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storyteller/docs/reference/UI_QUICK_REFERENCE.md
Aodhan Collins 41975ecfe2 Phase 2 complete
2025-10-12 02:18:56 +01:00

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# UI Design Quick Reference
**TL;DR guide for getting UI designs quickly**
---
## 🎯 Priority Order
### Phase 2 (Current - Already Built)
✅ Session Setup Page
✅ Character View
✅ Character Creation Wizard
✅ Storyteller View
### Phase 3 (Next - Need Designs)
🎨 Gamemaster Control Panel
🎨 Game Creation Wizard
🎨 Role Assignment Interface
### Phase 4+ (Future)
⏳ Admin Dashboard
⏳ Analytics Views
---
## 📄 6 Core Pages Summary
| Page | Purpose | Complexity | Priority |
|------|---------|------------|----------|
| **Session Setup** | Landing, join/create | Low | ✅ Built |
| **Character View** | Player interface | Medium | ✅ Built |
| **Character Wizard** | Character creation | Medium | ✅ Built |
| **Storyteller View** | GM interface | High | ✅ Built |
| **Gamemaster Panel** | Game management | High | 🎨 Next |
| **Admin Dashboard** | System admin | High | ⏳ Future |
---
## 🎨 Design Files Location
All design documentation in `/docs/reference/`:
- **UI_ELEMENTS_INVENTORY.md** - Complete element list by page (15,000+ words)
- **UI_DESIGN_PROMPTS.md** - Copy-paste prompts for LLMs
- **UI_QUICK_REFERENCE.md** - This file
---
## ⚡ Quick Start
### To Get Designs Fast:
1. **Read the prompts file:**
- `/docs/reference/UI_DESIGN_PROMPTS.md`
- Find the page you need
- Copy the full prompt
2. **Choose your tool:**
- **v0.dev** (Vercel) - Best for React/Tailwind code
- **Midjourney/DALL-E** - Best for visual mockups
- **Claude/GPT-4** - Best for HTML/CSS implementation
3. **Generate:**
- Paste prompt
- Add tool-specific instructions
- Generate multiple variations
- Iterate and refine
---
## 🎨 Current Design System (Already Implemented)
### Colors
```css
--primary-gradient: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%);
--bg-dark: #1a1a2e;
--surface-dark: #2d3748;
--text-light: #ffffff;
--accent-purple: #667eea;
```
### Components We Have
- ✅ Buttons (primary, secondary, icon)
- ✅ Input fields (text, textarea, dropdown)
- ✅ Cards (base, interactive, info)
- ✅ Badges/Pills
- ✅ Message bubbles
- ✅ Selection cards (wizard)
- ✅ Progress indicator
- ✅ Form layouts
- ✅ Modal overlays
### Components We Need
- 🎨 Data tables
- 🎨 Drag-and-drop cards
- 🎨 Charts (line, bar, pie)
- 🎨 Timeline/activity feed
- 🎨 Tabs component
- 🎨 Metric cards with trends
- 🎨 Role assignment slots
---
## 📋 Example: Getting Gamemaster Panel Design
### Option 1: v0.dev (Code + Design)
```
Prompt: [Copy from UI_DESIGN_PROMPTS.md - Prompt 5]
Add: "Generate as Next.js components with Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui"
Output: Working React code + visual preview
```
### Option 2: Midjourney (Mockup)
```
Prompt: [Copy from UI_DESIGN_PROMPTS.md - Prompt 5]
Add: "UI mockup, high fidelity, Figma style, dark theme, 4k"
Output: Visual design to reference
```
### Option 3: Manual Implementation
```
1. Read element list in UI_ELEMENTS_INVENTORY.md
2. Sketch/wireframe layout
3. Build components one by one
4. Match existing design system colors/spacing
```
---
## 🔧 Common Customizations
### To Match Different Styles:
**Sci-Fi Theme:**
```
Change gradient to: #00d9ff to #0099ff (cyan)
Add: Glowing borders, neon accents
Fonts: Orbitron or Exo 2
```
**Fantasy Theme:**
```
Keep purple gradient
Add: Texture overlays, paper-like cards
Fonts: Cinzel or IM Fell
Decorative borders
```
**Minimal Theme:**
```
Change to monochrome: #000000 to #ffffff
Remove: Gradients, decorative elements
Fonts: Inter or System UI
Flat design
```
---
## 📐 Layout Templates
### Dashboard Layout (Gamemaster/Admin)
```
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Header (Global Actions) │
