Art Director

Art Director

Use this skill when the work is an art-direction search for a media production workspace.

The skill coordinates this loop:

brief -> references -> generation branches -> HTML preview -> feedback -> next branches -> selected direction

For single-image production, use the host repo's image-generation or media-run instructions. For comic pages, albums, storyboards, or platform-specific assets, use the host repo's format-specific playbook when one exists.

Default Output Shape

For a project under art-direction/<project>/, each serious search pass should leave:

art-direction/<project>/
  prompts/vNN/YYYY-MM-DD-vNN-<slug>-prompts.md
  process/vNN/YYYY-MM-DD-vNN-<slug>-log.md
  styles/YYYY-MM-DD-<style-system>.md
  assets/vNN-<slug>/
    <variant-id>.png
  vNN-<slug>.html

For a first run in an empty workspace, create the minimal folders before writing prompts:

mkdir -p art-direction/<project>/{prompts/v01,process/v01,styles,assets/v01-style-search}
cp skills/art-director/assets/style-search-map-template.html art-direction/<project>/v01-style-search.html

If the skill was installed without assets/style-search-map-template.html, create the same folders and write a simple local HTML preview from the cluster schema in this file.

If the run continues an existing direction, increment vNN and make every new node point back to its parent decision.

The visual map must be an iteration-cluster direction graph:

idea
  -> iteration cluster
      -> option leaf nodes
      -> selected option node
      -> carry forward / drop
  -> next iteration cluster
      -> option leaf nodes
      -> selected option node
      -> output

Keep the important path explicit: iteration checkpoint -> option nodes -> selected option node -> next iteration checkpoint. Unselected options stay as leaf nodes with their status.

Workflow

1. Read the current project files: index.html, latest vNN-*.html, process/v*/, prompts/v*/, styles/, and relevant research/.
2. Identify the active question: what style, artifact, audience, format, or campaign is being decided.
3. Build an iteration cluster before generation: incoming brief, 3-8 option leaves, difference axes, expected selection criteria, and what may carry forward.
4. Write prompts in prompts/vNN/. Each prompt needs iteration id, option id, role, difference axis, prompt, negative prompt, and reject criteria.
5. Generate or collect assets through the host repo's approved image-generation path.
6. Create or update the HTML direction map as the first section of vNN-<slug>.html.
7. Put preview cards under the map with anchors matching tree node ids.
8. Capture feedback as first-class nodes in the tree and in process/vNN/...log.md.
9. Create the next iteration from feedback: feedback -> interpretation -> new branch -> asset -> decision.
10. Mark selected, rejected, paused, and next branches explicitly.

Iteration Cluster Contract

Every style-search HTML page starts with a direction graph that answers:

• Where did this visual direction come from?
• What was the brief for each iteration?
• Which option leaf nodes were shown for that iteration?
• Which option was selected?
• What changed in the next brief because of that selection?
• What was carried forward, dropped, or turned into output?

Use skills/art-director/assets/style-search-map-template.html as the starter preview when the host repo has no renderer yet. If a reusable host-repo renderer exists, record its path in the run log and use it as the local reference. A typical reusable setup is:

• proof page: art-direction/<project>/vNN-dagre-full.html;
• shared renderer/data shape: art-direction/<project>/vNN-style-search-pages.js;
• shared visual style: art-direction/<project>/vNN-style-search-page.css;
• graph runtime: a pinned dagre runtime, for example @dagrejs/dagre@1.1.8, when external network use is allowed by the host repo.

Serve preview pages through a local server:

python3 -m http.server 8080

Then open http://127.0.0.1:8080/.... If the preview depends on a CDN and the network is blocked, report the blocker and keep the run in blocked or needs-local-runtime status. Store third-party library source only when the host repo policy explicitly allows vendored dependencies.

Dagre Rendering Contract

Recommended solution: dagre computes the graph layout; the page renders the graph as static HTML/SVG with a detail panel.

Responsibilities:

• dagre: node coordinates and edge routing for the directed decision graph;
• page JavaScript: graph schema normalization, DOM/SVG rendering, click handlers and validation;
• HTML/CSS: readable node cards, status colors, horizontal scroll and detail panel;
• detail panel: shows the selected node's body text and image asset when available.

Use manual SVG layout only as a fallback or baseline. Use Mermaid for docs and quick sketches only when dense style-search history is not required.

Required graph semantics:

• root idea node;
• iteration checkpoint nodes;
• option nodes for each iteration;
• selected option node connects to the next checkpoint;
• unselected options remain leaves;
• production output nodes attach to the producing checkpoint or selected option;
• visible labels use the iteration id, for example V8-C, so later readers can map preview cards back to the run log.

Cluster schema:

{
  "id": "v8",
  "title": "V8 - Selected direction expansion",
  "brief": "Expand user-liked directions from V7.",
  "looked_at": "V8-A, V8-B, V8-C, V8-D",
  "selected": "v8-c",
  "parent": "v7",
  "carry_forward": "V8-C: sharp typography, high-contrast palette, warning label rhythm.",
  "drop": "Soft abstract metaphors as the main cover style.",
  "feedback": {
    "target": "v8-c",
    "safe_summary": "Reviewer wants the sharp typography direction pushed further.",
    "interpretation": "Intensify type scale and warning-label rhythm in V9."
  },
  "options": [
    {"id": "v8-a", "title": "V8-A - Soft sculpture system", "status": "shown"},
    {"id": "v8-c", "title": "V8-C - Brutal manifesto", "status": "selected"}
  ],
  "preview": "assets/v8-selected-directions/c-brutal-typography.png",
  "next": "v9",
  "terminal_status": "needs-feedback"
}

Required cluster fields:

• id
• title
• brief
• looked_at
• options
• selected
• parent when the cluster continues or forks a prior cluster
• carry_forward
• drop
• feedback when reviewer feedback exists
• preview when a representative image exists
• next unless the cluster is terminal

Required option statuses:

• selected
• rejected
• shown
• output

Terminal status values:

• selected-final
• needs-feedback
• blocked
• needs-local-runtime
• reset