# Validation — Premium Command Center UI

Run this checklist before every handoff.

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## Pre-ship checklist

1. The page has **one dominant focal block** — not a grid of equal-weight cards.
2. Density is **compact but not cramped** — operational readability, not marketing padding.
3. Semantic colors are **limited and consistent** — no rainbow palette, no decorative gradients.
4. The shell **supports the task** instead of decorating the viewport.
5. There is a **direct next action** visible after reading each major block.
6. The result does **not look like a generic dark dashboard with random gradients**.
7. **Empty states are styled** — never raw blank space with no guidance.
8. **Search, navigation, and context** work together without competing.

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## Non-negotiable quality bar

The following are absolute failures if present:

- Flat, washed-out backgrounds without depth or surface levels
- Equal-emphasis card grids for every section on every page
- Giant padding values that make the product feel empty
- Rainbow status colors without consistent semantic meaning
- Shadow-heavy cards mixed with border-heavy cards on the same screen
- No visible next step after the user reads a major card
- Infrastructure-first hierarchy (metadata before live operations)
- Top-level pages without a clear route back to the operating workflow

If any of the above are present, the skill was not applied correctly.

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## Expected output

When this skill is applied to a new product, the deliverable must include:

1. Explicit visual direction and density choice
2. Shell structure and route hierarchy
3. Page archetype selection per major screen
4. Reusable component set with token assignments
5. State handling: default / hover / active / empty / loading / error
6. Responsive behavior notes (collapse strategy)
7. Validation against this checklist before handoff
