Hallmark: a design skill that refuses the default AI look

Who it is for

This fits people who want an interface that does not look like a “default generated” artifact. Officially: this is a set of design skills that refuse to look AI-generated. It picks a macro structure for a brief, applies one of twenty-one themes, runs fifty-seven slop-test gates plus a self-check before sending, and refuses the default look the model was trained into.

It fits better if you already have a piece of interface code, a reference image, or a reference address, and want a score first before deciding whether to change anything. It does not fit people who want pixel-level copying or paid templates: hallmark study explicitly refuses both.

Before you start you must be able to run npx skills add nutlope/hallmark. Do not rewrite it into another installer that was never given.

First try in 3 minutes

Use only the official npx install, then do one read-only score. Do not rebuild a page on the first run.

Prerequisites: this machine already has npm/npx, and you have existing interface code as the target. The first time, do not change structure on a production site.

Install location: run the official command first.

npx skills add nutlope/hallmark

After install, confirm from the source text that one of these landing files already exists: ~/.claude/skills/hallmark/, .cursor/rules/hallmark.mdc (body from SKILL.md, without frontmatter), ~/.codex/skills/hallmark/ (personal), or .codex/skills/hallmark/ (project-level). The first time, confirm only one location; do not hand-write a second copy.

Official repository:

https://github.com/nutlope/hallmark

Low-risk trigger: run hallmark audit <target> against existing code, replacing <target> with your own real path. Officially: it scores against anti-patterns, only emits a todo list, and does not change files. Do not run hallmark redesign first.

Success signal: you get a score / todo list, and the original files were not modified. If the list suggests structural changes, confirm which files would be touched before the next step.

Usage examples

Example 1: Score an existing interface. Run hallmark audit <target>. It fits people who already have code and only want to see where it looks like a default generated artifact. The evidence says it does not change files. Treat the output as a checklist; do not apply edits automatically.

Example 2: Extract DNA from a reference design. Run hallmark study <screenshot | URL>. It fits people who already have a screenshot or reference address and want macro structure, type pairing, and color anchors. Officially it refuses pixel-level copying and paid templates, and can optionally generate a portable design.md for other AI tools. design.md is a write action: confirm the write location before generating, then open and check after it is written. Do not invent a reference URL.

Limits

hallmark redesign <target> drops the existing structure, keeps only copy, information architecture, and brand, then rebuilds under another fingerprint. The side effects are large; do not use it as the first try.

The official verbs named are only audit, redesign, and study. Do not invent other commands or skill paths.

The install command is only npx skills add nutlope/hallmark. Landing directories follow the source text; do not copy them into locations that were never written.

It does not write applicable environments as an exclusive list, and it does not require running study and redesign together.