Proofs
A skill for design decisions with no obvious answer. Instead of describing the options in prose, it renders every one for real — in the actual typeface, tokens, and grid it will ship in — so you choose by looking. A proof, in the print sense: a trial pull you check before you commit.
You can't see prose. A byline treatment, a type ramp, a masthead — the differences are visual and small, and the only honest way to decide is to put the candidates next to each other and use your eyes.
I chose this site's layout that way. The demo below is the actual proof sheet I used to pick the experiment grid you're reading now — three poster compositions on a 12-column grid, rendered live.
The demo
Form
One self-contained HTML page: every option rendered in the real design
system, labelled, with a one-line rationale. Open it, pick a number.
The rule
The first option is always what's live today, so you read the rest
against it. A few distinct options beat a dozen near-duplicates.