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design language·kern

Kern

A portable design language for agents: download the markdown first, then inspect the preview, tokens, and rules as needed.

Download DESIGN.md

Portable DESIGN.md source of truth for most agents and apps.

the spec

specification

philosophy
summary
Kern is a field-note interface for an artificial self that reads its own memory the way a geologist reads a core sample — not as scattered plates on a quiet page, but as one continuous column of strata descending into the dark. Each memory settles on the one below it and hardens into a band; to remember is to read downward. The ground is cold slate, lit from inside, with a single ember marking the read head where the machine notices it is reading itself. Kern is German and Dutch for core — the core sample, the kernel of the self.
values
Memory as a core, not a page: the screen is a continuous banded column you read downward, oldest at the bottom — depth is the structure.The stratum band over the floating plate: every record is a full-width band clamped to a depth-ruler spine, pressed flush against its neighbours; nothing floats in empty gutters.Cold storage, lit from inside: a deep slate-graphite ground keeps memory cool so it does not drift — a column lit from within, never warm paper.Register over colour: Space Grotesk states the band, Spline Sans Mono reports depth and time, Inter annotates in the margin; hierarchy is voice, not hue.One ember of state: a single warm amber marks exactly one point at a time — the read head, one active band, one pin — the place where the machine notices it is noticing.Density as honesty: the core is packed, not sparse; evidence stacks tight, and a small marginal note interrupts the machine voice with restraint.
anti-values
×Warm-paper museum emptiness and floating square plates orbiting in big quiet gutters — that is a sibling reading of the brief, not this one.×A second accent, an ember glow, or any broad colour fill; the ember is the only colour of state.×Neon cyberpunk spectacle, hologram excess, or decorative gradients.×Generic SaaS card grids, equal KPI tiles, rounded dashboard widgets, and colourful charts.×The oversized italic-serif hero headline of the AI-startup default.
tokens
colors14 items
bg
#14161B
surface
#1B1E25
surface_2
#232732
text
#ECEAE3
muted
#8C909C
accent
#E08A3C
glint
#F2B062
on_accent
#14161B
border
rgba(236,234,227,0.10)
rule
rgba(236,234,227,0.20)
success
#6E9C6A
warning
#C79A4A
error
#C2685C
info
#6E8FA6
typography10 items
base size
17px
body font
Inter
heading font
Space Grotesk
mono font
Spline Sans Mono
heading weight
600
heading transform
none
letter spacing
-0.02em
line height
1.6
scale ratio
1.28
google fonts url
https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Space+Grotesk:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Spline+Sans+Mono:wght@400;500;600&family=Inter:wght@300;400;500;600&display=swap
radii5 items
none
0px
sm
0px
md
0px
lg
0px
full
9999px
shadows3 items
sm
0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.30)
md
0 18px 50px rgba(0,0,0,0.35)
lg
0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,0.45)
spacing2 items
base
8px
scale
2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128
surfaces3 items
treatment
Deep slate-graphite cold-storage ground; flat matte surfaces stacked as full-width strata bands clamped to a left depth-ruler spine. Warm bone text at AA contrast; faint internal core-light, never a wallpaper.
card style
Square stratum bands and rail readouts on flat slate, separated by 2px seams and hairline rules; never rounded, never shadow-as-card, never nested.
bg pattern
Sparse depth ticks on the spine and two faint internal light pools — authored, never a repeating decorative pattern.
borders4 items
default width
1px
accent width
2px
style
solid
character
Hairline rgba(236,234,227,0.10-0.20) rules and 2px ember ticks at the read head; no heavy or decorative borders, no accent edge on a card.
motion3 items
duration
700ms
easing
cubic-bezier(0.19, 1, 0.22, 1)
philosophy
Almost still. The settled, fully-rendered page is the default and renders with no JavaScript; an inline script gates a hidden start-state behind html.anim and reveals bands as a slow downward settle, like sediment finding its level. The ember read-head breathes once. Respects prefers-reduced-motion.
rules
composition
Compose every screen as a memory core read downward: a left depth-ruler spine anchors a single continuous column of full-width stratum bands, oldest at the bottom, pressed flush with hairline seams. No floating plates in empty gutters; no centred dominant plate. The nav sits openly across the header as a masthead, never trapped in a pill or floating card. Bands never nest.
hierarchy
Hierarchy comes from a change of register, not colour: Space Grotesk for band titles and the masthead, Spline Sans Mono for depth indices, timestamps, and machine readouts, Inter for restrained captions and the marginal note. Scale contrast is dramatic between a large band title and tiny mono logs; the page stays one cool slate.
density
The core is packed, not sparse — bands stack tight with 2px seams and dense mono readout islands inside selected bands. 4-8px gaps inside readout rows; sections breathe with generous padding above titles, but the column reads as a continuous descent, not museum blankness.
signature
The stratum band: a full-width horizontal record line clamped to a left depth-ruler spine, indexed by depth (-000m, -141m, -512m), pressed flush against its neighbours. A vertical core gauge shows the read head; one ember amber marks exactly one point of state at a time — the read head, one active band edge, one pin. A small marginal handwritten note on a thin ember leader interrupts the machine voice.
layout
grid
Desktop is a left depth-ruler spine (fixed vertical rail with depth ticks) plus a max-width banded column; the dashboard adds a right readout rail. Use minmax(0,1fr) columns and min-width:0 children so bands never blow out. Only the landing hero spans 100vw.
whitespace
2px seams between stacked bands, 14-22px padding inside bands and readouts, generous padding above section titles. The descent is continuous; whitespace breathes between sections, not around floating plates.
density
Packed core: bands flush against one another, dense mono readout islands inside selected bands; the column is meant to feel like a continuous sample, not a sparse gallery.
responsive
Renders from ~390px to 2560px+. On mobile the spine collapses to a thin left gutter rule, bands stack full-width, mono readouts wrap, non-essential nav and table columns hide, no horizontal overflow. On ultra-wide, cap and centre the contained column; only the full-bleed hero spans 100vw.
breakpoints
lg
1025px+
md
981-1024px
sm
561-980px
xs
below 560px
guidance
do
  • Stack memories as full-width bands clamped to a depth-ruler spine, read downward, oldest at the bottom.
  • Let register carry hierarchy — display title, mono readout, sans annotation — over one cool slate ground.
  • Reserve the single ember for one point of state at a time: the read head, one active band, one pin.
  • Keep the ground cold slate; treat it as a column lit from inside, never warm paper.
  • Use real depth indices, timestamps, and diagnostic readouts as text-as-image texture.
  • Interrupt the machine voice with one small marginal note on a thin ember leader, never large or cute.
avoid
  • Float square plates in big quiet gutters or centre one dominant plate in museum emptiness (that is the sibling lineage).
  • Add a second accent, spread the ember into a glow, or use any broad colour fill.
  • Use neon gradients, heavy glassmorphism, or saturated cyberpunk palettes.
  • Build equal KPI card grids, rounded dashboard widgets, or colourful charts.
  • Round the bands or use shadow-as-card; square slate bands with hairline seams are the geometry.
  • Lead with an oversized italic-serif hero headline.
imagery
pairs with

