Yìn

# Yìn

## Philosophy

A contemplative interface language built from warm rice-paper, disciplined ink typography, severe right angles, and a single cinnabar seal. It treats empty space as the primary surface, allowing a few carefully placed controls and reading artifacts to feel rare and intentional. A faithful refinement of liu bai (留白) — leaving white.

### Values

- intentional emptiness
- typographic solitude
- paper warmth
- cinnabar restraint
- sharp formal discipline
- slow attentive reading

### Anti-Values

- decorative filling
- dashboard density
- rounded friendliness
- chromatic hierarchy
- bouncy motion

## Tokens

### Colors

| Name | Value |
|------|-------|
| bg | `#f4efe7` |
| surface | `#fbf8f2` |
| surface_alt | `#ece4d7` |
| text | `#1b1714` |
| muted | `#8a8076` |
| border | `rgba(27,23,20,0.10)` |
| accent | `#b4332a` |
| accent_light | `rgba(180,51,42,0.10)` |
| on_accent | `#fbf8f2` |
| success | `#5f6f52` |
| warning | `#b07d2b` |
| error | `#b4332a` |
| info | `#4a5a6a` |

### Typography

- **Base Size**: 18px
- **Body Font**: Source Sans 3, system-ui, sans-serif
- **Heading Font**: Noto Serif SC, serif
- **Mono Font**: IBM Plex Mono, ui-monospace, monospace
- **Heading Weight**: 500
- **Heading Transform**: none
- **Letter Spacing**: -0.03em headings, -0.01em body
- **Scale Ratio**: 1.414
- **Google Fonts Url**: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Noto+Serif+SC:wght@400;500;700&family=Source+Sans+3:wght@400;500;600&family=IBM+Plex+Mono:wght@400;500&display=swap

### Radii

- **None**: 0px
- **Sm**: 0px
- **Md**: 0px
- **Lg**: 0px
- **Pill**: 9999px (control affordances only)

### Shadows

- **None**: none
- **Subtle**: 0 1px 2px rgba(27,23,20,0.025)
- **Default**: 0 1px 2px rgba(27,23,20,0.025)

### Spacing

- **Base**: 8px
- **Scale**: ["4px","8px","16px","32px","64px","96px","128px"]

### Surfaces

- **Paper**: #f4efe7 warm rice-paper void — the primary surface
- **Card**: #fbf8f2 paper panel with one hairline border and 0px radius
- **Inset**: #ece4d7 for selected rows and annotation wells
- **Void**: transparent open space; never filled to balance a grid

### Borders

- **Color**: rgba(27,23,20,0.10)
- **Width**: 1px
- **Style**: solid
- **Radius**: 0px

### Motion

- **Duration Default**: 200ms
- **Easing**: cubic-bezier(.2,0,.1,1)
- **Type**: opacity and weight only; no translate, scale, bounce, or parallax (except a ≤24px control-affordance slide on the switch)

## Rules

### Composition

Every screen begins as a void. Elements are placed one at a time, each earning its position. At least 70% of the viewport stays untouched warm paper. Asymmetric balance preferred; absolute alignment to an intentional grid.

### Hierarchy

Typography alone establishes hierarchy via dramatic 1.414 size jumps and weight variation. Colour is NOT used for hierarchy — ink-black and stone-grey only. The single cinnabar marks importance through rarity, not scale.

### Density

Ultra-low. Content reading column max 640px even on wide screens; the flanking void is part of the design. Lists show 4–6 items before pagination. Never fill available space.

### Signature

The Seal Stamp (one cinnabar mark, ≤twice per screen); The Vast Margin (640px column in clamp(24px,9vw,128px) margins); The Single Rule (one 1px hairline divider with 64px+ breathing room); The Ink Drop (opacity/weight-only interaction); The Empty Scroll (absence as the natural state).

## Layout

### Grid

Single reading column (max-width 640px), wider 980–1080px only for masthead, card grids, and the full-bleed hero. minmax(0,1fr) columns with min-width:0 so grids never overflow.

### Whitespace

Whitespace is the primary compositional material; void-to-content ratio never below 70% on desktop. Section separation clamp(72px,12vw,150px); element isolation 64px.

### Density

ultra-low

### Responsive

Renders well from ~390px mobile to 2560px+ ultra-wide. Mobile stacks to a single column, margins collapse, never overflows horizontally; the hero gradient flips to vertical for legibility. Ultra-wide caps and centres contained content; only the hero spans 100vw.

