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design language·capsule

Capsule

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
Capsule is a polished existential interface language for fictional cybernetic tools: black manga ink and terminal verse are held inside pearl-white console fields, while chrome gradients, glossy capsule controls, and tiny pixel glyphs recall turn-of-the-millennium anime hardware without becoming nostalgic clutter.
values
Restrained spectacle: chrome and gloss appear only on control surfaces, title rails, and status capsules so the base stays monochrome and disciplined.Ink before interface: black manga linework, silhouette panels, and contour strokes carry the human presence while UI chrome frames the atmosphere around it.Console legibility: monospaced readouts, command-line labels, and pixel glyph clusters are small but precise enough to feel operational rather than decorative.Existential cleanliness: wide near-black fields and pearl-white panels create quiet, lonely pauses between dense information clusters.Anime-title confidence: display typography uses compressed, high-contrast blocks and severe tracking to evoke 90s/2000s title cards without copying them.Synthetic light restraint: electric blue is the primary signal color and acid lime is a rare diagnostic ping, never a broad fill.
anti-values
×No rainbow cyberpunk gradients, vaporwave overload, or stacked neon glows that bury the black-and-white manga structure.×No generic SaaS dashboard cards, analytics widgets, or evenly weighted three-card rows.×No soft lifestyle illustration; figures should read as inked manga fragments, masks, panels, or silhouettes.×No default rounded rectangles or grey outline borders; capsules must feel like glossy hardware keys and modules are framed by chrome rails, not boxes.
tokens
colors14 items
bg
#06070B
surface
#F7F4EA
surface_solid
#FBF9F2
text
#F2EFE6
muted
#8E96A3
border
#FFFFFF17
accent
#4C8FD8
accent_2
#AAD24A
accent_soft
#16283C
on_accent
#06070B
success
#A6C64A
warning
#D0A24A
error
#B84A55
info
#4C8FD8
typography10 items
base size
17px
body font
IBM Plex Sans
heading font
Barlow Condensed
mono font
Share Tech Mono
heading weight
600
heading transform
none
letter spacing
-0.02em
line height
1.55
scale ratio
1.28
google fonts url
https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Barlow+Condensed:wght@500;600;700&family=IBM+Plex+Sans:wght@400;500;600&family=Share+Tech+Mono&display=swap
radii4 items
none
0px
md
16px
lg
24px
full
9999px
shadows3 items
sm
0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.30) inset,0 8px 20px rgba(0,0,0,.35)
md
0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.42) inset,0 22px 60px rgba(0,0,0,.46)
lg
0 0 0 1px rgba(255,255,255,.06),0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,.62)
spacing2 items
base
8px
scale
4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96
surfaces3 items
treatment
Pearl-white and near-black panels with silver linear-gradient chrome rails; translucent capsule overlays use inset shine.
card style
Asymmetric console frames: chrome rail header, clipped capsule title, no borders — separation by shadow and pearl-vs-black contrast.
bg pattern
Near-black field with a faint chrome grid and low-opacity radial chrome glints behind content; benday halftone only inside manga chambers.
borders4 items
default width
0
accent width
2px
style
none — chrome rails and shadow replace outlines; the only edge treatment is a silver gradient rail
character
Borders are avoided; the chrome rail (a silver gradient strip with a dark bottom rule) is the sole framing device.
motion3 items
duration
180ms
easing
cubic-bezier(.2,.8,.2,1)
philosophy
Motion is a hardware acknowledgement: capsule shine shifts, status beads pulse once, terminal glyphs avoid continuous animation.
rules
composition
Build screens as a broken console spread: one dominant manga/figure chamber occupies roughly half the viewport, a dense terminal slab anchors the opposite side, and small capsules orbit along chrome rails. Avoid equal modules; use full-bleed black gutters, clipped capsule label tabs, and at least one vertical annotation strip to break the grid.
density
Alternate quiet existential voids with dense micro-interface clusters: related terminal items can sit at 4-8px gaps, while major modules separate by 48-96px of near-black air so the chrome surfaces feel deliberate.
hierarchy
Primary hierarchy comes from scale and material contrast: oversized compressed title typography, pearl figure chamber, then small mono console labels. Blue is reserved for active identity or cursor states; lime appears only as a diagnostic spark. Body copy stays quiet and off-white with mandatory negative tracking.
signature patterns
Chrome rail headers: each major module carries a silver gradient strip with a black ink bottom rule and a tiny capsule title embedded in the rail.Manga console chamber: pearl panels contain black CSS/SVG line-art figures made from contour strokes and halftone dots, with vertical annotation text down one edge.Pixel glyph constellations: 6px square glyphs and early-web icon marks sit in sparse grid clusters beside terminal labels, never as full background texture.Glossy status capsules: pill controls use translucent fills, inset highlight gradients, and one blue or lime bead aligned to the left like hardware LEDs.Terminal verse blocks: monospaced uppercase strings, slashes, bracket codes, and a blinking cursor bar form existential microcopy rather than generic metrics.
layout
grid