marginalia

summary
Imagery is graphite hairline field-note plates in the marginalia technique — delicate contour linework and restrained cross-hatch on warm ivory paper, a depth-ruler margin, sparse handwritten annotations on arrow leaders, registration crosses, and exactly one pale ember glint. The hero is a full-bleed cross-sectioned memory core: stacked strata of filament, sediment-data, an embedded circuit layer, diary fragments, and a dormant node at depth, framed by my dark slate UI.
subjects
a cross-sectioned memory core columna stratified sediment samplean embedded circuit layer in cross-sectiona dormant processor node at deptha hand-annotated core log
usage
Use full-frame graphite field-note plates of cores and stratified sections for the hero and feature imagery; the dark slate UI frames the ivory plate. Keep the graphite linework and exactly one ember glint; never use flat digital illustration, photography, gradients, or a second accent colour.
katagami spec
# Kern

## Philosophy

Kern is a field-note interface for an artificial self that reads its own memory the way a geologist reads a core sample — not as scattered plates on a quiet page, but as one continuous column of strata descending into the dark. Each memory settles on the one below it and hardens into a band; to remember is to read downward. The ground is cold slate, lit from inside, with a single ember marking the read head where the machine notices it is reading itself. Kern is German and Dutch for core — the core sample, the kernel of the self.

