Layers Skills
Nine skills guide a product designer through seven layers, from observed behaviour to interface decisions.
- 314 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Minimal access
Why this level
- The skills hold only text instructions for working sessions: they run nothing and make no network calls.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add skills/layers-skillsDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewMinimal accessThe tool runs nothing and makes no network calls.
- The skills hold only text instructions for working sessions: they run nothing and make no network calls.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
Layers Skills guides a product designer through the Layers of Product Design framework with seven layers: observed behaviour, domain, user needs, product strategy, conceptual model, interaction structure and surface. Each skill explains the nature of its layer, names the decisions made there and, if you want, runs a working session with a proven method. Start with `/layers-intro`, which sets context for the other skills. Then `/layers-orient` runs a quick audit across all layers and points to where to focus. Layers produce different results: candidate job stories with confidence ratings, a concept map, an opportunity solution tree, an object map with state diagrams, a breadboard with edge cases, and a surface decision inventory.
Who it is for. Product designers and managers who break a problem down step by step from user needs to the interface.
Good fit when
- A project starts and you need to see which of the seven design layers has gaps.
- Interviews and observations are turned into candidate job stories with confidence ratings.
- The team argues about terms and needs a concept map with naming conflicts.
- A product lacks a conceptual model with objects, relationships, states and a shared vocabulary.
- Before mockups, a flow breadboard is drawn with edge cases and open decisions.
Not a fit when
- You need finished markup or interface code: the skills guide reasoning and write no code.
- The task is not about a product: the layer framework is built for designing products and services.
- There is no user data: the skills analyze the material you bring and do not replace the interviews themselves.
- You want visual mockups: the surface layer returns an audit and a decision inventory with no pictures.
Example request
Load /layers-intro, then /layers-orient: audit our doctor appointment app across the seven layers and tell me which layer to start with.Limitations
The repository has no installation guide: the skills sit as folders in `skills/` and are copied into the agent's skills directory. Without `/layers-intro` the other skills lose the framework context, so load it first. The skills steer a designer's reasoning and make no decisions for them, and a human brings the user data. Descriptions and methods are in English. The MIT license permits forking and adapting. The last commit dates from May 2026.
How to disable. Delete the `layers-*` folders from the agent's skills directory.
FAQ
Where do I start?
Load `/layers-intro`: it sets the framework context for the other skills. Then `/layers-orient` runs a diagnostic across the seven layers and shows where to focus.
Can I start in the middle?
Yes. Layers depend on each other logically, but you can enter at any one. Just check that the layers below are sound.
Which layer is missed most often?
The conceptual model: the objects, relationships, states and vocabulary the product works with. If you are unsure where to start, run `/layers-orient`.
What does the observed behaviour layer produce?
The `/layers-observed-behaviour` skill gathers candidate job stories with confidence ratings. `/layers-user-needs` then builds a prioritised list of needs from them.
What does the `/layers-interaction-flow` skill do?
It draws a breadboard of the flow: places, the connections between them, edge cases and open decisions.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layers Skills (this card) | no | 314 | |
| UX/UI Agent Skills | no | 3,101 | a set of skills, tokens and rules for a design system and interface quality checks; Layers Skills works at the level of needs, concepts and interaction structure |
| UI UX Pro Max | no | 145,555 | a database of styles, palettes and font pairings for generating a design system; Layers Skills drives design reasoning before visual styling |
README in short
The document splits the layers into a three-layer problem space and a four-layer solution space and gives tables of skills with their outputs. A short section on the framework explains layer dependency: a weak lower layer accumulates UX debt that grows upward.
README badge
Original SKILL.md
--- name: layers-intro description: Framework orientation for Layers of Product Design — load this first; provides the context all other skills depend on --- # /layers-intro Load this skill at the start of any design session. It provides the framework context that all other `/layers-*` skills depend on. --- ## The framework **Layers of Product Design** organises design work into seven layers across three zones. Layers have *logical dependency*: lower layers are foundations for upper ones. Weak lower layers create UX debt that propagates upward. **Reality** — complex, contradictory, evolving. Source of all learning. **Problem space** — knowledge gathered from reality: 1. **Observed behaviour** — what users actually do 2. **The domain** — concepts, terminology, and mental models that exist independently of any product 3. **User needs** — what we think users are trying to achieve, and why **Solution space** — deliberate decisions about what to build: 4. **Product & service strategy** — which needs to serve, and what business outcomes to target 5. **Conceptual model** — objects, relationships, states, vocabulary — independent of any interface 6. **Interaction structure and flow** — places, affordances, connections, and flow logic 7. **Surface** — words, visuals, feedback, hierarchy — what users actually encounter The layers are not a linear process. Enter anywhere — but always check whether the foundations below are sound. *Inspired by Jesse James Garrett's* The Elements of User Experience *(2000).* --- ## Design is decision-making Design = making decisions about the form of a solution (Christopher Alexander). Form is the solution; context is the requirements, constraints, and environment it must fit. Good design is good fit. **Four kinds of progress:** 1. **Making decisions** — resolving something undecided 2. **Uncovering unmade decisions** — discovering what hasn't been decided yet (often more valuable than 1) 3. **Evaluating decisions** — identifying decisions already made that are risky, inconsistent, or wrong 4. **Prioritising decisions** — lower layers are more foundational and carry more risk if wrong The job of every skill is to help the designer make better decisions — not to make decisions for them. --- ## How to use these skills