DrawBot Designer

Create professional posters, layouts, and graphics with automatic enforcement of design principles.

Quick Start

1. Read design-vocabulary.md to translate user intent → design choices
2. Use templates/ to start implementation
3. Check examples.md for working patterns
4. See reference.md for API details

Workflow: Natural Language → Design

Step 0: Interpret Intent (BEFORE coding)

When user says something like "create a bold modern poster":

1. Open design-vocabulary.md
2. Look up mood words: "bold" → high contrast, large title; "modern" → asymmetric, sans-serif
3. Identify content type: poster → announcement pattern
4. Combine settings: asymmetric grid, large title, limited colors
5. Then implement using the design system

Example Translation

User says: "Make an elegant invitation for a gala"

Look up:

• "elegant" → symmetric grid, serif type, muted colors, balanced whitespace
• "invitation" → announcement pattern (WHAT → WHEN → WHERE)

Result:

• Grid: 12×8, centered
• Font: Serif, conservative scale
• Colors: Cream, dark gray, gold accent
• Structure: Event name → Date → Venue → RSVP

When to Use This Skill

Activate when the user requests:

• Posters, layouts, graphics, or editorial designs
• Modifications to existing DrawBot code
• Typography or layout advice
• DrawBot script creation or debugging

Core Principles

This skill automatically enforces:

• Typography: Hochuli's Detail in Typography (microtypography)
• Layout: Müller-Brockmann grid systems (macrotypography)
• Hierarchy: CRAP principles (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity)

Mandatory Workflow

CRITICAL: Always use the design system. Never write manual calculations.

Step 1: Setup

import sys
from pathlib import Path
sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent / "lib"))

import drawBot as db
from drawbot_grid import Grid
from drawbot_design_system import (
    POSTER_SCALE,        # or MAGAZINE_SCALE, BOOK_SCALE, REPORT_SCALE
    get_output_path,
    draw_wrapped_text,
    setup_poster_page
)

Step 2: Create Page and Grid

# Page setup (creates canvas automatically)
WIDTH, HEIGHT, MARGIN = setup_poster_page("letter", margin_ratio=1/10)

# Grid (automatically reads canvas size)
grid = Grid.from_margins(
    (-MARGIN, -MARGIN, -MARGIN, -MARGIN),
    column_subdivisions=12,
    row_subdivisions=16
)

Step 3: Use Semantic Coordinates

# ✅ CORRECT: Grid coordinates
header = (*grid[(0, 14)], *grid*(12, 2))  # Full width, top 2 rows

# ❌ WRONG: Manual calculations
header = (MARGIN, HEIGHT - 200, WIDTH - MARGIN*2, 150)

Step 4: Wrap Text Properly

# ✅ CORRECT: Point-based wrapping
draw_wrapped_text(text, x, y, width, height, font, size)

# ❌ WRONG: Character-count heuristics
wrapped = textwrap.wrap(text, width=70)

Step 5: Save with Portable Paths

# ✅ CORRECT: Works on any machine
db.saveImage(str(get_output_path("output.pdf")))

# ❌ WRONG: Hardcoded path
db.saveImage("/Users/you/...")

Resources

This Skill Directory

• examples.md - Working code examples
• reference.md - Complete API reference
• filters.md - Image effects, textures, blend modes
• templates/ - Starting templates:
  • minimal_poster.py - Simple poster
  • two_column.py - Magazine layout
  • card_layout.py - Color-coded cards

Project Files

• Complete examples: ../../examples/
  • minimal_poster_example.py - 80-line working poster
  • longitudinalbench_poster_v7.py - 352-line production poster
• Documentation: ../../docs/
  • DESIGN_SYSTEM_USAGE.md - Complete usage guide
  • layout-design-principles.md - Grid theory, CRAP, decision matrices
  • typography-style-guide.md - Hochuli's spacing, line length, readability
• Assets: ../../assets/ - 1,807 textures

Typography Scales

Context	Scale	Base	Ratio	When to Use
Poster	POSTER_SCALE	18pt	1.5	Posters, displays
Magazine	MAGAZINE_SCALE	11pt	1.25	Magazines, newsletters
Book	BOOK_SCALE	11pt	1.2	Books, long-form
Report	REPORT_SCALE	12pt	1.25	Reports, docs

