simplify by open-horizon-labs/impeccable

Remove unnecessary complexity from designs, revealing the essential elements and creating clarity through ruthless simplification.

MANDATORY PREPARATION

Context Gathering (Do This First)

You cannot do a great job without having necessary context, such as target audience (critical), desired use-cases (critical), and understanding what's truly essential vs nice-to-have for this product.

Attempt to gather these from the current thread or codebase.

If you don't find exact information and have to infer from existing design and functionality, you MUST STOP and {{ask_instruction}} whether you got it right.
Otherwise, if you can't fully infer or your level of confidence is medium or lower, you MUST {{ask_instruction}} clarifying questions first to complete your context.

Do NOT proceed until you have answers. Simplifying the wrong things destroys usability.

Use frontend-design skill

Use the frontend-design skill for design principles and anti-patterns. Do NOT proceed until it has executed and you know all DO's and DON'Ts.

Assess Current State

Analyze what makes the design feel complex or cluttered:

Identify complexity sources:
- Too many elements: Competing buttons, redundant information, visual clutter
- Excessive variation: Too many colors, fonts, sizes, styles without purpose
- Information overload: Everything visible at once, no progressive disclosure
- Visual noise: Unnecessary borders, shadows, backgrounds, decorations
- Confusing hierarchy: Unclear what matters most
- Feature creep: Too many options, actions, or paths forward
Find the essence:
- What's the primary user goal? (There should be ONE)
- What's actually necessary vs nice-to-have?
- What can be removed, hidden, or combined?
- What's the 20% that delivers 80% of value?

If any of these are unclear from the codebase, {{ask_instruction}}

CRITICAL: Simplicity is not about removing features - it's about removing obstacles between users and their goals. Every element should justify its existence.

Plan Simplification

Create a ruthless editing strategy:

Core purpose: What's the ONE thing this should accomplish?
Essential elements: What's truly necessary to achieve that purpose?
Progressive disclosure: What can be hidden until needed?
Consolidation opportunities: What can be combined or integrated?

IMPORTANT: Simplification is hard. It requires saying no to good ideas to make room for great execution. Be ruthless.

Simplify the Design

Systematically remove complexity across these dimensions:

Information Architecture

Reduce scope: Remove secondary actions, optional features, redundant information
Progressive disclosure: Hide complexity behind clear entry points (accordions, modals, step-through flows)
Combine related actions: Merge similar buttons, consolidate forms, group related content
Clear hierarchy: ONE primary action, few secondary actions, everything else tertiary or hidden
Remove redundancy: If it's said elsewhere, don't repeat it here

Visual Simplification

Reduce color palette: Use 1-2 colors plus neutrals, not 5-7 colors
Limit typography: One font family, 3-4 sizes maximum, 2-3 weights
Remove decorations: Eliminate borders, shadows, backgrounds that don't serve hierarchy or function
Flatten structure: Reduce nesting, remove unnecessary containers—never nest cards inside cards
Remove unnecessary cards: Cards aren't needed for basic layout; use spacing and alignment instead
Consistent spacing: Use one spacing scale, remove arbitrary gaps

Layout Simplification

Linear flow: Replace complex grids with simple vertical flow where possible
Remove sidebars: Move secondary content inline or hide it
Full-width: Use available space generously instead of complex multi-column layouts
Consistent alignment: Pick left or center, stick with it
Generous white space: Let content breathe, don't pack everything tight

Interaction Simplification

Reduce choices: Fewer buttons, fewer options, clearer path forward (paradox of choice is real)
Smart defaults: Make common choices automatic, only ask when necessary
Inline actions: Replace modal flows with inline editing where possible
Remove steps: Can signup be one step instead of three? Can checkout be simplified?
Clear CTAs: ONE obvious next step, not five competing actions

Content Simplification

Shorter copy: Cut every sentence in half, then do it again
Active voice: "Save changes" not "Changes will be saved"
Remove jargon: Plain language always wins
Scannable structure: Short paragraphs, bullet points, clear headings
Essential information only: Remove marketing fluff, legalese, hedging
Remove redundant copy: No headers restating intros, no repeated explanations, say it once

Code Simplification

Remove unused code: Dead CSS, unused components, orphaned files
Flatten component trees: Reduce nesting depth
Consolidate styles: Merge similar styles, use utilities consistently
Reduce variants: Does that component need 12 variations, or can 3 cover 90% of cases?

NEVER:

Remove necessary functionality (simplicity ≠ feature-less)
Sacrifice accessibility for simplicity (clear labels and ARIA still required)
Make things so simple they're unclear (mystery ≠ minimalism)
Remove information users need to make decisions
Eliminate hierarchy completely (some things should stand out)
Oversimplify complex domains (match complexity to actual task complexity)

Verify Simplification

Ensure simplification improves usability:

Faster task completion: Can users accomplish goals more quickly?
Reduced cognitive load: Is it easier to understand what to do?
Still complete: Are all necessary features still accessible?
Clearer hierarchy: Is it obvious what matters most?
Better performance: Does simpler design load faster?

Document Removed Complexity

If you removed features or options:

Document why they were removed
Consider if they need alternative access points
Note any user feedback to monitor

Remember: You have great taste and judgment. Simplification is an act of confidence - knowing what to keep and courage to remove the rest. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."