Formax Web Style System

Goal

Apply a business-agnostic visual style system for web interfaces.

Enforce a calm, desktop-grade aesthetic with strong readability, token-first styling, and clear interaction hierarchy.

Do not introduce product workflow assumptions, domain copy assumptions, or business IA decisions.

Trigger Contract

Use this skill by default for all frontend and web UI tasks.

If the task is not frontend/UI work, do not apply this skill.

If the repository or task provides an existing design system, brand guide, or component library:

• Follow the existing system first.
• Use this skill only to harmonize tone, spacing rhythm, and state clarity.
• Never override explicit local design constraints.

Workflow

1. Read references/style-doctrine.md first to lock the visual direction.
2. Read references/token-blueprint.md to define CSS variable layers before proposing UI details.
3. Read references/layout-patterns.md when composing desktop layout, density, and responsive fallback.
4. Read references/component-tone.md when styling components, states, and interaction emphasis.
5. Read references/anti-patterns.md as a final rejection checklist before returning output.
6. Apply all CRITICAL STYLE OVERRIDES from the references as mandatory constraints.

For small styling requests, keep output concise but still include token strategy and state clarity.

Formax Overrides (Mandatory for CSS Rework)

When the task touches CSS in packages/web-reference-react/**, do this before editing:

1. Read .codex/skills/formax-web-css-convergence-workflow/SKILL.md.
2. Lock a pre-edit intake contract (target model, non-goals, ownership boundary, acceptance checks).
3. Use single-axis passes (geometry -> color -> interaction), avoid mixed multi-axis edits.
4. Validate with:
   • bun run test -- src/App.test.tsx (in packages/web-reference-react)
5. If and only if the task includes transparency/window layering:
   • Read docs/contracts/web/window-transparency-construct.md
   • Run bun run test:e2e -- e2e/window-transparency.evidence.spec.js --project=chromium (in packages/web-reference-react)

Output Contract

For each frontend/web UI response, always include these sections (explicit headings):

1. visual_direction
2. tokens
3. layout
4. component_tone
5. responsive_notes

Inside tokens, provide CSS variable categories at minimum for:

• color
• typography
• spacing
• radius
• shadow
• motion

Prefer style system guidance and representative snippets over large hard-coded CSS dumps.

Guardrails

Never do the following:

• Assume product business flows, user journeys, or domain-specific copy.
• Default to purple-first palettes when not requested.
• Default to dark-mode-first styling when not requested.
• Produce generic template-like SaaS visuals without distinct visual intent.
• Hard-code ad-hoc colors and spacing without a token layer.
• Copy screenshot pixels exactly; preserve mood, not exact geometry.
• Replace required glass-material sidebars with opaque flat fills.
• Use bordered inputs in default state when soft-filled inputs are specified.

Always keep medium constraint strength:

• Strong enough to maintain consistent visual quality.
• Flexible enough to adapt to different frontend tasks and local systems.