Files
diagram-design/skills/diagram-design/references/primitive-annotation.md
T
Cathryn Lavery 45421a256d Merge main into fix/plugin-path-structure
Brings in the jet-black + atomic-tangerine palette repaint
(ba3062c), the consultant-special 2×2 variant, the Jobs-minimal
axis simplification (e13c993), the type-quadrant.md rule
codification (4feb760), and the Codex plugin wrapper from
PR #3 (7326c4e).

Conflict resolutions:

- skills/diagram-design/SKILL.md (add/add): keep the full 400-line
  SKILL.md from this PR. PR #3's 13-line Codex wrapper becomes
  unnecessary — with the real SKILL.md at skills/diagram-design/,
  the Codex plugin's "skills": "./skills/" finds the full file
  directly, no redirect needed.

- README.md (content): keep the new skills/diagram-design/... link
  targets from this PR, combined with the "14 diagrams" count and
  #eb6c36 accent from the repaint work on main.

- example-quadrant-consultant.html: moved to the new
  skills/diagram-design/assets/ location with its Jobs-minimal
  axis labels intact.

Also fixed the clone-install instructions to match the new
layout: clone the repo, then symlink the inner skills/diagram-design/
directory into ~/.claude/skills/diagram-design. The old instructions
(clone the repo root directly into the skills dir) would break with
this structure.
2026-04-22 11:51:20 -05:00

1.7 KiB

Annotation Callout (italic-serif aside)

Use for editorial asides — the "italic pointer" that marks a detail without competing with the primary diagram grammar. Think marginalia: "structure IS the index", "no imports, no configuration".

Grammar

<!-- 1. Italic Instrument Serif text -->
<text x="904" y="36" fill="#2d3142" font-size="14" font-style="italic"
      font-family="'Instrument Serif', serif" text-anchor="end">no imports, no configuration</text>
<!-- 2. Dashed Bézier leader -->
<path d="M 820 44 Q 700 84 520 216" fill="none"
      stroke="rgba(45,49,66,0.40)" stroke-width="1" stroke-dasharray="4,3"/>
<!-- 3. Landing dot -->
<circle cx="520" cy="216" r="2" fill="#2d3142"/>

Rules

  • Italic + serif together signal "editorial voice" against the diagram's sans/mono body. Don't substitute italic sans or italic mono — the combination is load-bearing.
  • Dashed path (stroke-dasharray="4,3") distinguishes the callout leader from primary arrows (which are solid).
  • Place callouts in margins (top-right, bottom-left). Never inside the active diagram area.
  • Max 2 callouts per diagram. More becomes commentary, not signal.

Colors

Intent Text Leader
Neutral aside ink #2d3142 rgba(45,49,66,0.40)
Focal / accent coral #eb6c36 rgba(235,108,54,0.50)
Tertiary (muted) muted #4f5d75 rgba(45,49,66,0.30)

Anti-patterns

  • Solid arrow leader (reads as a flow arrow).
  • Italic sans or italic mono — the serif is load-bearing.
  • Callouts crossing primary arrows / lifelines — offset to a clear margin.
  • Using a callout to label something the diagram should label directly — put the label on the element.