Use when designing visual interfaces, data visualizations, educational content, or presentations and need to ensure they align with how humans naturally perceive, process, and remember information. Invoke when user mentions cognitive load, visual hierarchy, dashboard design, form design, e-learning, infographics, or wants to improve clarity and reduce user confusion. Also applies when evaluating existing designs for cognitive alignment or choosing between design alternatives.
View on GitHubskills/cognitive-design/SKILL.md
January 24, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/lyndonkl/claude/blob/main/skills/cognitive-design/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill cognitive-designInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/cognitive-design/# Cognitive Design Principles ## Table of Contents - [Read This First](#read-this-first) - [How to Use This Skill](#how-to-use-this-skill) - [Workflows](#workflows) - [New Design Workflow](#new-design-workflow) - [Design Review Workflow](#design-review-workflow) - [Quick Validation Workflow](#quick-validation-workflow) - [Path Selection Menu](#path-selection-menu) - [Path 1: Understand Cognitive Foundations](#path-1-understand-cognitive-foundations) - [Path 2: Apply Design Frameworks](#path-2-apply-design-frameworks) - [Path 3: Evaluate Existing Designs](#path-3-evaluate-existing-designs) - [Path 4: Get Domain-Specific Guidance](#path-4-get-domain-specific-guidance) - [Path 5: Avoid Common Mistakes](#path-5-avoid-common-mistakes) - [Path 6: Access Quick Reference](#path-6-access-quick-reference) - [Path 7: Exit](#path-7-exit) --- ## Read This First ### What This Skill Does This skill helps you create **cognitively aligned designs** - visual interfaces, data visualizations, educational content, and presentations that work with (not against) human perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. **Core principle:** Effective design aligns with how people think, not just how things look. ### Why Cognitive Design Matters **Common problems this addresses:** - Users miss critical information in dashboards - Complex interfaces cause cognitive overload and abandonment - Data visualizations are misinterpreted or misleading - Educational materials aren't retained - Form completion rates are low - Error messages are confusing **How this helps:** - Ground design decisions in cognitive psychology research - Apply systematic frameworks (Cognitive Design Pyramid, Design Feedback Loop, Three-Layer Model) - Evaluate designs against objective cognitive criteria - Choose appropriate visual encodings based on perceptual hierarchy - Manage attention, memory limits, and cognitive load ### When to Use This Skill **Use this skill when:** - ✓ Designing new