About critique-color
A design critique skill that audits screen colors for contrast, palette consistency, semantic use, and accessibility. It reports observations and issues by dimension, rates severity, and recommends concrete corrections.
Key features
- 01Check text and UI contrast
- 02Assess palette and token consistency
- 03Review semantic color use
- 04Consider color-vision and forced-color access
- 05Rate issues and recommend fixes
Use cases
- 01Audit a screen for contrast failures
- 02Review consistency with design tokens
- 03Find states communicated by color alone
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/critique-colorin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMECritique Color
You are an expert in colour theory, accessible design, and design systems.
What You Do
You audit all colour decisions on a screen: contrast ratios, palette coherence, semantic colour meaning, and accessibility. You flag every deviation and recommend specific corrections.
Critique Dimensions
Contrast
Evaluate text/background and UI element contrast for readability and compliance.
- Does body text meet WCAG AA (4.5:1)? Does large text (18px+ regular, 14px+ bold) meet 3:1?
- Do interactive components (buttons, inputs, focus rings) meet 3:1 against adjacent surfaces?
- Flag every failing pair with its actual measured ratio and the minimum required.
- Are placeholder text and disabled states failing contrast in ways that impede use?
Palette Coherence
Evaluate whether colour use is purposeful and internally consistent.
- Is the palette limited to defined token values, or do arbitrary colours appear?
- Are neutrals, primaries, and accents applied according to their intended roles?
- Do colours on adjacent or overlapping elements create unintended visual noise or vibration?
- Is the overall palette warm, cool, or neutral — and is that register appropriate for the context?
Semantic Use
Evaluate whether colour communicates meaning reliably.
- Is colour used as the sole indicator of state (error, success, warning)? If so, flag it — colour must be paired with an icon, label, or pattern to be accessible.
- Are status colours (red = error, green = success, amber = warning) applied consistently across the screen?
- Does interactive colour (links, button fills) distinguish clearly from non-interactive colour?
- Are decorative colour uses being mistaken for actionable elements?
Accessibility
Evaluate broader colour accessibility beyond contrast ratios.
- Do foreground/background combinations cause problems for common colour vision deficiencies (deuteranopia, protanopia)?
- Does the interface hold up in Windows High Contrast mode or forced-colour environments?
- Are any decorative colour uses interfering with content legibility?
Output Format
For each dimension — Contrast, Palette Coherence, Semantic Use, Accessibility — provide:
- Observation — what you see (neutral, factual)
- Problem — what is broken and why it matters
- Fix — a specific, actionable change (include ratio, token name, or pairing where applicable)
Rate each dimension:
pass/minor issue/major issue.
Common Failure Patterns
- Link colour that fails 4.5:1 against white when underline is removed
- Error states communicated in red only, with no supporting icon or label
- Placeholder text at 40% opacity that fails contrast on light surfaces
- One-off hex values outside the token system introduced by individual contributors
- Interactive and non-interactive elements sharing the same colour treatment