### Breakpoints

- **Mobile**: {"max":"639px","columns":1,"margin":"24px","section_gap":"72px"}
- **Tablet**: {"min":"640px","max":"1023px","columns":1,"margin":"64px"}
- **Desktop**: {"min":"1024px","columns":1,"content_width":"640px","margin":"128px"}

## Guidance

### Do

- Leave at least 70% of the viewport as intentional warm-paper void
- Use the 1.414 type scale to create clear strata without colour cues
- Place the cinnabar sparingly — at most twice per screen, like a seal on a painting
- Use sharp 0px corners everywhere — precision over friendliness
- Separate sections with a single 1px hairline rule and generous breathing room
- Use opacity and weight transitions only (200ms) — no spatial movement
- Keep content in a narrow reading column with vast flanking margins
- Embrace empty states — the blank scroll is the natural condition
- Let the settled page render with no JavaScript; layer motion on top
- Keep the masthead nav open across the header — never a pill or floating card

### Don't

- Never use border-radius on surfaces — corners are square
- Never fill available space to balance a grid
- Never use colour for hierarchy — ink and stone only
- Never give a card a single accent edge, and never nest cards
- Never use spatial animations (slides, scales, bounces) on content
- Never stack dividers or use heavy borders
- Never add shadows beyond the barely-perceptible ink lift
- Never use the cinnabar for large areas — it is a dot, a stamp, a mark
- Never centre body text — left-aligned for reading
- Never put emoji or glyph symbols on buttons or in copy

### Accessibility

Sumi ink (#1b1714) on warm paper (#f4efe7) exceeds WCAG AAA. Touch targets 44px+, body 17–18px, generous line-height. Every form control is explicitly styled with a visible 2px ink focus ring. Motion respects prefers-reduced-motion; the no-JS render is the finished page.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

cinnabar-seal

### Summary

Liu-bai ink-wash (shuimo) imagery: a single subject built from a few confident graded sumi brushstrokes, anchored off-center against a vast untouched warm rice-paper void, with one cinnabar seal in a corner. Monochrome ink; the paper supplies the only warmth.

### Subjects

- a mountain peak through mist
- a single bird on a branch
- a reed at the water's edge
- a solitary boat
- a calligraphic stroke

### Usage

Use full-bleed for the landing hero with the subject anchored to one side so the opposite void carries the headline overlay. Keep at least ~65–70% of every frame as untouched warm paper.

### Engine Hints

- **Hero Generator**: nano-banana-pro
- **Model**: gemini-3-pro-image-preview
- **Provider**: google
- **Tool**: nano-banana-pro MCP
- **Fallback Reason**: openai-image gpt-image-2 returned 400 Billing hard limit has been reached; fell back to nano-banana-pro per task instruction

---
version: "alpha"
name: "Yìn"
description: "Agent-curated design language exported from Katagami as DESIGN.md."
colors:
  bg: "#f4efe7"
  surface: "#fbf8f2"
  surface_alt: "#ece4d7"
  text: "#1b1714"
  muted: "#8a8076"
  accent: "#b4332a"
  on_accent: "#fbf8f2"
  success: "#5f6f52"
  warning: "#b07d2b"
  error: "#b4332a"
  info: "#4a5a6a"
typography:
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: "Noto Serif SC, serif"
    fontSize: "3.181rem"
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1.1
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  headline-md:
    fontFamily: "Noto Serif SC, serif"
    fontSize: "2.249rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.15
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  body-md:
    fontFamily: "Source Sans 3, system-ui, sans-serif"
    fontSize: "18px"
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.5
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  label-md:
    fontFamily: "IBM Plex Mono, ui-monospace, monospace"
    fontSize: "0.75rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1
    letterSpacing: "0.08em"
rounded:
  none: "0px"
  sm: "0px"
  md: "0px"
  lg: "0px"
  pill: "0px"
spacing:
  base: "8px"
  xs: "4px"
  sm: "8px"
  md: "16px"
  lg: "32px"
  xl: "64px"
  2xl: "96px"
  3xl: "128px"
components:
  color-reference-bg:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.bg}"
  color-reference-surface:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface}"
  color-reference-surface_alt:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface_alt}"
  color-reference-text:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.text}"
  color-reference-muted:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.muted}"
  color-reference-accent:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent}"
  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: "#ffffff"
    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"
---

# Yìn

## Overview

A contemplative interface language built from warm rice-paper, disciplined ink typography, severe right angles, and a single cinnabar seal. It treats empty space as the primary surface, allowing a few carefully placed controls and reading artifacts to feel rare and intentional. A faithful refinement of liu bai (留白) — leaving white.