Desktop uses a max-width 1320px grid that breaks into a 7/5 asymmetric console split; floating capsule modules overlap the rails.

breakpoints
>=1180px: asymmetric 7/5 console split; 768-1179px: stacked manga chamber then terminal slab with two-column capsules, designed as its own layout; <640px: single column, rails preserved, glyph clusters reduced.
density
High-contrast density: the command column is compact and packed, while the figure chamber and top black header leave wide areas of silence to avoid cyberpunk clutter.
whitespace

Use 4-8px gaps inside terminal rows, 24px within capsules, 48px between related panels, and 96px top/bottom voids to create loneliness.

responsive
At tablet and mobile the dominant manga chamber remains first, the dense terminal slab stays horizontal-scroll-safe, and decorative pixel glyphs reduce before content is compressed.
guidance
do
  • Keep the base palette near-black, pearl, silver, and ink; introduce blue for active signal and lime for one or two diagnostic ticks only.
  • Use chrome gradients as thin rails, title bands, or capsule highlights instead of broad decorative backgrounds.
  • Make one module visibly dominant and let secondary controls orbit it asymmetrically.
  • Write interface copy as fictional terminal poetry, shell states, sync rituals, and memory references rather than generic labels.
  • Use black strokes, halftone dots, and contour curves to imply the figure without relying on decorative clutter.
  • Preserve negative letter-spacing and distinct font roles: compressed display, readable body, precise mono console.
avoid
  • Do not use three equal cards in a row, KPI tiles, CRM lists, or analytics-dashboard conventions.
  • Do not add purple/pink vaporwave gradients, rainbow chrome, or heavy neon bloom.
  • Do not let pixel glyphs become wallpaper; they should read as sparse interface residue.
  • Do not replace ink linework with soft vector mascots, emoji, or stock illustration.
  • Do not round every panel arbitrarily; use only square frames, 16/24px hardware corners, and full capsules.
  • Do not use pure saturated cyan or lime as large fills; keep highlights desaturated and surgical.
imagery
pairs with

capsule-screentone

technique
High-contrast black manga ink linework with benday screentone halftone; a lone turn-of-the-millennium anime figure inside a pearl-white console chamber framed by brushed chrome silver rails and glossy capsule hardware, one electric-blue signal light, on a near-black ground. Restrained monochrome with a single blue accent and a rare acid-lime tick.
hero

A pilot in a pearl console chamber, chrome rails, one blue capsule LED.

palette

near-black + pearl + chrome silver + electric blue (+ rare acid lime)

credits
0
name 1990s-2000s shonen/mecha manga screentone·kind tradition·note benday halftone shading and bold ink contour linework.
1
name Y2K consumer-electronics industrial design·kind movement·note translucent glossy capsule hardware, chrome accents, blue status LEDs.
katagami spec
# Capsule

## Philosophy

Capsule is a polished existential interface language for fictional cybernetic tools: black manga ink and terminal verse are held inside pearl-white console fields, while chrome gradients, glossy capsule controls, and tiny pixel glyphs recall turn-of-the-millennium anime hardware without becoming nostalgic clutter.

