i-distill_skill

Overview

This skill strips designs to their essence by removing unnecessary complexity and revealing clear, focused interfaces. It guides a ruthless, evidence-driven reduction of visual, informational, interaction, layout, content, and code clutter. Use it to transform busy interfaces into simple, powerful, and usable products without losing required functionality.

How this skill works

Start by following the Context Gathering Protocol in the i-frontend-design skill; if no context exists, run teach-impeccable first. The skill inspects the current design and codebase to locate complexity sources: extra elements, excessive variation, confusing hierarchy, and feature creep. It produces a focused simplification plan, applies edits across architecture, visuals, layout, interactions, content, and code, then verifies improvements against usability and performance criteria.

When to use it

• When users struggle to find the primary action or goal
• Before a design rewrite or UI refactor to avoid added complexity
• When conversion, task completion, or performance metrics are poor
• During product prioritization to reveal core value quickly
• Before releasing to new user groups who need a clear, simple experience

Best practices

• Run the Context Gathering Protocol and collect user goals before changing UI
• Define one clear primary purpose and remove everything that obscures it
• Prefer progressive disclosure over removing features entirely
• Use a single color family and limited typography for hierarchy
• Consolidate similar actions into one clear CTA and use smart defaults
• Document removed elements and track user feedback for potential restoration

Example use cases

• Convert a crowded dashboard into a single-task-first flow with optional panels hidden
• Simplify a multi-step signup into a one-step flow with inline validation and defaults
• Trim a product page: keep 20% of content that delivers 80% of decisions
• Refactor CSS and components to remove unused styles and reduce variant count
• Reduce navigation complexity by consolidating links and using progressive disclosure