What’s inside

One SKILL.md (the playbook) + one starter template. A preview:

Dark Balance Chart

When to use

• A report, dashboard, or deck uses a dark theme and a balance or comparison chart must stay legible on it
• You need to show two sides of something — income vs. spending, pros vs. cons, plan A vs. plan B, before vs. after
• A chart that looked fine on white turns muddy, low-contrast, or unreadable on a dark slide
• Stakeholders need to read exact values, not just the overall shape, from a dark-background chart
• An infographic or social graphic needs a dark, premium feel without sacrificing accessibility

Workflow

1. Define the comparison (input: message and data → output: comparison brief)
   Write the one sentence the chart must prove before drawing anything: "Spending exceeded income in four of six months," "Plan B costs more upfront but less over three years." Then list the two sides being compared and the exact values behind them — a balance chart with vague values is decoration, and decoration on a dark background looks like a mistake. Decide the chart form from the comparison type: a two-pan balance or diverging bar for two-sided totals, paired bars for item-by-item comparison, a slope or dumbbell for before-and-after. If the comparison has more than two sides or more than about eight items per side, split it into two charts; a crowded dark chart becomes unreadable faster than a crowded light one.
2. Set the dark canvas (input: comparison brief → output: canvas spec)
   Pick the background deliberately: a near-black with a hint of warmth or coolness (not pure black, which makes thin lines vibrate, and not mid-gray, which kills contrast). Fix the text colors in two tiers — primary text near-white for values and labels, secondary text in a muted gray for axes, units, and footnotes — and verify the contrast of each tier against the background (secondary text must still clear accessibility contrast for its size). Set the grid: faint, thin, and sparse — gridlines are scaffolding, and on dark backgrounds heavy grids shout. Decide the export context now (slide, dashboard, print, social) because a chart built for a bright projector needs bolder strokes than one built for a phone screen in a dark room.

Template preview

Dark Balance Chart — Production Template

Fill this in before drawing. Weight and spacing carry the comparison; color only assists.

Comparison brief

One-sentence message: "{e.g. Spending exceeded income in four of six months.}" Side A: {name} — Side B: {name} Chart form: {two-pan balance / diverging bars / paired bars / slope-dumbbell}

Data (exact values — no vague values)

Source + date: {source, date} · Units: {unit, stated once near title} · Rounding: {precision the decision needs}

Canvas spec

• Background: {near-black with a hint of warm/cool — never pure black}

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