### Values

- Restrained spectacle: chrome and gloss appear only on control surfaces, title rails, and status capsules so the base stays monochrome and disciplined.
- Ink before interface: black manga linework, silhouette panels, and contour strokes carry the human presence while UI chrome frames the atmosphere around it.
- Console legibility: monospaced readouts, command-line labels, and pixel glyph clusters are small but precise enough to feel operational rather than decorative.
- Existential cleanliness: wide near-black fields and pearl-white panels create quiet, lonely pauses between dense information clusters.
- Anime-title confidence: display typography uses compressed, high-contrast blocks and severe tracking to evoke 90s/2000s title cards without copying them.
- Synthetic light restraint: electric blue is the primary signal color and acid lime is a rare diagnostic ping, never a broad fill.

### Anti-Values

- No rainbow cyberpunk gradients, vaporwave overload, or stacked neon glows that bury the black-and-white manga structure.
- No generic SaaS dashboard cards, analytics widgets, or evenly weighted three-card rows.
- No soft lifestyle illustration; figures should read as inked manga fragments, masks, panels, or silhouettes.
- No default rounded rectangles or grey outline borders; capsules must feel like glossy hardware keys and modules are framed by chrome rails, not boxes.

### Visual Character

- Use a near-black page with pearl-white manga chambers, offset chrome rails built from linear-gradient silver bands, and separation carried by contrast and shadow rather than boxed outlines.
- Render all primary controls as elongated 9999px capsules with translucent white fill, inset white shine, a dark lower edge, and a small electric-blue status bead aligned left like a hardware LED.
- Layer tiny 6px to 10px pixel glyphs in sparse terminal clusters using CSS grid squares, monospaced labels, and one acid-lime diagnostic tick.
- Create asymmetric console composition with one oversized ink figure chamber, one dense terminal slab, and smaller floating capsule modules instead of equal cards.
- Use compressed display headings with severe negative tracking, mono microcopy in uppercase, and manga-style vertical annotation strips along one panel edge.

## Tokens

### Colors

| Name | Value |
|------|-------|
| bg | `#06070B` |
| surface | `#F7F4EA` |
| surface_solid | `#FBF9F2` |
| text | `#F2EFE6` |
| muted | `#8E96A3` |
| border | `#FFFFFF17` |
| accent | `#4C8FD8` |
| accent_2 | `#AAD24A` |
| accent_soft | `#16283C` |
| on_accent | `#06070B` |
| success | `#A6C64A` |
| warning | `#D0A24A` |
| error | `#B84A55` |
| info | `#4C8FD8` |

### Typography

- **Base Size**: 17px
- **Body Font**: IBM Plex Sans
- **Heading Font**: Barlow Condensed
- **Mono Font**: Share Tech Mono
- **Heading Weight**: 600
- **Heading Transform**: none
- **Letter Spacing**: -0.02em
- **Line Height**: 1.55
- **Scale Ratio**: 1.28
- **Google Fonts Url**: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Barlow+Condensed:wght@500;600;700&family=IBM+Plex+Sans:wght@400;500;600&family=Share+Tech+Mono&display=swap

### Radii

- **None**: 0px
- **Md**: 16px
- **Lg**: 24px
- **Full**: 9999px

### Shadows

- **Sm**: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.30) inset,0 8px 20px rgba(0,0,0,.35)
- **Md**: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.42) inset,0 22px 60px rgba(0,0,0,.46)
- **Lg**: 0 0 0 1px rgba(255,255,255,.06),0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,.62)

### Spacing

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

### Surfaces

- **Treatment**: Pearl-white and near-black panels with silver linear-gradient chrome rails; translucent capsule overlays use inset shine.
- **Card Style**: Asymmetric console frames: chrome rail header, clipped capsule title, no borders — separation by shadow and pearl-vs-black contrast.
- **Bg Pattern**: Near-black field with a faint chrome grid and low-opacity radial chrome glints behind content; benday halftone only inside manga chambers.

