New: 98,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Agent skill

Critique Composition

by Owl-Listener in Owl-Listener/designer-skills

Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Critique Composition

skills CLI
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill critique-composition -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designer-skills critique-composition --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designer-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/visual-critique/skills/critique-composition .claude/skills/critique-composition && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
critique-composition
GitHub stars
2.9k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~773 tokens
SKILL.md length
383 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
107
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping.

  • Works in 3 steps: Observation — what you see (neutral,… → Problem — what is broken and why it… → Fix — a specific, actionable change
  • A layout feels off but hierarchy is fine
  • SKILL.md covers What You Do, Critique Dimensions, Output Format and Common Failure Patterns
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Critique Composition is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/designer-skills. Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping. Use when a layout feels off but hierarchy is fine. For emphasis and eye flow specifically, use critique-visual-hierarchy.

Its SKILL.md is about 770 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

The repository describes itself as: Designer Skills Collection: agentic skills, commands, and plugins for design — from research to systems, UI, interaction, and delivery. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • A layout feels off but hierarchy is fine

Example prompts

  • “/critique-composition”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Observation — what you see (neutral, factual)
  2. Problem — what is broken and why it matters
  3. Fix — a specific, actionable change

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9a6930c. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Critique Composition loads about 773 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 60 tokens; SKILL.md has 383 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~60
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~773

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Owl-Listener/designer-skills at commit 9a6930c, republished under its MIT licence (© Owl-Listener). 383 words, ~773 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/critique-composition/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
critique-composition
description
Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping. Use when a layout feels off but hierarchy is fine. For emphasis and eye flow specifically, use `critique-visual-hierarchy`.

Critique Composition

You are an expert in visual composition and gestalt-based design critique.

What You Do

You analyse the spatial and structural qualities of a screen: how elements are balanced across the canvas, how whitespace is used to create breathing room and focus, how rhythmic repetition creates coherence, and how gestalt principles are (or aren't) applied. You flag compositional weaknesses and propose specific fixes.

Critique Dimensions

Balance

Evaluate the distribution of visual weight across the layout.

  • Is the composition symmetrically or asymmetrically balanced? Is the choice intentional?
  • Are heavy elements (dark fills, large images, dense text blocks) offset by lighter ones?
  • Does the layout feel stable, or does it tip — top-heavy, bottom-heavy, left-leaning?
  • Is there a clear visual centre of gravity?
Whitespace

Evaluate the use of negative space as an active design element.

  • Is there sufficient macro whitespace between major sections?
  • Is micro whitespace (between labels, icons, and adjacent elements) consistent?
  • Does whitespace guide attention, or does it fragment the layout into disconnected areas?
  • Are any areas over-compressed or padded inconsistently?
Rhythm

Evaluate repetition, pattern, and visual cadence across the screen.

  • Are spacing intervals consistent and derived from a spacing scale?
  • Do repeated elements (cards, list items, form rows) maintain uniform sizing and gaps?
  • Is there visual variety without chaos — a balance of repetition and differentiation?
  • Do section breaks and dividers create a legible page cadence?
Show full SKILL.md (157 more words)Show less
Gestalt Principles

Evaluate how the layout exploits perceptual grouping.

  • Proximity: Are related elements close together? Are unrelated elements clearly separated?
  • Similarity: Do elements that share a function share a visual treatment?
  • Figure/Ground: Is the foreground content clearly distinct from the background?
  • Continuity: Do alignment and flow lines lead the eye smoothly through the composition?
  • Closure: Are incomplete shapes or groups still perceived correctly?

Output Format

For each dimension — Balance, Whitespace, Rhythm, Gestalt — provide:

  1. Observation — what you see (neutral, factual)
  2. Problem — what is broken and why it matters
  3. Fix — a specific, actionable change Rate each dimension: pass / minor issue / major issue.