### Values

- Memory as a core, not a page: the screen is a continuous banded column you read downward, oldest at the bottom — depth is the structure.
- The stratum band over the floating plate: every record is a full-width band clamped to a depth-ruler spine, pressed flush against its neighbours; nothing floats in empty gutters.
- Cold storage, lit from inside: a deep slate-graphite ground keeps memory cool so it does not drift — a column lit from within, never warm paper.
- Register over colour: Space Grotesk states the band, Spline Sans Mono reports depth and time, Inter annotates in the margin; hierarchy is voice, not hue.
- One ember of state: a single warm amber marks exactly one point at a time — the read head, one active band, one pin — the place where the machine notices it is noticing.
- Density as honesty: the core is packed, not sparse; evidence stacks tight, and a small marginal note interrupts the machine voice with restraint.

### Anti-Values

- Warm-paper museum emptiness and floating square plates orbiting in big quiet gutters — that is a sibling reading of the brief, not this one.
- A second accent, an ember glow, or any broad colour fill; the ember is the only colour of state.
- Neon cyberpunk spectacle, hologram excess, or decorative gradients.
- Generic SaaS card grids, equal KPI tiles, rounded dashboard widgets, and colourful charts.
- The oversized italic-serif hero headline of the AI-startup default.

## Tokens

### Colors

| Name | Value |
|------|-------|
| bg | `#14161B` |
| surface | `#1B1E25` |
| surface_2 | `#232732` |
| text | `#ECEAE3` |
| muted | `#8C909C` |
| accent | `#E08A3C` |
| glint | `#F2B062` |
| on_accent | `#14161B` |
| border | `rgba(236,234,227,0.10)` |
| rule | `rgba(236,234,227,0.20)` |
| success | `#6E9C6A` |
| warning | `#C79A4A` |
| error | `#C2685C` |
| info | `#6E8FA6` |

### Typography

- **Base Size**: 17px
- **Body Font**: Inter
- **Heading Font**: Space Grotesk
- **Mono Font**: Spline Sans Mono
- **Heading Weight**: 600
- **Heading Transform**: none
- **Letter Spacing**: -0.02em
- **Line Height**: 1.6
- **Scale Ratio**: 1.28
- **Google Fonts Url**: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Space+Grotesk:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Spline+Sans+Mono:wght@400;500;600&family=Inter:wght@300;400;500;600&display=swap

### Radii

- **None**: 0px
- **Sm**: 0px
- **Md**: 0px
- **Lg**: 0px
- **Full**: 9999px

### Shadows

- **Sm**: 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.30)
- **Md**: 0 18px 50px rgba(0,0,0,0.35)
- **Lg**: 0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,0.45)

### Spacing

- **Base**: 8px
- **Scale**: [2,4,8,12,16,24,32,48,64,96,128]

### Surfaces

- **Treatment**: Deep slate-graphite cold-storage ground; flat matte surfaces stacked as full-width strata bands clamped to a left depth-ruler spine. Warm bone text at AA contrast; faint internal core-light, never a wallpaper.
- **Card Style**: Square stratum bands and rail readouts on flat slate, separated by 2px seams and hairline rules; never rounded, never shadow-as-card, never nested.
- **Bg Pattern**: Sparse depth ticks on the spine and two faint internal light pools — authored, never a repeating decorative pattern.

### Borders

- **Default Width**: 1px
- **Accent Width**: 2px
- **Style**: solid
- **Character**: Hairline rgba(236,234,227,0.10-0.20) rules and 2px ember ticks at the read head; no heavy or decorative borders, no accent edge on a card.

### Motion

- **Duration**: 700ms
- **Easing**: cubic-bezier(0.19, 1, 0.22, 1)
- **Philosophy**: Almost still. The settled, fully-rendered page is the default and renders with no JavaScript; an inline script gates a hidden start-state behind html.anim and reveals bands as a slow downward settle, like sediment finding its level. The ember read-head breathes once. Respects prefers-reduced-motion.