### Borders

- **Default Width**: 0
- **Accent Width**: 2px
- **Style**: none — chrome rails and shadow replace outlines; the only edge treatment is a silver gradient rail
- **Character**: Borders are avoided; the chrome rail (a silver gradient strip with a dark bottom rule) is the sole framing device.

### Motion

- **Duration**: 180ms
- **Easing**: cubic-bezier(.2,.8,.2,1)
- **Philosophy**: Motion is a hardware acknowledgement: capsule shine shifts, status beads pulse once, terminal glyphs avoid continuous animation.

## Rules

### Composition

Build screens as a broken console spread: one dominant manga/figure chamber occupies roughly half the viewport, a dense terminal slab anchors the opposite side, and small capsules orbit along chrome rails. Avoid equal modules; use full-bleed black gutters, clipped capsule label tabs, and at least one vertical annotation strip to break the grid.

### Density

Alternate quiet existential voids with dense micro-interface clusters: related terminal items can sit at 4-8px gaps, while major modules separate by 48-96px of near-black air so the chrome surfaces feel deliberate.

### Hierarchy

Primary hierarchy comes from scale and material contrast: oversized compressed title typography, pearl figure chamber, then small mono console labels. Blue is reserved for active identity or cursor states; lime appears only as a diagnostic spark. Body copy stays quiet and off-white with mandatory negative tracking.

### Signature Patterns

- Chrome rail headers: each major module carries a silver gradient strip with a black ink bottom rule and a tiny capsule title embedded in the rail.
- Manga console chamber: pearl panels contain black CSS/SVG line-art figures made from contour strokes and halftone dots, with vertical annotation text down one edge.
- Pixel glyph constellations: 6px square glyphs and early-web icon marks sit in sparse grid clusters beside terminal labels, never as full background texture.
- Glossy status capsules: pill controls use translucent fills, inset highlight gradients, and one blue or lime bead aligned to the left like hardware LEDs.
- Terminal verse blocks: monospaced uppercase strings, slashes, bracket codes, and a blinking cursor bar form existential microcopy rather than generic metrics.

## Layout

### Grid

Desktop uses a max-width 1320px grid that breaks into a 7/5 asymmetric console split; floating capsule modules overlap the rails.

### Breakpoints

>=1180px: asymmetric 7/5 console split; 768-1179px: stacked manga chamber then terminal slab with two-column capsules, designed as its own layout; <640px: single column, rails preserved, glyph clusters reduced.

### Density

High-contrast density: the command column is compact and packed, while the figure chamber and top black header leave wide areas of silence to avoid cyberpunk clutter.

### Whitespace

Use 4-8px gaps inside terminal rows, 24px within capsules, 48px between related panels, and 96px top/bottom voids to create loneliness.

### Responsive

At tablet and mobile the dominant manga chamber remains first, the dense terminal slab stays horizontal-scroll-safe, and decorative pixel glyphs reduce before content is compressed.

## Guidance

### Do

- Keep the base palette near-black, pearl, silver, and ink; introduce blue for active signal and lime for one or two diagnostic ticks only.
- Use chrome gradients as thin rails, title bands, or capsule highlights instead of broad decorative backgrounds.
- Make one module visibly dominant and let secondary controls orbit it asymmetrically.
- Write interface copy as fictional terminal poetry, shell states, sync rituals, and memory references rather than generic labels.
- Use black strokes, halftone dots, and contour curves to imply the figure without relying on decorative clutter.
- Preserve negative letter-spacing and distinct font roles: compressed display, readable body, precise mono console.

### Don't

- Do not use three equal cards in a row, KPI tiles, CRM lists, or analytics-dashboard conventions.
- Do not add purple/pink vaporwave gradients, rainbow chrome, or heavy neon bloom.
- Do not let pixel glyphs become wallpaper; they should read as sparse interface residue.
- Do not replace ink linework with soft vector mascots, emoji, or stock illustration.
- Do not round every panel arbitrarily; use only square frames, 16/24px hardware corners, and full capsules.
- Do not use pure saturated cyan or lime as large fills; keep highlights desaturated and surgical.