├──────┬──────────────────────────┤
│ Nav │ Main Content Area │
│ Bar │ │
│ │ ┌────────┬────────┐ │
│ │ │ Card │ Card │ │
│ │ └────────┴────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ │ [Tables/Charts/Forms] │
└──────┴──────────────────────────┘
Sidebar: 240px
Content: flex-1
Gap: 24px
```
### Chat Layout (Character/Storyteller)
```
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Header (Info + Actions) │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Scrollable Message Area │
│ (Messages stacked vertically) │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ Fixed Composer (Bottom) │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
Header: Auto height
Messages: flex-1, overflow-auto
Composer: Auto height, fixed position
```
### Wizard Layout
```
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Wizard Header + Progress │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ │
│ Step Content (Centered) │
│ Max Width: 600px │
│ │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│ Footer (Cancel | Back | Next) │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
Modal: Max 800px width, centered
Content: Vertical padding 48px
Footer: Sticky bottom
```
---
## 🎯 Phase 3 Design Priorities
### Must Have First:
1. **Gamemaster Dashboard** - Overview/home screen
2. **Game Creation Form** - Simple version
3. **Player Slot Cards** - Assignment interface
### Can Wait:
4. Role drag-and-drop (use simple assignment first)
5. Advanced analytics
6. Detailed configuration screens
---
## 💡 Tips for Design Consistency
### When Designing New Pages:
1. **Reuse existing components**
- Check what's already built
- Extend rather than recreate
2. **Match spacing**
- Use 8px grid system
- Common gaps: 16px, 24px, 32px
3. **Follow color usage**
- Purple for primary actions
- Dark backgrounds (#2d3748)
- White/light text
4. **Keep hierarchy clear**
- Largest: Page titles (2rem)
- Medium: Section titles (1.5rem)
- Normal: Body text (1rem)
5. **Maintain card style**
- Rounded 8-12px
- Subtle shadows
- Padding 1-2rem
---
## 📱 Responsive Breakpoints
```css
/* Mobile First */
.container {
width: 100%;
padding: 16px;
}
/* Tablet - 768px */
@media (min-width: 768px) {
.container {
padding: 24px;
}
.grid {
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
}
}
/* Desktop - 1024px */
@media (min-width: 1024px) {
.container {
max-width: 1200px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
.grid {
grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
}
}
```
---
## 🚀 Workflow Recommendation
### For Phase 3 Implementation:
**Week 1:** Design Phase
- Day 1: Generate Gamemaster dashboard mockups
- Day 2: Review and refine designs
- Day 3: Generate component mockups
- Day 4: Finalize design system updates
- Day 5: Create component specifications
**Week 2-3:** Implementation
- Build reusable components
- Implement layouts
- Connect to backend
- Test responsive behavior
- Polish animations
**Week 4:** Polish
- Fix edge cases
- Accessibility improvements
- Performance optimization
- User testing
---
## 📚 Resources
### Design Tools
- **v0.dev** - https://v0.dev (AI code generation)
- **Figma** - https://figma.com (Design/prototype)
- **Tailwind UI** - https://tailwindui.com (Component library)
- **shadcn/ui** - https://ui.shadcn.com (React components)
### Inspiration
- **Dribbble** - Search "RPG dashboard dark theme"
- **Behance** - Search "game master interface"
- **Awwwards** - Dark themed web apps
### Color Tools
- **Coolors** - Generate palette variations
- **Color Hunt** - Find complementary palettes
- **Contrast Checker** - Ensure accessibility
---
**Everything you need to get UI designs for Phase 3 is ready!** 🎨✨
Start with the Gamemaster Control Panel - that's the biggest design challenge for Phase 3.