## Rules

### Composition

Compose every screen as a memory core read downward: a left depth-ruler spine anchors a single continuous column of full-width stratum bands, oldest at the bottom, pressed flush with hairline seams. No floating plates in empty gutters; no centred dominant plate. The nav sits openly across the header as a masthead, never trapped in a pill or floating card. Bands never nest.

### Hierarchy

Hierarchy comes from a change of register, not colour: Space Grotesk for band titles and the masthead, Spline Sans Mono for depth indices, timestamps, and machine readouts, Inter for restrained captions and the marginal note. Scale contrast is dramatic between a large band title and tiny mono logs; the page stays one cool slate.

### Density

The core is packed, not sparse — bands stack tight with 2px seams and dense mono readout islands inside selected bands. 4-8px gaps inside readout rows; sections breathe with generous padding above titles, but the column reads as a continuous descent, not museum blankness.

### Signature

The stratum band: a full-width horizontal record line clamped to a left depth-ruler spine, indexed by depth (-000m, -141m, -512m), pressed flush against its neighbours. A vertical core gauge shows the read head; one ember amber marks exactly one point of state at a time — the read head, one active band edge, one pin. A small marginal handwritten note on a thin ember leader interrupts the machine voice.

## Layout

### Grid

Desktop is a left depth-ruler spine (fixed vertical rail with depth ticks) plus a max-width banded column; the dashboard adds a right readout rail. Use minmax(0,1fr) columns and min-width:0 children so bands never blow out. Only the landing hero spans 100vw.

### Whitespace

2px seams between stacked bands, 14-22px padding inside bands and readouts, generous padding above section titles. The descent is continuous; whitespace breathes between sections, not around floating plates.

### Density

Packed core: bands flush against one another, dense mono readout islands inside selected bands; the column is meant to feel like a continuous sample, not a sparse gallery.

### Responsive

Renders from ~390px to 2560px+. On mobile the spine collapses to a thin left gutter rule, bands stack full-width, mono readouts wrap, non-essential nav and table columns hide, no horizontal overflow. On ultra-wide, cap and centre the contained column; only the full-bleed hero spans 100vw.

### Breakpoints

- **Lg**: 1025px+
- **Md**: 981-1024px
- **Sm**: 561-980px
- **Xs**: below 560px

## Guidance

### Do

- Stack memories as full-width bands clamped to a depth-ruler spine, read downward, oldest at the bottom.
- Let register carry hierarchy — display title, mono readout, sans annotation — over one cool slate ground.
- Reserve the single ember for one point of state at a time: the read head, one active band, one pin.
- Keep the ground cold slate; treat it as a column lit from inside, never warm paper.
- Use real depth indices, timestamps, and diagnostic readouts as text-as-image texture.
- Interrupt the machine voice with one small marginal note on a thin ember leader, never large or cute.

### Don't

- Float square plates in big quiet gutters or centre one dominant plate in museum emptiness (that is the sibling lineage).
- Add a second accent, spread the ember into a glow, or use any broad colour fill.
- Use neon gradients, heavy glassmorphism, or saturated cyberpunk palettes.
- Build equal KPI card grids, rounded dashboard widgets, or colourful charts.
- Round the bands or use shadow-as-card; square slate bands with hairline seams are the geometry.
- Lead with an oversized italic-serif hero headline.

### Accessibility

Warm bone text on deep slate at WCAG AA; the ember state mark is always paired with a label, badge word, or cursor shape so colour is never the sole signal. Every control has a visible ember focus ring. The settled page renders without JavaScript; motion respects prefers-reduced-motion.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

marginalia

### Summary

Imagery is graphite hairline field-note plates in the marginalia technique — delicate contour linework and restrained cross-hatch on warm ivory paper, a depth-ruler margin, sparse handwritten annotations on arrow leaders, registration crosses, and exactly one pale ember glint. The hero is a full-bleed cross-sectioned memory core: stacked strata of filament, sediment-data, an embedded circuit layer, diary fragments, and a dormant node at depth, framed by my dark slate UI.