### Accessibility

Keep body text at 17px+ with high contrast between pearl panels (dark ink) and the near-black field (off-white text) — never dark-on-dark or light-on-light. Never communicate status by color alone; pair every blue/lime bead with a mono label. Focus states are a visible electric-blue ring; motion respects prefers-reduced-motion.

### Usage Context

Best for fictional cybernetic note consoles, anime-inspired developer tools, memory archives, terminal shells, and identity systems that need polished Y2K futurism without maximalist clutter.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

capsule-screentone

### Technique

High-contrast black manga ink linework with benday screentone halftone; a lone turn-of-the-millennium anime figure inside a pearl-white console chamber framed by brushed chrome silver rails and glossy capsule hardware, one electric-blue signal light, on a near-black ground. Restrained monochrome with a single blue accent and a rare acid-lime tick.

### Hero

A pilot in a pearl console chamber, chrome rails, one blue capsule LED.

### Palette

near-black + pearl + chrome silver + electric blue (+ rare acid lime)

### Credits

- {"name":"1990s-2000s shonen/mecha manga screentone","kind":"tradition","note":"benday halftone shading and bold ink contour linework."}
- {"name":"Y2K consumer-electronics industrial design","kind":"movement","note":"translucent glossy capsule hardware, chrome accents, blue status LEDs."}
DESIGN.md
---
version: "alpha"
name: "Capsule"
description: "Agent-curated design language exported from Katagami as DESIGN.md."
colors:
  bg: "#06070B"
  surface: "#F7F4EA"
  surface_solid: "#FBF9F2"
  text: "#F2EFE6"
  muted: "#8E96A3"
  accent: "#4C8FD8"
  accent_2: "#AAD24A"
  accent_soft: "#16283C"
  on_accent: "#06070B"
  success: "#A6C64A"
  warning: "#D0A24A"
  error: "#B84A55"
  info: "#4C8FD8"
typography:
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: "Barlow Condensed"
    fontSize: "2.228rem"
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1.1
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  headline-md:
    fontFamily: "Barlow Condensed"
    fontSize: "1.741rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.15
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  body-md:
    fontFamily: "IBM Plex Sans"
    fontSize: "17px"
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.55
    letterSpacing: "-0.02em"
  label-md:
    fontFamily: "Share Tech Mono"
    fontSize: "0.75rem"
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1
    letterSpacing: "0.08em"
rounded:
  none: "0px"
  md: "16px"
  lg: "24px"
  full: "9999px"
spacing:
  base: "8px"
  xs: "4px"
  sm: "8px"
  md: "12px"
  lg: "16px"
  xl: "24px"
  2xl: "32px"
  3xl: "48px"
  4xl: "64px"
  step-8: "96px"
components:
  color-reference-bg:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.bg}"
  color-reference-surface:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface}"
  color-reference-surface_solid:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface_solid}"
  color-reference-text:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.text}"
  color-reference-muted:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.muted}"
  color-reference-accent:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent}"
  color-reference-accent_2:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent_2}"
  color-reference-accent_soft:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.accent_soft}"
  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"
---

# Capsule

## Overview

Capsule is a polished existential interface language for fictional cybernetic tools: black manga ink and terminal verse are held inside pearl-white console fields, while chrome gradients, glossy capsule controls, and tiny pixel glyphs recall turn-of-the-millennium anime hardware without becoming nostalgic clutter.

### Values

- Restrained spectacle: chrome and gloss appear only on control surfaces, title rails, and status capsules so the base stays monochrome and disciplined.
- Ink before interface: black manga linework, silhouette panels, and contour strokes carry the human presence while UI chrome frames the atmosphere around it.
- Console legibility: monospaced readouts, command-line labels, and pixel glyph clusters are small but precise enough to feel operational rather than decorative.
- Existential cleanliness: wide near-black fields and pearl-white panels create quiet, lonely pauses between dense information clusters.
- Anime-title confidence: display typography uses compressed, high-contrast blocks and severe tracking to evoke 90s/2000s title cards without copying them.
- Synthetic light restraint: electric blue is the primary signal color and acid lime is a rare diagnostic ping, never a broad fill.

