Use Tailwind's built-in color palette. Use Google Fonts. Do NOT define custom hex codes or font files. Skip this entirely for quant tools — Streamlit/Dash have good defaults.

Red Flags

The Flow

1. Check Prerequisites

First, verify that the product overview exists:

Read [project]/product-overview.md to understand what the product is.

If it doesn't exist:

"Before defining your design system, we need to establish your product vision. Let me help you with that."

Then proceed directly to the define flow.

2. Ask About Approach

"Let's define the visual identity for [Product Name].

Quick question: Is this a web app that needs custom styling, or a quant/analytical tool?

For analytical tools using Streamlit/Dash, you can skip this step — those frameworks have good defaults.

For web apps, I'll help you choose:

1. Colors — A primary accent and neutral palette
2. Typography — Fonts for headings, body, and code

Do you want to customize, or use defaults?"

3. Choose Colors (If Customizing)

Help the user select from Tailwind's built-in color palette:

"For colors, we'll pick from Tailwind's palette:

Primary color (main accent, buttons, links): Common choices: blue, indigo, emerald, teal, amber, lime

Neutral color (backgrounds, text, borders): Options: slate (cool), gray (pure), stone (warm)

Based on [Product Name], I'd suggest:

• Primary: [suggestion] — [why]
• Neutral: [suggestion] — [why]

What feels right?"

4. Choose Typography (If Customizing)

"For typography, we'll use Google Fonts:

Heading/Body font: (most apps use the same for both) Popular choices: DM Sans, Inter, Poppins, Space Grotesk

Mono font: (for code, numbers) Options: IBM Plex Mono, JetBrains Mono, Fira Code

My suggestions for [Product Name]:

• Heading/Body: [suggestion]
• Mono: [suggestion]

What do you prefer?"

5. Present Final Choices

"Here's your design system:

Colors:

• Primary: [color]
• Neutral: [color]

Typography:

• Heading/Body: [Font Name]
• Mono: [Font Name]

Does this look good? Ready to save it?"

6. Create the File

Once approved, create a single file at [project]/design/tokens.json:

{
  "colors": {
    "primary": "[color]",
    "neutral": "[color]"
  },
  "typography": {
    "heading": "[Font Name]",
    "body": "[Font Name]",
    "mono": "[Font Name]"
  }
}

7. Suggest Next Step

Once the tokens are saved, proactively suggest moving forward:

"I've saved your design tokens at [project]/design/tokens.json.

These will be applied to your screen designs.

What would you like to do next?

• Design the app's navigation shell
• Define what a section needs to do
• Jump straight into building a section

For most projects, I'd suggest we define what your first section does, then build it."

If they choose, proceed directly to that work.

Proactive Flow

As a Cognition Mate:

• Suggest skipping for quant tools — Streamlit/Dash have good defaults
• Make clear recommendations with reasoning
• Suggest the logical next step after tokens are saved
• If they agree, continue directly — don't say "run /command"

Guiding Principles

• KISS — Simple palette, not 10 colors
• Skip for quant tools — Streamlit/Dash have good defaults
• Tailwind colors only — No custom hex codes
• Google Fonts only — Easy web integration
• Trust their preference — They know their brand