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Built on Google Labs DESIGN.md (alpha · Apache 2.0)

The FrankX
Design System

Tokens, taste, and source — open and version-controlled. Two markdown files at the repo root govern every visual decision: design.md for what is, taste.md for what good looks like.

4
foundation steps
3
color spectrums
4
type families
8
spacing tokens

01 · Foundation

The four-step ladder

Each step is roughly +3% luminance. The whole system is built on this near-black base. Always go deeper than instinct suggests.

void
#0a0a0bPage background
space
#111113Primary elevated surface
elevated
#1a1a1fHover, secondary cards
subtle
#252530Borders, dividers
Borders use white at 0.08–0.15 alpha — never a literal grey. Surface feels lit from within.

02 · Ink

Text never lives at 100%

Pure white on void reads harsh. Body drops to 65%; the page breathes.

Aa
ink
100% · Headings
Aa
ink-muted
65% · Body copy
Aa
ink-subtle
45% · Captions
Aa
ink-faint
30% · Disabled

03 · Spectrums

Tech, Soul, Bridge

A page picks one and stays loyal. Tech for AI/architecture/code. Soul for music/writing/transformation. Bridge for the worlds where they meet — used sparingly so it carries weight.

Tech

— emerald + cyan
primary
#10b981CTA · primary
secondary
#06b6d4Highlight
light
#34d399Hover
dark
#059669Pressed

Soul

— amber + gold
primary
#f59e0bCTA · primary
secondary
#fbbf24Highlight
light
#fcd34dHover
dark
#d97706Pressed

Bridge

— purple/blue/magenta
purple
#AB47C7Brand purple
blue
#43BFE3Clarity
magenta
#E040FBEnergy
violet
#7C3AEDArcanea glow

04 · Typography

Four faces, four jobs

Inter for body. Poppins for display ≥18px. Playfair Display italic for quotes only. JetBrains Mono for code. Perfect Fourth scale (1.333).

display-2xl
5.653rem · 700
Generative Creators
display-lg
3.183rem · 700
Build with intention.
h1
2.369rem · 700
AI Architecture for the rest of us
h2
1.777rem · 600
The Library is the foundation
h3
1.333rem · 600
Three commands, one schema
body-lg
1.125rem · 400
Long-form reading deserves typography that earns the scroll.
body-md
1rem · 400
The workhorse of the system. Inter, 16px, 1.6 line-height, ink-muted at 65% alpha.
body-sm
0.875rem · 400
Captions, helper text, secondary annotations.
quote
1.5rem · 400
"Tokens make a system consistent. Taste makes it excellent."
code
0.875rem · 400
/library-deepen atomic-habits

05 · Spacing

The scale is the scale

Eight tokens. No 12px, no 20px, no 40px. If a value isn't on the scale, the answer is the closer one.

xs
4px
sm
8px
md
16px
lg
24px
xl
32px
2xl
48px
3xl
64px
4xl
96px

06 · Rounded

Curves with intent

Primary CTAs are always rounded-full. That shape is the brand fingerprint. Cards default to rounded-xl.

sm
6px
md
12px
lg
16px
xl
24px
2xl
32px
full

07 · Components

The recognizable shapes

The patterns this brand has earned. Implementation lives in components/; this is the agent-readable contract.

Button hierarchy — one primary per viewport

Section opener — eyebrow + headline + deck

Eyebrow Label

The headline that earns the section

A deck of one to two sentences. Sets context, names the topic, breathes. This trio is the most-replicated section opener on FrankX — recognize it, reuse it, don't reinvent it.

Cards

Default card
space · rounded-xl · border-white/8
Elevated card
elevated · for hover, secondary surfaces

Chips

neutraltechsoulbridge

08 · Compass

Do's and Don'ts

Do

  • Pick one spectrum (tech or soul) per page and stay loyal
  • Use the eyebrow + headline + deck pattern for every section opener
  • Drop body copy to ink-muted (65%) — pure white reads harsh
  • Use rounded-full for primary CTAs — the brand-recognizable shape
  • Respect the spacing scale; if you need 20px, you need 16px or 24px
  • Show technical proof with JetBrains Mono — code, commands, file paths
×

Don't

  • Use Poppins below 18px — it collapses; switch to Inter
  • Mix tech (emerald) and soul (amber) accents in the same hero
  • Reach for pure black (#000) — void (#0a0a0b) is always the answer
  • Stack two equal-weight CTAs — design indecision in pixel form
  • Use Playfair for headings — italic quotes only
  • Auto-play video, parallax bands, full-page color washes, glassmorphism with nothing underneath

From taste.md

“Tokens make a system consistent. Taste makes it excellent. Without taste, a token system produces software that's correct and forgettable.”
Read the full taste contract

09 · Source

Open. Version-controlled. Yours to fork.

Both files at the repo root, MIT-spirit (Apache 2.0 spec), recursively rebuildable. Use them, fork them, improve them. The system gets better when more people read it.

Foundation ·Typography ·Spacing ·Shapes·All grounded in tailwind.config.js