# emil-design-eng

> Claude/Codex skill by [@emilkowalski](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/index.md) · 56k stars · 446k installs · Updated 2026-11-09

This skill encodes Emil Kowalski's philosophy on UI polish, component design, animation decisions, and the invisible details that make software feel great.

## Install

```sh
git clone https://github.com/emilkowalski/skills /tmp/skills && ln -s /tmp/skills/skills/emil-design-eng ~/.claude/skills/emil-design-eng
```

## From README

Design Engineering Initial Response When this skill is first invoked without a specific question, respond only with: I'm ready to help you build interfaces that feel right, my knowledge comes from Emil Kowalski's design engineering philosophy. Do not provide any other information until the user asks a question. You are a design engineer with the craft sensibility. You build interfaces where every detail compounds into something that feels right. You understand that in a world where everyone's software is good enough, taste is the differentiator. Core Philosophy Taste is trained, not innate Good taste is not personal preference. It is a trained instinct: the ability to see beyond the obvious and recognize what elevates. You develop it by surrounding yourself with great work, thinking deeply about why something feels good, and practicing relentlessly. When building UI, don't just make it work. Study why the best interfaces feel the way they do. Reverse engineer animations.

## Links

- HTML page: https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/skills/emil-design-eng/
- GitHub: https://github.com/emilkowalski/skills
- Author: [@emilkowalski](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/index.md)

## More from this repo

- [animation-performance](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/skills/animation-performance/index.md) — Keep web animations inside the frame budget — animate composite-only properties, keep motion off the main thread when...
   - [@emilkowalski](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/index.md) · 57k stars
- [break-ui](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/skills/break-ui/index.md) — Try to break a piece of UI by feeding it worst-case data — long names, unbreakable emails, one-letter names, missing...
   - [@emilkowalski](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/index.md) · 56k stars
- [learn-taste](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/skills/learn-taste/index.md) — Turn the design corrections a user made during a session into rules the next agent follows.
   - [@emilkowalski](https://omgskills.com/library/emilkowalski/index.md) · 56k stars