Aestheria vs DESIGN.md
DESIGN.md tells your AI the rules. Aestheria gives it the system.
DESIGN.md is a good start: a file your AI reads for design intent. Aestheria is the layer above it, the machine-readable tokens and components your agents render from. Point one at the other and they work together.
Where DESIGN.md stops
DESIGN.md captures principles and rules in prose. Your agent still has to invent the tokens, components, and themes that satisfy them. That gap is where drift creeps back in.
What Aestheria adds
A machine-readable design context layer: tokens with usage rules, a component library, patterns, templates, and three themes. Point your DESIGN.md at Aestheria and the rules finally have a system to resolve against.
Questions
Is Aestheria a DESIGN.md competitor?
No. DESIGN.md is the rules file. Aestheria is the system those rules resolve to. Use both.
Do I have to choose?
No. Keep your DESIGN.md and point it at Aestheria tokens and components.
What does Aestheria add over a rules file?
A machine-readable library to render from: tokens with usage descriptions, components, patterns, templates, and themes.
Made to be read, not made to be looked at.
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