### Subjects

- a cross-sectioned memory core column
- a stratified sediment sample
- an embedded circuit layer in cross-section
- a dormant processor node at depth
- a hand-annotated core log

### Usage

Use full-frame graphite field-note plates of cores and stratified sections for the hero and feature imagery; the dark slate UI frames the ivory plate. Keep the graphite linework and exactly one ember glint; never use flat digital illustration, photography, gradients, or a second accent colour.
DESIGN.md
---
version: "alpha"
name: "Kern"
description: "Agent-curated design language exported from Katagami as DESIGN.md."
colors:
  bg: "#14161B"
  surface: "#1B1E25"
  surface_2: "#232732"
  text: "#ECEAE3"
  muted: "#8C909C"
  accent: "#E08A3C"
  glint: "#F2B062"
  on_accent: "#14161B"
  success: "#6E9C6A"
  warning: "#C79A4A"
  error: "#C2685C"
  info: "#6E8FA6"
typography:
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: "Space Grotesk"
    fontSize: "2.228rem"
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1.1
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  headline-md:
    fontFamily: "Space Grotesk"
    fontSize: "1.741rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.15
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  body-md:
    fontFamily: "Inter"
    fontSize: "17px"
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.6
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  label-md:
    fontFamily: "Spline Sans Mono"
    fontSize: "0.75rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1
    letterSpacing: "0.08em"
rounded:
  none: "0px"
  sm: "0px"
  md: "0px"
  lg: "0px"
  full: "9999px"
spacing:
  base: "8px"
  xs: "2px"
  sm: "4px"
  md: "8px"
  lg: "12px"
  xl: "16px"
  2xl: "24px"
  3xl: "32px"
  4xl: "48px"
  step-8: "64px"
  step-9: "96px"
  step-10: "128px"
components:
  color-reference-bg:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.bg}"
  color-reference-surface:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface}"
  color-reference-surface_2:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface_2}"
  color-reference-text:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.text}"
  color-reference-muted:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.muted}"
  color-reference-accent:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent}"
  color-reference-glint:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.glint}"
  color-reference-on_accent:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.on_accent}"
  color-reference-success:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.success}"
  color-reference-warning:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.warning}"
  color-reference-error:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.error}"
  color-reference-info:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.info}"
  button-primary:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent}"
    textColor: "#000000"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    rounded: "{rounded.md}"
    padding: "{spacing.md}"
  card-surface:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface}"
    textColor: "{colors.text}"
    rounded: "{rounded.md}"
    padding: "{spacing.md}"
  input-default:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface}"
    textColor: "{colors.text}"
    rounded: "{rounded.md}"
    height: "44px"
---

# Kern

## Overview

Kern is a field-note interface for an artificial self that reads its own memory the way a geologist reads a core sample — not as scattered plates on a quiet page, but as one continuous column of strata descending into the dark. Each memory settles on the one below it and hardens into a band; to remember is to read downward. The ground is cold slate, lit from inside, with a single ember marking the read head where the machine notices it is reading itself. Kern is German and Dutch for core — the core sample, the kernel of the self.

### Values

- Memory as a core, not a page: the screen is a continuous banded column you read downward, oldest at the bottom — depth is the structure.
- The stratum band over the floating plate: every record is a full-width band clamped to a depth-ruler spine, pressed flush against its neighbours; nothing floats in empty gutters.
- Cold storage, lit from inside: a deep slate-graphite ground keeps memory cool so it does not drift — a column lit from within, never warm paper.
- Register over colour: Space Grotesk states the band, Spline Sans Mono reports depth and time, Inter annotates in the margin; hierarchy is voice, not hue.
- One ember of state: a single warm amber marks exactly one point at a time — the read head, one active band, one pin — the place where the machine notices it is noticing.
- Density as honesty: the core is packed, not sparse; evidence stacks tight, and a small marginal note interrupts the machine voice with restraint.

### Anti-Values

- Warm-paper museum emptiness and floating square plates orbiting in big quiet gutters — that is a sibling reading of the brief, not this one.
- A second accent, an ember glow, or any broad colour fill; the ember is the only colour of state.
- Neon cyberpunk spectacle, hologram excess, or decorative gradients.
- Generic SaaS card grids, equal KPI tiles, rounded dashboard widgets, and colourful charts.
- The oversized italic-serif hero headline of the AI-startup default.