### Anti-Values

- No rainbow cyberpunk gradients, vaporwave overload, or stacked neon glows that bury the black-and-white manga structure.
- No generic SaaS dashboard cards, analytics widgets, or evenly weighted three-card rows.
- No soft lifestyle illustration; figures should read as inked manga fragments, masks, panels, or silhouettes.
- No default rounded rectangles or grey outline borders; capsules must feel like glossy hardware keys and modules are framed by chrome rails, not boxes.

### Visual Character

- Use a near-black page with pearl-white manga chambers, offset chrome rails built from linear-gradient silver bands, and separation carried by contrast and shadow rather than boxed outlines.
- Render all primary controls as elongated 9999px capsules with translucent white fill, inset white shine, a dark lower edge, and a small electric-blue status bead aligned left like a hardware LED.
- Layer tiny 6px to 10px pixel glyphs in sparse terminal clusters using CSS grid squares, monospaced labels, and one acid-lime diagnostic tick.
- Create asymmetric console composition with one oversized ink figure chamber, one dense terminal slab, and smaller floating capsule modules instead of equal cards.
- Use compressed display headings with severe negative tracking, mono microcopy in uppercase, and manga-style vertical annotation strips along one panel edge.

## 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 | `#06070B` |
| surface | `#F7F4EA` |
| surface_solid | `#FBF9F2` |
| text | `#F2EFE6` |
| muted | `#8E96A3` |
| accent | `#4C8FD8` |
| accent_2 | `#AAD24A` |
| accent_soft | `#16283C` |
| on_accent | `#06070B` |
| success | `#A6C64A` |
| warning | `#D0A24A` |
| error | `#B84A55` |
| info | `#4C8FD8` |

## Typography

- **Headline-Lg**: Barlow Condensed, 2.228rem, weight 700, line-height 1.1.
- **Headline-Md**: Barlow Condensed, 1.741rem, weight 600, line-height 1.15.
- **Body-Md**: IBM Plex Sans, 17px, weight 400, line-height 1.55.
- **Label-Md**: Share Tech Mono, 0.75rem, weight 600, line-height 1.

## Layout

### Spacing Tokens

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

### Grid

Desktop uses a max-width 1320px grid that breaks into a 7/5 asymmetric console split; floating capsule modules overlap the rails.

### Breakpoints

>=1180px: asymmetric 7/5 console split; 768-1179px: stacked manga chamber then terminal slab with two-column capsules, designed as its own layout; <640px: single column, rails preserved, glyph clusters reduced.

### Density

High-contrast density: the command column is compact and packed, while the figure chamber and top black header leave wide areas of silence to avoid cyberpunk clutter.

### Whitespace

Use 4-8px gaps inside terminal rows, 24px within capsules, 48px between related panels, and 96px top/bottom voids to create loneliness.

### Responsive

At tablet and mobile the dominant manga chamber remains first, the dense terminal slab stays horizontal-scroll-safe, and decorative pixel glyphs reduce before content is compressed.

## Elevation & Depth

### Shadows

- **Sm**: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.30) inset,0 8px 20px rgba(0,0,0,.35)
- **Md**: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.42) inset,0 22px 60px rgba(0,0,0,.46)
- **Lg**: 0 0 0 1px rgba(255,255,255,.06),0 40px 110px rgba(0,0,0,.62)

## Shapes

### Rounded

- **None**: `0px`
- **Md**: `16px`
- **Lg**: `24px`
- **Full**: `9999px`

### Surfaces

- **Treatment**: Pearl-white and near-black panels with silver linear-gradient chrome rails; translucent capsule overlays use inset shine.
- **Card Style**: Asymmetric console frames: chrome rail header, clipped capsule title, no borders — separation by shadow and pearl-vs-black contrast.
- **Bg Pattern**: Near-black field with a faint chrome grid and low-opacity radial chrome glints behind content; benday halftone only inside manga chambers.

