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Reckoneer / Stage 6
Stage 6DesignOperator + Auto

Claude Design Handoff

Stage 6 is the design gate. The SHOPIFY-THEME-SPEC.md produced in Stage 5 is the input. Claude Design is the tool. The operator is the approver.

Claude Design uses the style guide plus the competitor screenshots as reference to produce visual mockups of the key page types: homepage, collection page, and product page. The operator reviews these in Claude Design's visual workspace, iterates through conversation and direct edits, and approves a final direction.

No Liquid code is written until Stage 6 is complete and approved. This prevents wasted build effort on a design direction the operator doesn't want. The approved design is exported as a handoff bundle, which Claude Chat translates back into updated spec documents.

Terms
Claude Design

Anthropic's visual design workspace (claude.ai/design) where design prototypes are created through conversation and direct visual iteration. Produces HTML/CSS mockups and exportable handoff bundles.

AnalogyA design studio with an AI collaborator. You describe what you want, it builds a version, you point at things and say 'move that', 'change this color', 'make it bigger' — and it updates in real time.
OriginDesign: from Latin 'designare' (to mark out, to plan). A planned visual arrangement with intent.
Design gate

A mandatory checkpoint in the pipeline where a human must review and approve before the next stage begins. Stage 6 is a design gate — no build begins without operator sign-off.

AnalogyA quality inspection checkpoint on a production line. The conveyor belt stops. A human checks the item. Only if they approve does it move forward. Nothing gets through unchecked.
OriginGate: from Old English 'geat' (opening, passage). In project management: a checkpoint that controls passage from one phase to the next.
Handoff bundle

The export from Claude Design containing all approved design decisions: color values, font specs, spacing, component mockups, and any notes. Passed to Claude Chat to be translated into build specifications.

AnalogyThe architect's stamped drawings handed to the construction foreman. The design phase is complete; this package is everything the builder needs to execute without making design decisions.
OriginHandoff: the act of transferring responsibility from one party to another. Bundle: a collected package of related items.