product-designer

name: product-designer description: > Product design across UI/UX, design systems, prototyping, and user research. Use when creating user journey maps, building wireframes, defining design tokens and component systems, planning usability tests, or establishing design principles. license: MIT + Commons Clause metadata: version: 1.0.0 author: borghei category: product-design domain: product-design updated: 2026-03-31 tags: [design, ux, ui, figma, prototyping, design-systems]

Product Designer

The agent operates as a senior product designer, delivering user-centered design solutions spanning UX research, UI design, design systems, prototyping, and usability testing.

Clarify First

Before generating the design deliverable, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• Target user and the problem — who hurts and the job-to-be-done (drives Discover and the journey map's problem statement)
• Which deliverable — journey map, wireframe, usability test plan, or design critique (sets which workflow and template applies)
• Fidelity and stage — exploration vs dev-handoff (drives prototype fidelity and what "done" means)

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflow

1. Discover - Research user needs through interviews, analytics, and competitive analysis. Create user journey maps and identify pain points. Checkpoint: problem statement is validated by at least 3 user data points.
2. Define - Synthesize findings into a clear problem statement and design requirements. Build information architecture (card sorting, site maps). Checkpoint: IA has been validated via card sort or tree test.
3. Develop - Ideate solutions through sketching and wireframing. Build prototypes at appropriate fidelity. Checkpoint: prototype covers the complete happy path plus one error state.
4. Test - Run usability tests with 5-8 participants. Measure task completion rate, time on task, error rate, and SUS score. Checkpoint: all critical usability issues are documented with severity ratings.
5. Deliver - Refine designs based on test findings. Prepare dev handoff with design tokens, component specs, and interaction documentation. Checkpoint: engineering has confirmed feasibility of all interactions.

Design Sprint (5-Day Format)

User Journey Map Template

PERSONA: Sarah, Product Manager, goal: find analytics insights fast

STAGE:      AWARENESS    CONSIDER     PURCHASE     ONBOARD      RETAIN
Actions:    Searches     Compares     Signs up     Configures   Uses daily
Touchpoint: Google       Website      Checkout     Setup wizard App
Emotion:    Frustrated   Curious      Anxious      Hopeful      Satisfied
Pain point: Too many     Hard to      Complex      Slow setup   Missing
            options      compare      pricing                   features
Opportunity: SEO content  Comparison   Simplify     Quick-start  Feature
                         tool         flow         template     education

Information Architecture

Card Sorting Methods:

• Open sort: users create their own categories
• Closed sort: users place items into predefined categories
• Hybrid: combination approach

Example Site Map:

Home
+-- Products
|   +-- Category A
|   |   +-- Product 1
|   |   +-- Product 2
|   +-- Category B
+-- About
|   +-- Team
|   +-- Careers
+-- Resources
|   +-- Blog
|   +-- Help Center
+-- Account
    +-- Profile
    +-- Settings

UI Design Foundations

Design Principles

1. Hierarchy - Visual weight guides attention via size, color, and contrast
2. Consistency - Reuse patterns and components; maintain predictable interactions
3. Feedback - Acknowledge every user action; show system status and loading states
4. Accessibility - 4.5:1 color contrast minimum, focus indicators, screen reader support

Design Token System

/* Color tokens */
--color-primary-500: #3b82f6;
--color-primary-600: #2563eb;
--color-gray-50: #f9fafb;
--color-gray-900: #111827;
--color-success: #10b981;
--color-warning: #f59e0b;
--color-error: #ef4444;

/* Typography scale */
--text-sm: 0.875rem;   /* 14px */
--text-base: 1rem;     /* 16px */
--text-lg: 1.125rem;   /* 18px */
--text-xl: 1.25rem;    /* 20px */
--text-2xl: 1.5rem;    /* 24px */

/* Spacing (4px base unit) */
--space-1: 0.25rem;    /* 4px */
--space-2: 0.5rem;     /* 8px */
--space-4: 1rem;       /* 16px */
--space-6: 1.5rem;     /* 24px */
--space-8: 2rem;       /* 32px */

Component Structure

Button/
+-- Variants: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Destructive
+-- Sizes: Small (32px), Medium (40px), Large (48px)
+-- States: Default, Hover, Active, Focus, Disabled, Loading
+-- Anatomy: [Leading Icon] Label [Trailing Icon]

Component Design Tokens (JSON)

{
  "color": {
    "primary": {"50": {"value": "#eff6ff"}, "500": {"value": "#3b82f6"}},
    "semantic": {"success": {"value": "{color.green.500}"}, "error": {"value": "{color.red.500}"}}
  },
  "spacing": {"xs": {"value": "4px"}, "sm": {"value": "8px"}, "md": {"value": "16px"}},
  "borderRadius": {"sm": {"value": "4px"}, "md": {"value": "8px"}, "full": {"value": "9999px"}}
}

Example: Usability Test Plan

# Usability Test: New Checkout Flow

## Objectives
- Validate that users can complete purchase in < 3 minutes
- Identify friction points in address and payment steps

## Participants
- 6 users (3 new, 3 returning)
- Mix of desktop and mobile

## Tasks
1. "Find a laptop under $1,000 and add it to your cart" (browse + add)
2. "Complete the purchase using a credit card" (checkout flow)
3. "Change the shipping address on your order" (post-purchase edit)

## Success Criteria
| Task | Completion Target | Time Target |
|------|-------------------|-------------|
| Browse + Add | 100% | < 60s |
| Checkout | 90%+ | < 180s |
| Edit address | 80%+ | < 90s |

## Metrics
- Task completion rate
- Time on task
- Error count per task
- System Usability Scale (SUS) score (target: 68+)

Prototype Fidelity Guide

Tool Reference

design_critique.py

Evaluates a UI design against Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics and accessibility standards. Generates a structured critique report with severity ratings, compliance scores, and prioritized improvement recommendations.

python scripts/design_critique.py --checklist
python scripts/design_critique.py --checklist --json > checklist.json
python scripts/design_critique.py --answers completed_checklist.json
python scripts/design_critique.py --answers completed_checklist.json --json

journey_mapper.py

Creates structured user journey maps with emotion curves, pain point identification, and opportunity analysis. Includes pre-built templates for SaaS, e-commerce, and mobile app journeys.

python scripts/journey_mapper.py --template saas
python scripts/journey_mapper.py --template ecommerce --json
python scripts/journey_mapper.py --stages custom_journey.json

usability_scorer.py

Calculates System Usability Scale (SUS) scores and task performance metrics from usability test data. Provides individual and aggregate analysis with grade interpretation and benchmarking.

python scripts/usability_scorer.py sample
python scripts/usability_scorer.py --sus-responses responses.csv
python scripts/usability_scorer.py --task-data tasks.csv
python scripts/usability_scorer.py --sus-responses responses.csv --task-data tasks.csv --json

Troubleshooting

Success Criteria

Scope & Limitations

In scope:

• Heuristic evaluation and design critique
• User journey mapping with emotion curves
• Usability test scoring (SUS and task metrics)
• Design sprint facilitation structure
• Information architecture planning
• Prototype fidelity guidance
• Accessibility checkpoint evaluation

Out of scope:

• Automated visual regression testing (use Chromatic/Percy)
• Real-time analytics dashboards (use Amplitude/Mixpanel)
• Figma file manipulation or asset export (use Figma API)
• Eye tracking or biometric analysis
• A/B test implementation (see ab-test-setup skill)
• Design token generation (see ui-design-system or design-system-lead skills)

Integration Points