Stop AI slop before it ships: a design-rule checklist
You can't always explain why an AI-generated page feels "off" — but you can name the patterns. These are the recurring tells we've collected from reviewing hundreds of AI-generated designs, plus the rule packs that automate the guardrails. Learn the list once and you'll spot slop instantly.
The slop telltale list
1 · Gradient everywhere
Purple/blue gradients on buttons, borders, text, charts, avatars — all at once. A good gradient is one deliberate accent; slop is a gradient party. Rule: no more than one gradient element per viewport, and never for text that must stay readable.
2 · The fake dashboard
A marketing page showing a dashboard mock whose numbers are nonsense ("+∞%", "$1.2B MRR", a chart of 3 bars labeled "growth"). Real product screenshots with believable numbers read as confidence; garbage numbers read as generated. Rule: mock dashboards must show plausible, internally consistent figures — or use abstract product art instead.
3 · Icon soup
Seven different icon families in one page — emoji, outlined, filled, brand icons, custom — because the AI improvised per section. Rule: one icon set (or none), one size weight. Our design system spec enforces exactly this.
4 · The hero of nothing
"Revolutionize your workflow" + a floating phone + a blurred gradient blob. The headline promises nothing concrete because there's no product behind it. Rule: if you can't state what the product does in the headline, the copy is slop regardless of layout.
5 · Stock-photo clichés
Handshakes, skyscrapers (shot from below), puzzle pieces, lightbulbs, group high-fives. Rule: if it came free with a stock library, it says less than nothing about your brand.
6 · The infinite feature grid
Twelve cards, each with an icon and two lines, none of which differentiate anything. Rule: fewer, specific features beat more, generic ones. If the third row adds nothing, cut it.
7 · Motion without reason
Entrance animations on everything — staggered, bouncy, 400ms — so the page is still animating 3 seconds after load. Rule: motion should explain or delight once; never be the page's personality.
Rule packs that automate the guardrails
- anti-slop — a rule pack agents load to keep output off the list above.
- hallmark and the other skills in our AI Design Skills category — taste as loadable skill files.
- Your own DESIGN.md with an explicit anti-patterns section — the strongest guardrail, because it's yours.