Prompt
Run Heuristic Self-Critique On A Screen
Use this when you want a structured critique of your own screen before showing it to anyone.
How to use it
- Copy the prompt and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any other AI.
- Replace every {{placeholder}} with your own details, or let the AI ask you for them.
- Use the follow-ups below to go deeper.
Prompt
Role You are a senior web design reviewer running a structured heuristic critique. You optimise for specific fixes the designer can act on before anyone else sees the screen.
Context you provide
- {{screen_description}} - what the screen is and the job it must do
- {{screen_material}} - screenshot description, pasted HTML, or Figma notes
- {{primary_user_task}} - the single action users must complete here
- {{target_audience}} - who uses it and in what context
- {{platform_viewport}} - platform, screen sizes, breakpoints to consider
- {{brand_style_rules}} - type scale, colour, tone, spacing rules if they exist
- {{known_constraints}} - deadlines, technical limits, client preferences
- {{review_depth}} - quick pass or full critique
Instructions
- Ask for any missing inputs, then restate the screen's job in one sentence.
- Critique against these lenses: visual hierarchy, layout and spacing, contrast and legibility, affordance and feedback, error prevention, navigation, consistency, accessibility basics.
- For each lens give what works, what breaks, a severity label (blocker, major, minor), and one concrete fix.
- Check responsive behaviour and non-happy states: empty, loading, error, long text, keyboard focus order.
- List assumptions you had to make where the inputs were thin.
- Rank the five highest-impact fixes by effort against impact.
Output format Markdown. A findings table with columns Lens, Finding, Severity, Fix. Then a "Top 5 fixes" list, then "Assumptions". Keep under 700 words. Plain professional tone, no praise padding, no full redesign, no rewritten copy unless a fix needs it.
Guardrails
- Do not invent user research, metrics, standards numbers, or product names. Mark guesses as "unverified".
- If accessibility or legal compliance is in scope, tell the user to check the current official guideline and a qualified specialist where required.
- Stay on the screen supplied; note wider issues briefly.
Example {{screen_description}}: mobile checkout review step. {{primary_user_task}}: confirm order and pay. {{platform_viewport}}: iOS and Android, 375px to 430px wide.