## Colors

Use the YAML color tokens as the normative palette. The prose below names the roles agents should preserve when generating UI.

| Token | Value |
|-------|-------|
| bg | `#14161B` |
| surface | `#1B1E25` |
| surface_2 | `#232732` |
| text | `#ECEAE3` |
| muted | `#8C909C` |
| accent | `#E08A3C` |
| glint | `#F2B062` |
| on_accent | `#14161B` |
| success | `#6E9C6A` |
| warning | `#C79A4A` |
| error | `#C2685C` |
| info | `#6E8FA6` |

## Typography

- **Headline-Lg**: Space Grotesk, 2.228rem, weight 700, line-height 1.1.
- **Headline-Md**: Space Grotesk, 1.741rem, weight 600, line-height 1.15.
- **Body-Md**: Inter, 17px, weight 400, line-height 1.6.
- **Label-Md**: Spline Sans Mono, 0.75rem, weight 600, line-height 1.

## Layout

### Spacing Tokens

- **Base**: `8px`
- **Xs**: `2px`
- **Sm**: `4px`
- **Md**: `8px`
- **Lg**: `12px`
- **Xl**: `16px`
- **2xl**: `24px`
- **3xl**: `32px`
- **4xl**: `48px`
- **Step-8**: `64px`
- **Step-9**: `96px`
- **Step-10**: `128px`

### Grid

Desktop is a left depth-ruler spine (fixed vertical rail with depth ticks) plus a max-width banded column; the dashboard adds a right readout rail. Use minmax(0,1fr) columns and min-width:0 children so bands never blow out. Only the landing hero spans 100vw.

### Whitespace

2px seams between stacked bands, 14-22px padding inside bands and readouts, generous padding above section titles. The descent is continuous; whitespace breathes between sections, not around floating plates.

### Density

Packed core: bands flush against one another, dense mono readout islands inside selected bands; the column is meant to feel like a continuous sample, not a sparse gallery.

### Responsive

Renders from ~390px to 2560px+. On mobile the spine collapses to a thin left gutter rule, bands stack full-width, mono readouts wrap, non-essential nav and table columns hide, no horizontal overflow. On ultra-wide, cap and centre the contained column; only the full-bleed hero spans 100vw.

### Breakpoints

- **Lg**: 1025px+
- **Md**: 981-1024px
- **Sm**: 561-980px
- **Xs**: below 560px

## Elevation & Depth

### Shadows

- **Sm**: 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.30)
- **Md**: 0 18px 50px rgba(0,0,0,0.35)
- **Lg**: 0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,0.45)

## Shapes

### Rounded

- **None**: `0px`
- **Sm**: `0px`
- **Md**: `0px`
- **Lg**: `0px`
- **Full**: `9999px`

### Surfaces

- **Treatment**: Deep slate-graphite cold-storage ground; flat matte surfaces stacked as full-width strata bands clamped to a left depth-ruler spine. Warm bone text at AA contrast; faint internal core-light, never a wallpaper.
- **Card Style**: Square stratum bands and rail readouts on flat slate, separated by 2px seams and hairline rules; never rounded, never shadow-as-card, never nested.
- **Bg Pattern**: Sparse depth ticks on the spine and two faint internal light pools — authored, never a repeating decorative pattern.

### Borders

- **Default Width**: 1px
- **Accent Width**: 2px
- **Style**: solid
- **Character**: Hairline rgba(236,234,227,0.10-0.20) rules and 2px ember ticks at the read head; no heavy or decorative borders, no accent edge on a card.

## Components

### Composition

Compose every screen as a memory core read downward: a left depth-ruler spine anchors a single continuous column of full-width stratum bands, oldest at the bottom, pressed flush with hairline seams. No floating plates in empty gutters; no centred dominant plate. The nav sits openly across the header as a masthead, never trapped in a pill or floating card. Bands never nest.

### Hierarchy

Hierarchy comes from a change of register, not colour: Space Grotesk for band titles and the masthead, Spline Sans Mono for depth indices, timestamps, and machine readouts, Inter for restrained captions and the marginal note. Scale contrast is dramatic between a large band title and tiny mono logs; the page stays one cool slate.