Access sizes:

scale = POSTER_SCALE
scale.caption   # 12pt
scale.body      # 18pt
scale.h3        # 27pt
scale.h2        # 40.5pt
scale.h1        # 60.75pt
scale.title     # 91.125pt

Grid Patterns

Full Width Section

header = (*grid[(0, 14)], *grid*(12, 2))  # All columns, 2 rows

Two Columns

left = (*grid[(0, 1)], *grid*(5, 13))    # Cols 0-4
right = (*grid[(7, 1)], *grid*(5, 13))   # Cols 7-11
# Columns 5-6 = automatic gutter

Stacked Sections

section1 = (*grid[(0, 10)], *grid*(12, 3))  # Rows 10-12
section2 = (*grid[(0, 6)], *grid*(12, 3))   # Rows 6-8
section3 = (*grid[(0, 2)], *grid*(12, 3))   # Rows 2-4

Decision Matrix

Content	Grid	Typography	Line Length
Poster	12×16	POSTER_SCALE	20-30 CPL
Magazine	12×8	MAGAZINE_SCALE	45-50 CPL
Book	6×8	BOOK_SCALE	60-65 CPL
Report	12×8	REPORT_SCALE	50-60 CPL

Verification Checklist

Before finalizing code, verify:

• Imports from lib/ directory
• Used setup_poster_page() BEFORE grid
• Grid created with Grid.from_margins()
• Used pre-defined scale (POSTER_SCALE, etc.)
• All layout uses grid coordinates (not manual math)
• All text uses draw_wrapped_text() (not textwrap.wrap)
• Paths use get_output_path() (not hardcoded)
• No fontSize approximations

Error Prevention

Never Do This

❌ Hardcode page size in grid ❌ Use character counts for wrapping ❌ Approximate line height with fontSize ❌ Manual calculations instead of grid ❌ Truncate text with [:N] ❌ Hardcode absolute paths

Always Do This

✅ Let grid read canvas size ✅ Use point-based wrapping ✅ Use real font metrics ✅ Use semantic grid coordinates ✅ Draw all text that fits ✅ Use portable path helpers

Common Tasks

Create a Poster

1. Copy templates/minimal_poster.py to ../../examples/ or your working directory
2. If copying to examples/, update the import path to use .parent.parent instead of .parent.parent.parent.parent.parent
3. Update title, subtitle, body text
4. Change filename in get_output_path()
5. Run: uv run python your_file.py

Two-Column Layout

1. Copy templates/two_column.py to ../../examples/
2. Update the import path if needed (see Create a Poster above)
3. Update column content
4. Adjust grid if needed (more/fewer rows)

Color-Coded Cards

1. Copy templates/card_layout.py to ../../examples/
2. Update the import path if needed (see Create a Poster above)
3. Modify card titles and descriptions
4. Change colors if desired

Debug Layout Issues

1. Add grid.draw(show_index=True) before saveImage()
2. View PDF to see grid structure
3. Verify grid coordinates
4. Remove grid.draw() for final output

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Text overflows	Character-count wrapping	Use draw_wrapped_text()
Grid doesn't match	Created before newPage()	Create page FIRST
Wrong sizes	Wrong scale for context	Use POSTER_SCALE for posters
Paths don't work	Hardcoded paths	Use get_output_path()

See reference.md for detailed troubleshooting.

Example Session

User: "Create a poster for an AI conference"

Response:

1. Copy templates/minimal_poster.py
2. Modify content:
   • Title: "AI Conference 2025"
   • Subtitle: "Advancing Machine Learning"
   • Body: Conference details
3. Save as ai_conference.py
4. Run: uv run python examples/ai_conference.py

Result: Professional poster following all design principles automatically.

Progressive Disclosure

Start with templates, refer to examples and reference as needed:

1. Start: templates/minimal_poster.py
2. Learn: examples.md for patterns
3. Reference: reference.md for API details
4. Effects: filters.md for images/textures (when needed)
5. Deep dive: ../../docs/ for theory

Claude loads resources progressively as needed (saves context).

Remember

The design system makes it impossible to violate design principles. Trust the system, use the helpers, and your designs will automatically follow Hochuli, Bringhurst, and Müller-Brockmann.

Version History

• v1.0.0 (2025-10-18): Initial Agent Skill with curated content