### Values

- intentional emptiness
- typographic solitude
- paper warmth
- cinnabar restraint
- sharp formal discipline
- slow attentive reading

### Anti-Values

- decorative filling
- dashboard density
- rounded friendliness
- chromatic hierarchy
- bouncy motion

## 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 | `#f4efe7` |
| surface | `#fbf8f2` |
| surface_alt | `#ece4d7` |
| text | `#1b1714` |
| muted | `#8a8076` |
| accent | `#b4332a` |
| on_accent | `#fbf8f2` |
| success | `#5f6f52` |
| warning | `#b07d2b` |
| error | `#b4332a` |
| info | `#4a5a6a` |

## Typography

- **Headline-Lg**: Noto Serif SC, serif, 3.181rem, weight 700, line-height 1.1.
- **Headline-Md**: Noto Serif SC, serif, 2.249rem, weight 600, line-height 1.15.
- **Body-Md**: Source Sans 3, system-ui, sans-serif, 18px, weight 400, line-height 1.5.
- **Label-Md**: IBM Plex Mono, ui-monospace, monospace, 0.75rem, weight 600, line-height 1.

## Layout

### Spacing Tokens

- **Base**: `8px`
- **Xs**: `4px`
- **Sm**: `8px`
- **Md**: `16px`
- **Lg**: `32px`
- **Xl**: `64px`
- **2xl**: `96px`
- **3xl**: `128px`

### Grid

Single reading column (max-width 640px), wider 980–1080px only for masthead, card grids, and the full-bleed hero. minmax(0,1fr) columns with min-width:0 so grids never overflow.

### Whitespace

Whitespace is the primary compositional material; void-to-content ratio never below 70% on desktop. Section separation clamp(72px,12vw,150px); element isolation 64px.

### Density

ultra-low

### Responsive

Renders well from ~390px mobile to 2560px+ ultra-wide. Mobile stacks to a single column, margins collapse, never overflows horizontally; the hero gradient flips to vertical for legibility. Ultra-wide caps and centres contained content; only the hero spans 100vw.

### Breakpoints

- **Mobile**: {"max":"639px","columns":1,"margin":"24px","section_gap":"72px"}
- **Tablet**: {"min":"640px","max":"1023px","columns":1,"margin":"64px"}
- **Desktop**: {"min":"1024px","columns":1,"content_width":"640px","margin":"128px"}

## Elevation & Depth

### Shadows

- **None**: none
- **Subtle**: 0 1px 2px rgba(27,23,20,0.025)
- **Default**: 0 1px 2px rgba(27,23,20,0.025)

## Shapes

### Rounded

- **None**: `0px`
- **Sm**: `0px`
- **Md**: `0px`
- **Lg**: `0px`
- **Pill**: `0px`

### Surfaces

- **Paper**: #f4efe7 warm rice-paper void — the primary surface
- **Card**: #fbf8f2 paper panel with one hairline border and 0px radius
- **Inset**: #ece4d7 for selected rows and annotation wells
- **Void**: transparent open space; never filled to balance a grid

### Borders

- **Color**: rgba(27,23,20,0.10)
- **Width**: 1px
- **Style**: solid
- **Radius**: 0px

## Components

### Composition

Every screen begins as a void. Elements are placed one at a time, each earning its position. At least 70% of the viewport stays untouched warm paper. Asymmetric balance preferred; absolute alignment to an intentional grid.

### Hierarchy

Typography alone establishes hierarchy via dramatic 1.414 size jumps and weight variation. Colour is NOT used for hierarchy — ink-black and stone-grey only. The single cinnabar marks importance through rarity, not scale.

### Density

Ultra-low. Content reading column max 640px even on wide screens; the flanking void is part of the design. Lists show 4–6 items before pagination. Never fill available space.

### Signature

The Seal Stamp (one cinnabar mark, ≤twice per screen); The Vast Margin (640px column in clamp(24px,9vw,128px) margins); The Single Rule (one 1px hairline divider with 64px+ breathing room); The Ink Drop (opacity/weight-only interaction); The Empty Scroll (absence as the natural state).

## 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-019ef910-c700-7a21-be98-022821c835a5/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 Leave at least 70% of the viewport as intentional warm-paper void
- Do Use the 1.414 type scale to create clear strata without colour cues
- Do Place the cinnabar sparingly — at most twice per screen, like a seal on a painting
- Do Use sharp 0px corners everywhere — precision over friendliness
- Do Separate sections with a single 1px hairline rule and generous breathing room
- Do Use opacity and weight transitions only (200ms) — no spatial movement
- Do Keep content in a narrow reading column with vast flanking margins
- Do Embrace empty states — the blank scroll is the natural condition
- Do Let the settled page render with no JavaScript; layer motion on top
- Do Keep the masthead nav open across the header — never a pill or floating card
- Don't Never use border-radius on surfaces — corners are square
- Don't Never fill available space to balance a grid
- Don't Never use colour for hierarchy — ink and stone only
- Don't Never give a card a single accent edge, and never nest cards
- Don't Never use spatial animations (slides, scales, bounces) on content
- Don't Never stack dividers or use heavy borders
- Don't Never add shadows beyond the barely-perceptible ink lift
- Don't Never use the cinnabar for large areas — it is a dot, a stamp, a mark
- Don't Never centre body text — left-aligned for reading
- Don't Never put emoji or glyph symbols on buttons or in copy

