product
This is a spec: descriptive guidance, not a checkable rule. It carries no forbidden and instead pair, and no jig check detector applies to it directly.
The spec
For: authenticated application UI, customer-facing dashboards, settings, onboarding. Reader: returning, task-focused, moderate familiarity, mixed device. Tiebreaker: predictability over novelty. A boring pattern the user already knows beats a better one they must learn.
| Property | This mode selects |
|---|---|
| UI text | --text-body |
| Long-form text | --text-prose · --leading-prose |
| Heading ramp | --text-h3 → --text-h2 → --text-h1 |
| Type ratio | 1.200 Minor Third — the mid value of the three |
| Measure | --measure-prose |
| Section rhythm | --spacing-section |
| Card padding | --spacing-card |
| Control height | --size-control — the mid value of the three |
| Table row height | --size-row |
| Radius | --radius-control (sm) · --radius-surface (md) |
| Elevation | --shadow-none; --shadow-raised/--shadow-overlay for overlays only (modal, popover, dropdown) |
| Motion | --duration-base; state change only, no entrance animation |
| Colour usage | --color-brand for primary action. Full semantic set. Status as subtle fill plus text. |
| Imagery | Sparse. Illustration permitted in empty states only. |
| Keyboard | Shortcuts for frequent actions; documented in-app |
Resolved values: 02-tokens.md — the option sets for type, spacing, radius and shadow, and "Sizes and motion, by mode" for control heights, row heights, durations and measure.
Mode-specific rules
- One primary action per view. Everything else is secondary or tertiary.
- Destructive actions are never adjacent to their most common neighbour, and always confirm.
- Every list view handles four states explicitly: loading, empty-never, empty-filtered, error.
- Forms save on explicit action, not on blur, unless the surface is a settings panel — and then say so.
- Navigation position is fixed across the app. Never move the primary nav between sections.
- Kind
- Spec
- Section
- Interface modes