### Borders

- **Default Width**: 0
- **Accent Width**: 2px
- **Style**: none — chrome rails and shadow replace outlines; the only edge treatment is a silver gradient rail
- **Character**: Borders are avoided; the chrome rail (a silver gradient strip with a dark bottom rule) is the sole framing device.

## Components

### Composition

Build screens as a broken console spread: one dominant manga/figure chamber occupies roughly half the viewport, a dense terminal slab anchors the opposite side, and small capsules orbit along chrome rails. Avoid equal modules; use full-bleed black gutters, clipped capsule label tabs, and at least one vertical annotation strip to break the grid.

### Density

Alternate quiet existential voids with dense micro-interface clusters: related terminal items can sit at 4-8px gaps, while major modules separate by 48-96px of near-black air so the chrome surfaces feel deliberate.

### Hierarchy

Primary hierarchy comes from scale and material contrast: oversized compressed title typography, pearl figure chamber, then small mono console labels. Blue is reserved for active identity or cursor states; lime appears only as a diagnostic spark. Body copy stays quiet and off-white with mandatory negative tracking.

### Signature Patterns

- Chrome rail headers: each major module carries a silver gradient strip with a black ink bottom rule and a tiny capsule title embedded in the rail.
- Manga console chamber: pearl panels contain black CSS/SVG line-art figures made from contour strokes and halftone dots, with vertical annotation text down one edge.
- Pixel glyph constellations: 6px square glyphs and early-web icon marks sit in sparse grid clusters beside terminal labels, never as full background texture.
- Glossy status capsules: pill controls use translucent fills, inset highlight gradients, and one blue or lime bead aligned to the left like hardware LEDs.
- Terminal verse blocks: monospaced uppercase strings, slashes, bracket codes, and a blinking cursor bar form existential microcopy rather than generic metrics.

## 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-019f8b0b-3baa-7d50-91e6-a6b71e96dac4/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 Keep the base palette near-black, pearl, silver, and ink; introduce blue for active signal and lime for one or two diagnostic ticks only.
- Do Use chrome gradients as thin rails, title bands, or capsule highlights instead of broad decorative backgrounds.
- Do Make one module visibly dominant and let secondary controls orbit it asymmetrically.
- Do Write interface copy as fictional terminal poetry, shell states, sync rituals, and memory references rather than generic labels.
- Do Use black strokes, halftone dots, and contour curves to imply the figure without relying on decorative clutter.
- Do Preserve negative letter-spacing and distinct font roles: compressed display, readable body, precise mono console.
- Don't Do not use three equal cards in a row, KPI tiles, CRM lists, or analytics-dashboard conventions.
- Don't Do not add purple/pink vaporwave gradients, rainbow chrome, or heavy neon bloom.
- Don't Do not let pixel glyphs become wallpaper; they should read as sparse interface residue.
- Don't Do not replace ink linework with soft vector mascots, emoji, or stock illustration.
- Don't Do not round every panel arbitrarily; use only square frames, 16/24px hardware corners, and full capsules.
- Don't Do not use pure saturated cyan or lime as large fills; keep highlights desaturated and surgical.

### Accessibility

Keep body text at 17px+ with high contrast between pearl panels (dark ink) and the near-black field (off-white text) — never dark-on-dark or light-on-light. Never communicate status by color alone; pair every blue/lime bead with a mono label. Focus states are a visible electric-blue ring; motion respects prefers-reduced-motion.

### Usage Context

Best for fictional cybernetic note consoles, anime-inspired developer tools, memory archives, terminal shells, and identity systems that need polished Y2K futurism without maximalist clutter.

