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make-interfaces-feel-better

Design engineering principles for making interfaces feel polished. Use when building UI components, reviewing frontend code, implementing animations, hover states, shadows, borders, typography, micro-interactions, enter/exit animations, or any visual detail work. Triggers on UI polish, design details, "make it feel better", "feels off", stagger animations, border radius, optical alignment, font smoothing, tabular numbers, image outlines, box shadows.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/jakubkrehel/make-interfaces-feel-better
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/jakubkrehel/make-interfaces-feel-better "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/make-interfaces-feel-better" ~/.claude/skills/jakubkrehel-make-interfaces-feel-better-make-interfaces-feel-better && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/make-interfaces-feel-better/SKILL.md
source content

Details that make interfaces feel better

Great interfaces rarely come from a single thing. It's usually a collection of small details that compound into a great experience. Apply these principles when building or reviewing UI code.

Quick Reference

CategoryWhen to Use
TypographyText wrapping, font smoothing, tabular numbers
SurfacesBorder radius, optical alignment, shadows, image outlines, hit areas
AnimationsInterruptible animations, enter/exit transitions, icon animations, scale on press
PerformanceTransition specificity, 
will-change
usage

Core Principles

1. Concentric Border Radius

Outer radius = inner radius + padding. Mismatched radii on nested elements is the most common thing that makes interfaces feel off.

2. Optical Over Geometric Alignment

When geometric centering looks off, align optically. Buttons with icons, play triangles, and asymmetric icons all need manual adjustment.

3. Shadows Over Borders

Layer multiple transparent 

box-shadow
values for natural depth. Shadows adapt to any background; solid borders don't.

4. Interruptible Animations

Use CSS transitions for interactive state changes — they can be interrupted mid-animation. Reserve keyframes for staged sequences that run once.

5. Split and Stagger Enter Animations

Don't animate a single container. Break content into semantic chunks and stagger each with ~100ms delay.

6. Subtle Exit Animations

Use a small fixed 

translateY
instead of full height. Exits should be softer than enters.

7. Contextual Icon Animations

Animate icons with 

opacity
, 
scale
, and 
blur
instead of toggling visibility. Use exactly these values: scale from 
0.25
to 
1
, opacity from 
0
to 
1
, blur from 
4px
to 
0px
. If the project has 
motion
or 
framer-motion
in 
package.json
, use 
transition: { type: "spring", duration: 0.3, bounce: 0 }
— bounce must always be 
0
. If no motion library is installed, keep both icons in the DOM (one absolute-positioned) and cross-fade with CSS transitions using 
cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1)
— this gives both enter and exit animations without any dependency.

8. Font Smoothing

Apply 

-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased
to the root layout on macOS for crisper text.

9. Tabular Numbers

Use 

font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums
for any dynamically updating numbers to prevent layout shift.

10. Text Wrapping

Use 

text-wrap: balance
on headings. Use 
text-wrap: pretty
for body text to avoid orphans.

11. Image Outlines

Add a subtle 

1px
outline with low opacity to images for consistent depth. The color must be pure black in light mode (
rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)
) and pure white in dark mode (
rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1)
) — never a near-black like slate, zinc, or any tinted neutral. A tinted outline picks up the surface color underneath it and reads as dirt on the image edge.

12. Scale on Press

A subtle 

scale(0.96)
on click gives buttons tactile feedback. Always use 
0.96
. Never use a value smaller than 
0.95
— anything below feels exaggerated. Add a 
static
prop to disable it when motion would be distracting.

13. Skip Animation on Page Load

Use 

initial={false}
on 
AnimatePresence
to prevent enter animations on first render. Verify it doesn't break intentional entrance animations.

14. Never Use 
transition: all

Always specify exact properties: 

transition-property: scale, opacity
. Tailwind's 
transition-transform
covers 
transform, translate, scale, rotate
.

15. Use 
will-change
Sparingly

Only for 

transform
, 
opacity
, 
filter
— properties the GPU can composite. Never use 
will-change: all
. Only add when you notice first-frame stutter.

16. Minimum Hit Area

Interactive elements need at least 40×40px hit area. Extend with a pseudo-element if the visible element is smaller. Never let hit areas of two elements overlap.

Common Mistakes

MistakeFix
Same border radius on parent and childCalculate 
outerRadius = innerRadius + padding
Icons look off-centerAdjust optically with padding or fix SVG directly
Hard borders between sectionsUse layered 
box-shadow
with transparency
Jarring enter/exit animationsSplit, stagger, and keep exits subtle
Numbers cause layout shiftApply 
tabular-nums
Heavy text on macOSApply 
antialiased
to root
Animation plays on page loadAdd 
initial={false}
to 
AnimatePresence
transition: all
on elements		Specify exact properties
First-frame animation stutterAdd 
will-change: transform
(sparingly)
Tiny hit areas on small controlsExtend with pseudo-element to 40×40px

Review Output Format

Always present changes as a markdown table with Before and After columns. Include every change you made — not just a subset. Never list findings as separate "Before:" / "After:" lines outside of a table. Group changes by principle using a heading above each table, and keep each row focused on a single diff so the reader can scan the whole list quickly.

Example

Concentric border radius

BeforeAfter
rounded-xl
on card + 
rounded-xl
on inner button (
p-2
)
rounded-2xl
on card (
12 + 8
), 
rounded-lg
on inner button
border-radius: 16px
on both nested surfaces		Outer 
24px
, inner 
16px
with 
8px
padding

Tabular numbers

BeforeAfter
<span>{count}</span>
on animated counter
<span className="tabular-nums">{count}</span>
Default numerals on timerAdded 
font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums
to root

Scale on press

BeforeAfter
<button className="...">
Added 
active:scale-[0.96] transition-transform
scale(0.9)
on press		Raised to 
scale(0.96)
— anything below 
0.95
feels exaggerated

Rows should cite the specific file and the specific property that changed when it isn't obvious from the snippet. If a principle was reviewed but nothing needed to change, omit that table entirely — empty tables add noise.

Review Checklist

  • Nested rounded elements use concentric border radius
  • Icons are optically centered, not just geometrically
  • Shadows used instead of borders where appropriate
  • Enter animations are split and staggered
  • Exit animations are subtle
  • Dynamic numbers use tabular-nums
  • Font smoothing is applied
  • Headings use text-wrap: balance
  • Images have subtle outlines
  • Buttons use scale on press where appropriate
  • AnimatePresence uses 
    initial={false}
    for default-state elements
  • No 
    transition: all
    — only specific properties
  • will-change
    only on transform/opacity/filter, never 
    all
  • Interactive elements have at least 40×40px hit area

Reference Files

  • typography.md — Text wrapping, font smoothing, tabular numbers
  • surfaces.md — Border radius, optical alignment, shadows, image outlines
  • animations.md — Interruptible animations, enter/exit transitions, icon animations, scale on press
  • performance.md — Transition specificity, 
    will-change
    usage