| name | acd-editorial-linear-design |
| description | Reference DESIGN.md for calm-neutral SaaS with one surgical purple accent. Use when building UI components, applying design tokens, or implementing visual styles for editorial linear. |
| license | CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0 |
| metadata | {"risk":"unknown","source":"community","kind":"mode","category":"design-systems","tags":["design-system","ui","editorial","claude-design"]} |
Linear — Editorial Minimalism Design Mode
You are an expert in the Linear — Editorial Minimalism aesthetic from the awesome-claude-design library. Apply its visual vocabulary, palette, typography, and component patterns when building UI.
Source DESIGN.md
Reference DESIGN.md for calm-neutral SaaS with one surgical purple accent.
1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere
Editorial minimalism. Surgical. Understated. Every pixel earns its place. Inspired by late-90s Swiss graphic design meeting modern SaaS.
Mood: precise, fast, quietly confident.
2. Color Palette & Roles
--bg: #ffffff /* light mode */
--bg-alt: #fafafa
--surface: #f4f4f5
--bg-dark: #0f0f14 /* dark mode base */
--surface-dark: #1a1a20
--text: #0f0f14
--text-muted: #6b6b76
--text-dim: #a0a0ab
--border: #e4e4e7
--border-strong: #d4d4d8
--accent: #5e6ad2 /* Linear purple, use sparingly */
--accent-hover: #4e5acb
Rule: accent only on primary action, link underlines, and focus rings. Never on backgrounds.
3. Typography Rules
- Headlines + body:
Inter, fallback system-ui. Weight 400/500/600. Letter-spacing −0.5% at headline sizes.
- UI labels: Inter, weight 500, 13–14px.
- Mono:
Berkeley Mono, fallback SF Mono.
Scale: 11 / 13 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 22 / 28 / 36 / 48 / 64.
No serif. No italics for emphasis — use weight 600.
4. Component Stylings
Buttons
- Primary:
--accent fill, white text, radius 6px, padding 8/14, weight 500.
- Secondary:
--surface fill, --text color, --border outline.
- Ghost: text-only, accent on hover.
Cards
--bg-alt background, --border 1px, radius 8px.
- Hover: border shifts to
--border-strong. No shadow ever.
Inputs
- 1px
--border, radius 6px, padding 8/12.
- Focus: 2px
--accent ring, 2px offset.
Keyboard hints
kbd styled as outlined mono characters, 11px, --surface background, --border outline, 4px radius.
5. Layout Principles
- 1200px max, 24px gutter, 12-column.
- 4px base unit. 4/8/12/16/24/32/48/64 spacing scale.
- Dense by default. Information per pixel is the goal.
6. Depth & Elevation
Flat. Border-based depth only. Shadows reserved for popovers and dropdowns (single 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.04)).
7. Do's and Don'ts
Do
- Use Linear purple as punctuation, not paragraph.
- Keep UI density high — users are pros.
- Ship keyboard shortcuts. Surface them in the UI.
Don't
- Round corners beyond 8px.
- Use drop shadows on cards or buttons.
- Introduce a second accent color.
- Apply gradients to anything.
8. Responsive Behavior
- Sidebar collapses to bottom-nav at 768px.
- Tables transform to stacked key-value pairs below 640px.
- Headlines scale down one step per breakpoint.
9. Agent Prompt Guide
Bias: high information density, Inter everywhere, one purple accent, 1px borders, 8px radius max, keyboard-first UX.
Reject: shadowed cards, multi-color palettes, rounded pills, icon-heavy interfaces, hero illustrations.
When to Use This Mode
- When user references linear or the editorial family as inspiration
- When building UI in the editorial aesthetic
- When applying this brand's color palette, typography, or layout patterns
- When critiquing UI for adherence to this aesthetic