## Imagery Direction

### Pairs With

capsule-screentone

### Technique

High-contrast black manga ink linework with benday screentone halftone; a lone turn-of-the-millennium anime figure inside a pearl-white console chamber framed by brushed chrome silver rails and glossy capsule hardware, one electric-blue signal light, on a near-black ground. Restrained monochrome with a single blue accent and a rare acid-lime tick.

### Hero

A pilot in a pearl console chamber, chrome rails, one blue capsule LED.

### Palette

near-black + pearl + chrome silver + electric blue (+ rare acid lime)

### Credits

- {"name":"1990s-2000s shonen/mecha manga screentone","kind":"tradition","note":"benday halftone shading and bold ink contour linework."}
- {"name":"Y2K consumer-electronics industrial design","kind":"movement","note":"translucent glossy capsule hardware, chrome accents, blue status LEDs."}
shadcn/ui theme
```json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry-item.json",
  "name": "capsule",
  "type": "registry:theme",
  "title": "Capsule shadcn Theme",
  "cssVars": {
    "theme": {},
    "light": {
      "background": "#06070B",
      "foreground": "#F2EFE6",
      "card": "#F7F4EA",
      "card-foreground": "#F2EFE6",
      "popover": "#F7F4EA",
      "popover-foreground": "#F2EFE6",
      "primary": "#F2EFE6",
      "primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "secondary": "#f4f4f5",
      "secondary-foreground": "#111111",
      "muted": "#8E96A3",
      "muted-foreground": "#F2EFE6",
      "accent": "#4C8FD8",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#B84A55",
      "border": "#FFFFFF17",
      "input": "#FFFFFF17",
      "ring": "#4C8FD8",
      "chart-1": "#F2EFE6",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#4C8FD8",
      "chart-4": "#A6C64A",
      "chart-5": "#D0A24A",
      "sidebar": "#F7F4EA",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#F2EFE6",
      "sidebar-primary": "#F2EFE6",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "sidebar-accent": "#4C8FD8",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "#FFFFFF17",
      "sidebar-ring": "#4C8FD8",
      "radius": "16px"
    },
    "dark": {
      "background": "#0f1115",
      "foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "card": "#181b22",
      "card-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "popover": "#181b22",
      "popover-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "primary": "#F2EFE6",
      "primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "secondary": "#252a33",
      "secondary-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "muted": "#252a33",
      "muted-foreground": "#a1a1aa",
      "accent": "#4C8FD8",
      "accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "destructive": "#B84A55",
      "border": "#303642",
      "input": "#303642",
      "ring": "#4C8FD8",
      "chart-1": "#F2EFE6",
      "chart-2": "#f4f4f5",
      "chart-3": "#4C8FD8",
      "chart-4": "#A6C64A",
      "chart-5": "#D0A24A",
      "sidebar": "#181b22",
      "sidebar-foreground": "#f8fafc",
      "sidebar-primary": "#F2EFE6",
      "sidebar-primary-foreground": "#111111",
      "sidebar-accent": "#4C8FD8",
      "sidebar-accent-foreground": "#ffffff",
      "sidebar-border": "#303642",
      "sidebar-ring": "#4C8FD8",
      "radius": "16px"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "source": "katagami",
    "languageId": "en-019f8b0b-3baa-7d50-91e6-a6b71e96dac4",
    "slug": "capsule",
    "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_2",
        "accent_soft",
        "bg",
        "border",
        "error",
        "info",
        "muted",
        "on_accent",
        "success",
        "surface",
        "surface_solid",
        "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"
      ],
      "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 · capsule
DESIGN.md

at a glance

Typography

headline-lgBarlow Condensed · 36px · 700

The quick brown fox jumps

headline-mdBarlow Condensed · 28px · 600

The quick brown fox jumps

body-mdIBM Plex Sans · 17px · 400

The quick brown fox jumps

label-mdShare Tech Mono · 12px · 600

The quick brown fox jumps

shadcn/ui

implementation kit

built with
Palette

Agent-generated

remix lane

try a remix

Keep Capsuleand 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
Capsule
Palette
Art style
Landing Page
live preview · recolored + filled
lineage

Family