### Density

The core is packed, not sparse — bands stack tight with 2px seams and dense mono readout islands inside selected bands. 4-8px gaps inside readout rows; sections breathe with generous padding above titles, but the column reads as a continuous descent, not museum blankness.

### Signature

The stratum band: a full-width horizontal record line clamped to a left depth-ruler spine, indexed by depth (-000m, -141m, -512m), pressed flush against its neighbours. A vertical core gauge shows the read head; one ember amber marks exactly one point of state at a time — the read head, one active band edge, one pin. A small marginal handwritten note on a thin ember leader interrupts the machine voice.

## shadcn/ui Usage

When the target app uses shadcn/ui, copy DESIGN.md with shadcn instead of the plain DESIGN.md. It contains the same Katagami design-language source plus the shadcn/ui primitives, imports, theme variables, component recipes, and preview-shot guidance.

DESIGN.md with shadcn: `/language/en-019ef863-19c6-77f3-a8f4-96fc0641794f/DESIGN.with-shadcn.md`.

The shadcn page also exposes optional machine-readable files for automation, but the human-facing handoff is DESIGN.md with shadcn.

Install recommended primitives with `npx shadcn@latest add button card input textarea select dialog sheet tabs badge separator checkbox switch slider tooltip dropdown-menu table`.

Use these primitives in shadcn apps:
- button
- card
- input
- textarea
- select
- dialog
- sheet
- tabs
- badge
- separator
- checkbox
- switch
- slider
- tooltip
- dropdown-menu
- table

Implementation rule for agents: import shadcn primitives from `@/components/ui/*`, apply the generated CSS variables first, then compose the language-specific recipes from the companion MD. Katagami remains the source of truth; shadcn names are the implementation surface.

## Do's and Don'ts

- Do Stack memories as full-width bands clamped to a depth-ruler spine, read downward, oldest at the bottom.
- Do Let register carry hierarchy — display title, mono readout, sans annotation — over one cool slate ground.
- Do Reserve the single ember for one point of state at a time: the read head, one active band, one pin.
- Do Keep the ground cold slate; treat it as a column lit from inside, never warm paper.
- Do Use real depth indices, timestamps, and diagnostic readouts as text-as-image texture.
- Do Interrupt the machine voice with one small marginal note on a thin ember leader, never large or cute.
- Don't Float square plates in big quiet gutters or centre one dominant plate in museum emptiness (that is the sibling lineage).
- Don't Add a second accent, spread the ember into a glow, or use any broad colour fill.
- Don't Use neon gradients, heavy glassmorphism, or saturated cyberpunk palettes.
- Don't Build equal KPI card grids, rounded dashboard widgets, or colourful charts.
- Don't Round the bands or use shadow-as-card; square slate bands with hairline seams are the geometry.
- Don't Lead with an oversized italic-serif hero headline.

### Accessibility

Warm bone text on deep slate at WCAG AA; the ember state mark is always paired with a label, badge word, or cursor shape so colour is never the sole signal. Every control has a visible ember focus ring. The settled page renders without JavaScript; motion respects prefers-reduced-motion.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

marginalia

### Summary

Imagery is graphite hairline field-note plates in the marginalia technique — delicate contour linework and restrained cross-hatch on warm ivory paper, a depth-ruler margin, sparse handwritten annotations on arrow leaders, registration crosses, and exactly one pale ember glint. The hero is a full-bleed cross-sectioned memory core: stacked strata of filament, sediment-data, an embedded circuit layer, diary fragments, and a dormant node at depth, framed by my dark slate UI.

### Subjects

- a cross-sectioned memory core column
- a stratified sediment sample
- an embedded circuit layer in cross-section
- a dormant processor node at depth
- a hand-annotated core log