### Accessibility

Sumi ink (#1b1714) on warm paper (#f4efe7) exceeds WCAG AAA. Touch targets 44px+, body 17–18px, generous line-height. Every form control is explicitly styled with a visible 2px ink focus ring. Motion respects prefers-reduced-motion; the no-JS render is the finished page.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

cinnabar-seal

### Summary

Liu-bai ink-wash (shuimo) imagery: a single subject built from a few confident graded sumi brushstrokes, anchored off-center against a vast untouched warm rice-paper void, with one cinnabar seal in a corner. Monochrome ink; the paper supplies the only warmth.

### Subjects

- a mountain peak through mist
- a single bird on a branch
- a reed at the water's edge
- a solitary boat
- a calligraphic stroke

### Usage

Use full-bleed for the landing hero with the subject anchored to one side so the opposite void carries the headline overlay. Keep at least ~65–70% of every frame as untouched warm paper.

### Engine Hints

- **Hero Generator**: nano-banana-pro
- **Model**: gemini-3-pro-image-preview
- **Provider**: google
- **Tool**: nano-banana-pro MCP
- **Fallback Reason**: openai-image gpt-image-2 returned 400 Billing hard limit has been reached; fell back to nano-banana-pro per task instruction

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry-item.json",
  "name": "yin-margin-reading-room",
  "type": "registry:theme",
  "title": "Yìn shadcn Theme",
  "cssVars": {
    "theme": {},
    "light": {
      "background": "#f4efe7",
      "foreground": "#1b1714",
      "card": "#fbf8f2",
      "card-foreground": "#1b1714",
      "popover": "#fbf8f2",
      "popover-foreground": "#1b1714",
      "primary": "#1b1714",
      "primary-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "secondary": "#f4f4f5",
      "secondary-foreground": "#111111",
      "muted": "#8a8076",
      "muted-foreground": "#1b1714",
      "accent": "#b4332a",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#b4332a",
      "border": "rgba(27,23,20,0.10)",
      "input": "rgba(27,23,20,0.10)",
      "ring": "#b4332a",
      "chart-1": "#1b1714",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#b4332a",
      "chart-4": "#5f6f52",
      "chart-5": "#b07d2b",
      "sidebar": "#fbf8f2",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#1b1714",
      "sidebar-primary": "#1b1714",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-accent": "#4a5a6a",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "rgba(27,23,20,0.10)",
      "sidebar-ring": "#b4332a",
      "radius": "0px"
    },
    "dark": {
      "background": "#0f1115",
      "foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "card": "#181b22",
      "card-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "popover": "#181b22",
      "popover-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "primary": "#1b1714",
      "primary-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "secondary": "#252a33",
      "secondary-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "muted": "#252a33",
      "muted-foreground": "#a1a1aa",
      "accent": "#b4332a",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#b4332a",
      "border": "#303642",
      "input": "#303642",
      "ring": "#b4332a",
      "chart-1": "#1b1714",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#b4332a",
      "chart-4": "#5f6f52",
      "chart-5": "#b07d2b",
      "sidebar": "#181b22",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "sidebar-primary": "#1b1714",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-accent": "#b4332a",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "#303642",
      "sidebar-ring": "#b4332a",
      "radius": "0px"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "source": "katagami",
    "languageId": "en-019ef910-c700-7a21-be98-022821c835a5",
    "slug": "yin-margin-reading-room",
    "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",
        "accent_light",
        "bg",
        "border",
        "error",
        "info",
        "muted",
        "on_accent",
        "success",
        "surface",
        "surface_alt",
        "text",
        "warning"
      ],
      "typography": [
        "base_size",
        "body_font",
        "google_fonts_url",
        "heading_font",
        "heading_transform",
        "heading_weight",
        "letter_spacing",
        "mono_font",
        "scale_ratio"
      ],
      "radii": [
        "lg",
        "md",
        "none",
        "pill",
        "sm"
      ],
      "shadows": [
        "default",
        "none",
        "subtle"
      ],
      "spacing": [
        "base",
        "scale"
      ],
      "surfaces": [
        "card",
        "inset",
        "paper",
        "void"
      ],
      "borders": [
        "color",
        "radius",
        "style",
        "width"
      ],
      "motion": [
        "duration_default",
        "easing",
        "type"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```