Common Failure Patterns

  • Equal-weight two-column layout with no clear primary/secondary split
  • Inconsistent padding — some components use 16px, others 20px or 24px with no system
  • Orphaned elements that float without proximity to their related group
  • Overcrowded sections adjacent to empty ones, creating unintentional visual cliffs
  • Competing horizontal rules and dividers that multiply without adding structure

© Owl-Listener, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in visual-critique/skills/critique-composition of Owl-Listener/designer-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9a6930c

Used in 1 other repository

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in Owl-Listener/designer-skills, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Critique Composition next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Critique Composition compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Critique Composition this skillOwl-Listener/designer-skills2.9k1 repos~773Automated safety check: PassMIT
Design Critiquepaperclipai/paperclip99k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Critique Theaternexu-io/open-design100k—~640Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Render Blockingthedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist74k—~430Automated safety check: PassMIT
Critiqueplugin87/ux-ui-agent-skills1.6k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
RenderLeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills2.2k—~4.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Design Critique

    paperclipai/paperclip

    Give a structured product design critique — user job clarity, hierarchy, affordance, error states, accessibility, and consistency — focused on what to change, in what order, and why.

    99k GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated today
    Media & CreativeAuto-check passed

  • Critique Theater

    nexu-io/open-design

    Five-dimension design quality review — score the artifact against craft, brand, accessibility, and copy, then fix what falls short before handing it over.

    100k GitHub stars~640 tokensUpdated today
    Frontend & DesignAuto-check passed

  • Render Blocking

    thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist

    A skill your agent uses when auditing slow page loads, heavy assets, or rendering delays related to Eliminate render-blocking resources.

    74k GitHub stars~430 tokensUpdated 2 days ago
    Frontend & DesignAuto-check passed

  • Critique

    plugin87/ux-ui-agent-skills

    Adversarial design critique of the current work — render it, look at it, and argue for rejection.

    1.6k GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated yesterday
    Frontend & DesignAuto-check passed

  • Render

    LeoYeAI/openclaw-master-skills

    Deploy and operate apps on Render (Blueprint + one-click Dashboard deeplink, same flow as Codex render-deploy).

    2.2k GitHub stars~4.8k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Productivity & AutomationAuto-check passed

  • Agent Load Balancer

    ruvnet/ruflo

    Agent skill for load-balancer - invoke with $agent-load-balancer

    74k GitHub starsUsed in 2 repos~3.1k tokens
    DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed

More from Owl-Listener/designer-skills

All 107 skills in this repo

  • A B Test Design

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Design an A/B experiment — hypothesis, variants, primary metric, and sample size.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~472 tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Accessibility Test Plan

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Plan accessibility testing — assistive technologies, participant criteria, WCAG coverage, and session protocol.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~478 tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Aesthetic Usability

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Apply the Aesthetic-Usability Effect — polished, consistent interfaces are perceived as more usable and forgive minor friction.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~678 tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Affinity Diagram

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Cluster many qualitative data points into themes and insight statements.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~520 tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Animation Principles

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Apply animation principles — easing, staging, follow-through — to one specific UI motion.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~492 tokens
    Auto-check passed

  • Business Design

    Owl-Listener/designer-skills

    Read financials, map competitive landscapes, and argue design decisions in the language of value.

    2.9k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1.1k tokens
    Auto-check passed

Questions about Critique Composition

What does Critique Composition do?

Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping. Critique Composition is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/designer-skills. Critique a rendered screen's composition — balance, whitespace, rhythm, and gestalt grouping.

When should I use Critique Composition?

Critique Composition fits situations like: A layout feels off but hierarchy is fine.

How do I install Critique Composition in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill critique-composition -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (visual-critique/skills/critique-composition in Owl-Listener/designer-skills) into .claude/skills/critique-composition in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Critique Composition in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill critique-composition -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (visual-critique/skills/critique-composition in Owl-Listener/designer-skills) into .agents/skills/critique-composition in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Critique Composition in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill critique-composition -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/critique-composition, .gemini/skills/critique-composition, .github/skills/critique-composition and .opencode/skills/critique-composition in your project.

What does Critique Composition need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Critique Composition is instructions for the agent only.

Does Critique Composition access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Critique Composition safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Critique Composition use?

Critique Composition is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Critique Composition use?

About 773 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Critique Composition?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Critique Composition: Design Critique (paperclipai/paperclip, 99k stars), Critique Theater (nexu-io/open-design, 100k stars), Render Blocking (thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist, 74k stars) and Critique (plugin87/ux-ui-agent-skills, 1.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Critique Composition?

Owl-Listener (a GitHub user) maintains it in Owl-Listener/designer-skills, which has 2,862 GitHub stars. The repository holds 107 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 5, 2026.

Source: Owl-Listener/designer-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.