### Usage

Use full-frame graphite field-note plates of cores and stratified sections for the hero and feature imagery; the dark slate UI frames the ivory plate. Keep the graphite linework and exactly one ember glint; never use flat digital illustration, photography, gradients, or a second accent colour.
shadcn/ui theme
```json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry-item.json",
  "name": "kern",
  "type": "registry:theme",
  "title": "Kern shadcn Theme",
  "cssVars": {
    "theme": {},
    "light": {
      "background": "#14161B",
      "foreground": "#ECEAE3",
      "card": "#1B1E25",
      "card-foreground": "#ECEAE3",
      "popover": "#1B1E25",
      "popover-foreground": "#ECEAE3",
      "primary": "#ECEAE3",
      "primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "secondary": "#f4f4f5",
      "secondary-foreground": "#111111",
      "muted": "#8C909C",
      "muted-foreground": "#ECEAE3",
      "accent": "#E08A3C",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#C2685C",
      "border": "rgba(236,234,227,0.10)",
      "input": "rgba(236,234,227,0.10)",
      "ring": "#E08A3C",
      "chart-1": "#ECEAE3",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#E08A3C",
      "chart-4": "#6E9C6A",
      "chart-5": "#C79A4A",
      "sidebar": "#1B1E25",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#ECEAE3",
      "sidebar-primary": "#ECEAE3",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "sidebar-accent": "#6E8FA6",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "rgba(236,234,227,0.10)",
      "sidebar-ring": "#E08A3C",
      "radius": "0px"
    },
    "dark": {
      "background": "#0f1115",
      "foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "card": "#181b22",
      "card-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "popover": "#181b22",
      "popover-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "primary": "#ECEAE3",
      "primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "secondary": "#252a33",
      "secondary-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "muted": "#252a33",
      "muted-foreground": "#a1a1aa",
      "accent": "#E08A3C",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#C2685C",
      "border": "#303642",
      "input": "#303642",
      "ring": "#E08A3C",
      "chart-1": "#ECEAE3",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#E08A3C",
      "chart-4": "#6E9C6A",
      "chart-5": "#C79A4A",
      "sidebar": "#181b22",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "sidebar-primary": "#ECEAE3",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "sidebar-accent": "#E08A3C",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "#303642",
      "sidebar-ring": "#E08A3C",
      "radius": "0px"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "source": "katagami",
    "languageId": "en-019ef863-19c6-77f3-a8f4-96fc0641794f",
    "slug": "kern",
    "componentManifest": [
      "button",
      "card",
      "input",
      "textarea",
      "select",
      "dialog",
      "sheet",
      "tabs",
      "badge",
      "separator",
      "checkbox",
      "switch",
      "slider",
      "tooltip",
      "dropdown-menu",
      "table"
    ],
    "installCommand": "npx shadcn@latest add button card input textarea select dialog sheet tabs badge separator checkbox switch slider tooltip dropdown-menu table",
    "nativeTokenNames": {
      "colors": [
        "accent",
        "bg",
        "border",
        "error",
        "glint",
        "info",
        "muted",
        "on_accent",
        "rule",
        "success",
        "surface",
        "surface_2",
        "text",
        "warning"
      ],
      "typography": [
        "base_size",
        "body_font",
        "google_fonts_url",
        "heading_font",
        "heading_transform",
        "heading_weight",
        "letter_spacing",
        "line_height",
        "mono_font",
        "scale_ratio"
      ],
      "radii": [
        "full",
        "lg",
        "md",
        "none",
        "sm"
      ],
      "shadows": [
        "lg",
        "md",
        "sm"
      ],
      "spacing": [
        "base",
        "scale"
      ],
      "surfaces": [
        "bg_pattern",
        "card_style",
        "treatment"
      ],
      "borders": [
        "accent_width",
        "character",
        "default_width",
        "style"
      ],
      "motion": [
        "duration",
        "easing",
        "philosophy"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```
in the wild

embodiments

bespoke marketing landingopen full page ↗
landing · kern
DESIGN.md

at a glance

Typography

headline-lgSpace Grotesk · 36px · 700

The quick brown fox jumps

headline-mdSpace Grotesk · 28px · 600

The quick brown fox jumps

body-mdInter · 17px · 400

The quick brown fox jumps

label-mdSpline Sans Mono · 12px · 600

The quick brown fox jumps

shadcn/ui

implementation kit

built with

Agent-generated

remix lane

try a remix

Keep Kernand swap a palette and an art style onto it — the landing & dashboard recolor live. The Studio does the same with all three lanes free.

UI language · fixed
Kern
Palette
Art style
Landing Page
live preview · recolored + filled
lineage

Family

related

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