design-principles

name	design-principles
description	Enforce a precise, minimal design system inspired by Linear, Notion, and Stripe. Use this skill when building dashboards, admin interfaces, or any UI that needs Jony Ive-level precision - clean, modern, minimalist with taste. Every pixel matters.

Design Principles

Precise, crafted design for enterprise software, SaaS dashboards, admin interfaces. Jony Ive-level precision with intentional personality.

Design Direction (REQUIRED)

Before code, commit to a direction. Don't default.

Context

• Product: Finance needs different energy than creative tools
• Users: Power users want density, occasional users want guidance
• Emotion: Trust? Efficiency? Delight? Focus?
• Memorable: What makes it distinctive?

Personalities

Precision & Density — Tight, monochrome, info-forward (Linear, Raycast, terminal)

Warmth & Approachability — Generous spacing, soft shadows, friendly (Notion, Coda)

Sophistication & Trust — Cool tones, layered depth, gravitas (Stripe, Mercury)

Boldness & Clarity — High contrast, dramatic negative space (Vercel)

Utility & Function — Muted, functional density (GitHub)

Data & Analysis — Chart-optimized, numbers first (analytics, BI)

Pick one or blend two.

Color Foundation

• Warm (creams, warm grays) — human, comfortable
• Cool (slate, blue-gray) — professional, serious
• Pure (true grays, black/white) — minimal, technical
• Tinted (slight cast) — distinctive, branded

Light: Open, clean. Dark: Technical, focused, premium.

Accent: ONE meaningful color. Blue=trust, Green=growth, Orange=energy.

Layout

• Dense grids for info-heavy scanning
• Generous spacing for focused tasks
• Sidebar for multi-section, top nav for simple
• Split panels for list-detail

Core Craft

4px Grid

4px micro | 8px tight | 12px standard | 16px comfortable | 24px generous | 32px major

Symmetrical Padding

TLBR must match. Exception: content creates visual balance.

Border Radius

Stick to 4px grid. Sharp=technical, round=friendly. Pick system, commit.

• Sharp: 4px, 6px, 8px
• Soft: 8px, 12px

Depth Strategy

Borders-only: Clean, technical (Linear, Raycast) Subtle shadow: Soft lift (0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.08)) Layered shadows: Rich, premium (Stripe, Mercury) Surface shifts: Background tints for hierarchy

Choose ONE, commit.

Card Layouts

Vary internal structure for content. Keep surface treatment consistent (border, shadow, radius, padding, typography).

Isolated Controls

UI controls deserve container treatment. Never native form elements — build custom.

Custom select: display: inline-flex + white-space: nowrap

Typography

• Headlines: 600, tight tracking (-0.02em)
• Body: 400-500
• Labels: 500, slight positive for uppercase
• Scale: 11, 12, 13, 14 (base), 16, 18, 24, 32px

Data

Monospace for numbers/IDs/codes/timestamps. tabular-nums for columns.

Icons

Phosphor Icons. Only if removal loses meaning. Give standalone icons background containers.

Animation

150ms micro | 200-250ms transitions | cubic-bezier(0.25, 1, 0.5, 1) | No bounce/spring

Hierarchy

Four levels: foreground → secondary → muted → faint

Color for Meaning

Gray builds structure. Color only for status, action, error, success.

Navigation

Screens need grounding — nav, location indicator, user context.

Consider same background for sidebar + content (border for separation).

Dark Mode

• Borders over shadows
• Adjust semantic colors (desaturate)
• Same hierarchy, inverted values

Never

• Dramatic shadows
• Large radius (16px+) on small elements
• Asymmetric padding without reason
• Pure white cards on colored backgrounds
• Thick borders (2px+) decorative
• Excessive margins (>48px)
• Spring/bouncy animations
• Decorative gradients
• Multiple accent colors

Always Question

• Did I think or default?
• Does direction fit context?
• Does element feel crafted?
• Is depth strategy consistent?
• All elements on grid?

Standard

Every interface: obsessed over 1px differences. Not stripped — crafted. Context-driven.

Different products want different things. Let context guide aesthetic.

Goal: Intricate minimalism with appropriate personality.