universal-design-principles/tree/main/plugins/perception-and-hierarchy-principles/skills/snr-emphasis-economy
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/Deibler/universal-design-principles --skill snr-emphasis-economy-deibler

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Interfaces accumulate emphasis over time — too many colored buttons, badges, bold text, and animations — until nothing stands out and users stop noticing genuinely important elements. This Skill provides rules and budgets for spending emphasis deliberately so each highlighted element actually registers. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Emphasis budgets per surface: Concrete limits such as one primary action per region, one or two brand-color instances, and zero or one destructive-color instance per screen. - Dilution diagnostics: Explains how color, status, size, and motion emphasis lose meaning when overused, with before/after HTML examples like economizing a noisy toolbar. - Anti-pattern catalog and heuristics: Covers promotional creep, brand-color CTA inflation, and animation inflation, plus tests like counting highlights and the cover-the-emphasis check. - Use Case: When a pricing page highlights three tiers as "popular" and every toolbar button is a filled primary button, apply this Skill to demote secondary actions to ghost styles and reserve the featured treatment for a single tier. ## Quick Start Review this screen and tell me which emphasized elements to demote so only one primary action and one highlight remain.

Frequently Asked Questions about snr-emphasis-economy

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How many primary buttons should a UI screen have?▼

Each visible region such as a toolbar, card, modal footer, or page header should have exactly one filled or colored primary button. All other actions should use outline, ghost, or text-only styles so the eye can identify the main action instantly.

How do I fix a UI where everything is highlighted?▼

List every emphasized element, rank them by genuine importance to the user's task, and demote everything below rank three by removing color, bold, or badges. A rotating spotlight slot can satisfy stakeholders who each want their feature highlighted.

When should red be used in interface design?▼

Reserve red for genuinely destructive actions and error states, typically zero or one instance per surface. If red also serves as brand color, link color, and status color, the destructive and error signals stop registering with users.

Why does bold text stop working as emphasis?▼

Bold loses meaning when applied to too many roles such as labels, values, headings, table headers, and button text simultaneously. Limit bold to one or two roles, most commonly headings and primary dashboard numbers, so it encodes a clear signal.

When should animation be avoided in UI design?▼

Avoid looping animations and page-load entrance cascades across many elements, which create visual fidget without conveying state. Reserve motion for genuine state changes like hover feedback, toast arrivals, and list insertions.