# Taste-Skill Redesign Protocol for Existing Projects: Preserve vs. Overhaul Guide

> Uncover the taste-skill redesign protocol for existing projects. Decide whether to Preserve or Overhaul your UI with our Scan Diagnose Fix workflow. Learn more at Leonxlnx/taste-skill.

- Repository: [Leon Lin/taste-skill](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-05-31

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**The taste-skill redesign protocol for existing projects provides a binary decision framework—Preserve (evolve UI while retaining brand identity) or Overhaul (apply a completely new visual language while keeping content and information architecture intact)—both operating within a unified Scan → Diagnose → Fix workflow.**

When refactoring an existing website or application, the taste-skill system employs a structured protocol that determines whether to evolve the current design system or start fresh. According to the Leonxlnx/taste-skill repository, this approach operates within a three-stage pipeline defined in [`skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md), branching into two fundamentally different design philosophies based on the client's brand continuity requirements.

## The Core Scan-Diagnose-Fix Workflow

Both the Preserve and Overhaul paths share a unified three-step methodology:

1. **Scan**: Systematically audit the existing interface against a comprehensive checklist
2. **Diagnose**: Evaluate typography, colors, layout, interactivity, content, and component patterns
3. **Fix**: Apply targeted changes based on the selected strategic direction

This workflow ensures systematic evaluation before any visual modifications are applied.

## Option 1: Redesign – Preserve (Brand Continuity)

Choosing the **Preserve** direction treats the project as a refactor rather than a rewrite. According to [`skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md) (line 799), this path focuses on **brand continuity** by extracting and maintaining "brand tokens" throughout the redesign process.

**Core actions in Preserve mode:**

- Audit the current visual system to extract brand tokens (colours, typography, voice)
- Evolve the design gradually, upgrading components without breaking brand identity
- Maintain signature interactions, the recognizable hero section, and existing copy voice
- Treat the codebase as a living system that requires careful evolution rather than replacement

This approach is ideal when the client requires modernisation without sacrificing brand recognition.

## Option 2: Redesign – Overhaul (Visual Rebirth)

The **Overhaul** option provides a green-field approach to the visual layer while protecting the underlying content structure. As implemented in [`skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md) (line 789), this path ignores existing style cues to introduce a brand-new visual system.

**Core actions in Overhaul mode:**

- Build a new visual language from the ground up, including new colour palettes and typography
- Keep existing content and information architecture (IA) completely unchanged
- Apply the new visual language across the entire site as a clean-sheet design
- Focus solely on visual transformation without altering content hierarchy

This option suits projects requiring a fresh aesthetic while maintaining established information hierarchies.

## Clarifying Intent: The Disambiguation Prompt

When the redesign direction is ambiguous, the skill asks for clarification exactly once. The prompt defined at line 792 in [`skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md) is:

> "Should this redesign preserve the existing brand, or are we starting visually from scratch?"

This binary choice forces an explicit decision between brand continuity and visual rebirth before any modifications begin.

## Implementing the Protocol: Configuration Examples

To trigger the appropriate path programmatically, pass a JSON configuration specifying the direction:

```json
{
  "task": "redesign",
  "project_type": "existing",
  "direction": "preserve",
  "ask_if_ambiguous": true
}

```

For a complete visual overhaul, change the direction parameter:

```json
{
  "task": "redesign",
  "project_type": "existing",
  "direction": "overhaul",
  "ask_if_ambiguous": true
}

```

When `direction` is set to `"preserve"`, the skill executes:

```text
🔍 Scan → 📋 Diagnose → 🛠️ Fix (preserve brand tokens, keep hero, keep copy voice)

```

When `direction` is set to `"overhaul"`, the workflow becomes:

```text
🔍 Scan → 📋 Diagnose → 🛠️ Fix (apply new visual language, keep content & IA)

```

## Key Source Files

The protocol is implemented across specific files in the repository:

- **[`skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md)**: Defines the generic Scan-Diagnose-Fix flow and the audit checklist covering typography, colors, layout, interactivity, content, and component patterns
- **[`skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md)**: Contains the concrete Preserve vs. Overhaul definitions (line 789), the disambiguation prompt (line 792), and the specific patterns to preserve when maintaining brand continuity (line 799)

## Summary

- The taste-skill redesign protocol for existing projects operates on a **Scan → Diagnose → Fix** workflow defined in [`skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md)
- **Preserve mode** extracts brand tokens and evolves the UI gradually while maintaining signature interactions, hero sections, and copy voice
- **Overhaul mode** creates a new visual language from scratch while preserving content and information architecture
- The system prompts for clarification once when direction is ambiguous: "Should this redesign preserve the existing brand, or are we starting visually from scratch?"
- Both paths utilize the same audit checklist but differ fundamentally in whether they treat the codebase as a refactor or a green-field visual layer

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What triggers the taste-skill to choose between Preserve and Overhaul?

If the JSON configuration lacks a clear `direction` parameter or if `ask_if_ambiguous` is set to true, the skill poses a single clarifying question: "Should this redesign preserve the existing brand, or are we starting visually from scratch?" This ensures the redesign philosophy is explicitly defined before the Scan-Diagnose-Fix workflow begins.

### Does the Overhaul option change the website's content structure?

No. According to the protocol defined in [`skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/taste-skill/SKILL.md), the Overhaul path keeps the existing content and information architecture (IA) completely unchanged. It applies a new visual language—colors, typography, and component styles—while maintaining the original content hierarchy and structure.

### What specific elements does Preserve mode protect?

Preserve mode specifically protects brand tokens (colors, typography, voice), signature interactions, the recognizable hero section, and the existing copy voice. The skill treats these as immutable brand DNA while evolving other UI components, effectively treating the project as a systematic refactor rather than a rewrite.

### Where is the audit checklist defined in the source code?

The audit checklist covering typography, colors, layout, interactivity, content, and component patterns is defined in [`skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill/blob/main/skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md). Both Preserve and Overhaul paths utilize this same systematic evaluation framework before applying their respective changes.