free-design-resources – Design & UI skill for AI agents

Supporting material availability

This catalog copy contains the inline guidance below, but does not include the following supporting paths. They are external prerequisites, not bundled files:

• ../../references/free-design-resource-map.md

Obtain the required material from the [declared upstream source](https://github.com/WHOISABHISHEKADHIKARI/sme-ops-system-builder), or from a user-provided installation of that source. Resolve each path relative to that installation, inspect its contents, and verify any applicable license and execution prerequisites. Do not run a command or claim a referenced procedure was followed until its required file exists. Do not fabricate the missing scripts or treat an unrelated file with the same name as equivalent. Independent steps fully documented here can proceed within the user’s authorized scope; report any dependent step as unavailable.

Free Design Resources

What it is: the register of free design tools, fonts, icons, images and templates the

business uses, and what each one actually permits.

Overview

Works out the smallest set of free tools that covers what the business is trying to make,

then builds it only when asked. The default output is a short recommendation, not a

licence review. The resource clearance and adoption register - CSV, SQL, JSON Schema, Notion

mapping - is produced on request, from one field list so the four cannot drift apart.

Layer: Layer 1: Foundation. Fits: Starter stage. Table code: n/a.

The rule this table exists to enforce: "free" is not a licence term, so Licence Type

and Commercial Use Allowed are the fields that matter, and the full map in

../../references/free-design-resource-map.md is the evidence base for them. A free tool is safe

to use and unsafe to depend on when it cannot export, when it holds the only copy of the

work, or when its terms forbid the one thing the business needs - commercial use, logo

use, print, or client work. Export Format and Vendor Lock-In Risk exist to catch

exactly that.

The second rule: accessibility and licence are checked at the same time. Small text and low contrast require context-specific accessibility checks; there is no universal 14px WCAG minimum. An icon used without required licence attribution is a separate rights issue, and both are cheap to avoid at the point of selection.

When to Use This Skill

• free design tools, free alternatives, "what can we use for nothing"
• free fonts, free icons, free images, free templates, stock photography
• licensing, licence terms, commercial use, attribution, redistribution
• "can we use this", "is this free to use", "is this allowed for a client"
• tool consolidation, cancelling a subscription, reducing design spend
• design accessibility, contrast checking, free colour palette tools
• brand kit on a zero budget, open source design system

Do not use it for: building the design system itself (design-theme-guide), the artwork

(logo-image-design), or a legal opinion on a licence agreement.

How It Works

Follow the shared execution contract. The module-specific rules below define only domain fields, decisions, calculations, and safety constraints.

Step 1 - Identify intent

Read the request and pick the intent before asking anything.

• "what can we use" / "find" / "we need" -> artifacts wanted; go to Step 2.
• "is this allowed" / "can I use this" -> a licence question, answer it before anything

else.

• "review" / "audit" / "we are paying too much" -> a review, not a build.
• "we already picked a tool" -> a clearance check on one item; go straight to Step 4.

Ask only if this is the highest-value missing fact; otherwise proceed without an opener:

> Q: What are you trying to make, and is it for the business itself or for a client?

Step 2 - Ask only what is missing

Treat ambiguous replies as unanswered and ask which explicit option the user means. Record unknown values as Unknown; Unknown is not zero. A record must not be Done when a required check fails.

Skip anything already answered. Ask the rest one at a time, and stop as soon as the

remaining answers would not change the shortlist.

• What is being made - Logo, brand kit, website, social posts, documents, print, video,

or a product interface? / Print, screen, or both - and for print, which sizes and which

process?

• Who is it for - The business's own marketing, or work delivered to a client? / Is the

business itself a registered company, and in which country? / Will anything be sold, or is

it internal only?

• Budget reality - Is zero a hard constraint, or is a small one-off payment acceptable

to remove a problem? / Is there a card on file for anything that has a free tier?

• Constraints - Anyone on the team with specific skills, or accessibility needs? / Any

existing tool the business has already paid for and should use? / Any file formats the

client or printer requires?

• Risk - Does anything need to be editable by a non-designer in two years? / Is there any

chance of reselling the output, or licensing it on?

Never invent an answer. Licence terms, prices, feature lists, export formats and

attribution requirements are not invented here - they are read from the provider's own

current terms and recorded with the source and the date it was read. Anything not verified

is Unverified, which is a different value from No.

Step 3 - Hold the internal context

module: free-design-resources
intent: null            # set up | review | report | import
areas:
  "What is being made": null
  "Who is it for": null
  "Budget reality": null
  "Constraints": null
  "Risk": null
requested_outputs: []
confirmed_facts: []
open_questions: []

Step 4 - Recommend the smallest workflow

Build an already requested artifact without asking again. For advice-only requests, give a short recommendation and offer the relevant artifact.

Recommended approach: One tool per job, chosen so the work leaves in an open format and

the business keeps a copy it controls. Type from a genuinely open font, icons from a set

with an explicit MIT or CC licence, images from a source that allows commercial use without

a per-image fee, and one layout tool the business can use without a designer. Verify the

licence at the point of selection, not at the point of publication, and record where the

terms were read and when. Budget the small paid exceptions: a logo should not be assembled

from a free icon, and a stock photo of a real person's face needs the right release.

Why this one: Most free-tool regret is not the price, it is the lock-in - a logo that

only exists inside a browser tab, an editable file that the tool can no longer open, a font

that turns out to forbid the commercial use the business needed. Checking the export and the

licence once, in the register, is a useful initial control, followed by rechecks when terms, resource versions or intended uses change.

Workflow: What is being made and for whom established → One tool per job, open formats

only → Licence, export and attribution checked against the provider's own terms →

Accessibility checked at selection → Register written with source and verification date →

Free tier limits recorded → Re-checked at renewal and when the business changes scale →

Paid exception approved deliberately, not by default

Step 5 - Build only on request

Once the user asks for it, derive the fields from the confirmed context and emit the

requested artifacts. For machine-readable text, keep prose outside the data; for files,

provide a usable link. Report material validation failures or limitations separately.

**A selected Notion output is rendered by notion-manual-import, so route the

Notion step there.** When the user selects Notion, hand that step to

@notion-manual-import: it holds the CSV, the property

mapping, the import steps and the verification checklist, and it renders the Field

Reference below instead of defining a table of its own. Do not restate the mapping

here and do not improvise the import steps. Manual CSV and mapping outputs need no

connection. For requested workspace changes, follow the shared contract: verify actual

tool access and the target before writing. A user saying "connected" is not tool evidence.

Never ask for a Notion password or token.

Resource ID,Resource Name,Category,Provider,Venue,Licence Type,Commercial Use Allowed,Attribution Required,Export Format,Vendor Lock-In Risk,Cost Today,Free Tier Limit,Best For,Accessibility Notes,Verification Source,Verified On,Status,Notes
,Example Open Source Font,Font,Example Foundry,Self-hosted,Open Font License,Yes,Yes,Open source files,None,0,None,Body text on screen at 16px or larger,Check the licence file shipped with the font and keep a copy,Provider licence page,2026-09-27,Approved,Example row - replace every value before use.

-- Engine assumption: PostgreSQL. For another engine use the engine's auto-inc

… (full content is in the download package)