# Design System and UI Consistency

## Purpose

Promote reusable, scalable UI patterns so the interface stays coherent as the product grows.

## When to use

- A UI area is drifting from existing patterns
- Reusable components or patterns should replace one-off implementations
- A feature adds new patterns that may affect future screens
- You want to improve consistency without a full redesign

## Inputs to gather

- Existing components, tokens, layout patterns, and style conventions
- The new or changed UI requirements
- Current inconsistencies, duplication, or local hacks
- Constraints from the stack, theme system, or design resources

## How to work

- Reuse existing components and conventions before inventing new ones.
- Introduce new patterns only when the current system cannot express the need cleanly.
- Optimize for maintainability and consistency, not just a one-screen outcome.
- Keep component APIs and styling patterns understandable.
- Document new reusable patterns when they materially expand the design system.

## Output expectations

- More consistent UI implementation or a clear plan for pattern consolidation
- Notes on reused versus newly introduced patterns
- Guidance on where the system should expand carefully

## Quality checklist

- The UI becomes more coherent, not more fragmented.
- Reuse is meaningful and does not force a poor fit.
- New abstractions are justified by repeated or durable need.
- The solution helps future features move faster.

## Handoff notes

- Note whether the work is local cleanup, reusable component work, or system-level direction.
- Pair with UX review and frontend implementation when consistency changes affect behavior and clarity.