news.ycombinator.com

DESIGN.md

Narrative design system document — paste directly into Claude Code, Cursor, or Bolt.

---
version: alpha
name: news.ycombinator.com
description: "Light product system built on #ffffff with #ff6600 as the primary CTA accent. Type anchored in Geneva at 48px / weight 600. Extracted automatically from https://news.ycombinator.com/ — rendered styles via getComputedStyle() + CSS custom properties (token-only values may not be painted)."
narrative: |
  news.ycombinator.com is built on a pure-white canvas (rgb(255,255,255)).
  The system uses rgb(255, 102, 0) as the high-saturation accent for primary actions.
  Geneva as the primary typeface.
  Depth comes from borders and surface contrast rather than shadows — a flat, structural elevation model.
  Motion is minimal — a few targeted transitions, no decorative animation.

colors:
  background: "#ffffff"
  surface-1: "#ffffff"
  surface-2: "#ffffff"
  ink: "#828282"
  ink-subtle: "#222222"
  primary: "#ff6600"
  on-primary: "#111111"
  primary-hover: "#ff6600"
  hairline: "#828282"

typography:
  body:
    fontFamily: "Geneva, 'SF Pro Display', system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif"
    fontSize: 13.3333px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: normal
    letterSpacing: 0
  body-sm:
    fontFamily: "Geneva, 'SF Pro Display', system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif"
    fontSize: 13.3333px
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 0.9
    letterSpacing: 0
  mono:
    fontFamily: "monospace, 'SF Mono', 'JetBrains Mono', Menlo, monospace"
    fontSize: 13.3333px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: normal
    letterSpacing: 0

rounded:
  none: 0px
  xs: 4px
  sm: 8px
  md: 14px
  lg: 20px
  xl: 32px
  pill: 9999px

spacing:
  xxs: 2px
  xs: 2px
  sm: 8px
  md: 12px
  lg: 24px
  xl: 32px
  xxl: 64px

components:
  input-text-input:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface-2}"
    textColor: "#000000"
    typography: "{typography.body}"
    rounded: "{rounded.none}"
    padding: 1px 2px

extracted_at: "2026-06-11T06:13:25.292Z"
completeness: 30
scoreVersion: "v2"

---

# Design System — news.ycombinator.com
> Extracted automatically by Prism from https://news.ycombinator.com
> Date: 2026-06-11
> Viewport: Desktop 1440x900 + Mobile 390x844
> Values are extracted, not hand-written: rendered styles via getComputedStyle() + colors declared in CSS custom properties (token-only values are marked `(token)` and may not be painted).


## 0. Design DNA

**Density**: moderate  |  **Motion**: still  |  **Weight**: heavy  |  **Aesthetic**: engineering-minimal

| Dimension | Value | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas | neutral | `#ffffff` |
| Type posture | sans-led (Geneva) | display type |
| Color assertion | single-accent | #ff6600 |
| Whitespace | moderate | section rhythm 48px |
| Interaction | still | 0 keyframes, 1 transitions |
| Radius language | 8px-rounded | from token scale |

**Prism fingerprint**: `neutral-canvas · sans-display · single-accent · 8px-rounded · still-motion`

> **🤖 TL;DR for AI agents** (read this first — saves you scanning the full doc):
>
> - **Canvas**: `rgb(255,255,255)` is the page background. Every component composits against this.
> - **Accent**: `rgb(255, 102, 0)` for primary CTAs ONLY. Never decorative.
> - **Body type**: 13.3333px (token: `typography.body`). Default for ALL text not in a heading role.
> - **Section rhythm**: 48px between major bands. Card padding: 24px.
> - **Default radius**: 8px on buttons/inputs. Pills (`9999px`) only for icon-buttons or status chips.
> - **Forbidden**: Do NOT introduce heavy box-shadows — this system relies on borders for separation
>
> **Before generating UI**: import this DESIGN.md, scan §2 (Color Palette) + §4 (Components) + §10 (Agent Guide). Skip §11–12 unless extending.

## 1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere

news.ycombinator.com uses a pure-white canvas (`#ffffff`), letting typography, color and imagery carry the visual weight. 

Typography is anchored in **Geneva**. 

Body text reads in Slate Grey (`#828282`). **Bright Orange** (`#ff6600`) is the single high-saturation color in the system — it earns its presence only on interactive elements, making CTAs and links the unmistakable focal points against the otherwise neutral palette. Shadow is absent by design — depth is conveyed through borders, spacing, and color differentiation rather than light simulation. 


**Key Characteristics:**
- Background: Pure White (`#ffffff`)
- Primary typeface: Geneva
- Primary text: Slate Grey (`#828282`)
- Accent: Bright Orange (`#ff6600`)

## 2. Color Palette & Roles

### Background & Surface
- **Pure White** (`#ffffff`): Page background (primary)
- **Off-White** (`#f6f6ef`): Surface / elevated background

### Text & Content
- **Slate Grey** (`#828282`): Primary body text
- **Pure Black** (`#000000`): Secondary text
- **Near-Black** (`#222222`): Secondary text

### Accent & Interactive
- **Bright Orange** (`#ff6600`): Interactive / accent

### Full Extracted Palette
**8 colors rendered on the page**. (6 categorized above + 2 additional below.)
Rendered values are read via `getComputedStyle()`; token values come from CSS variable declarations. Third-party logo colors are filtered out.

- `#808080` — Slate Grey
- `#767676` — Slate Grey

## 3. Typography Rules

### Font Families
- **Primary**: `Geneva`

### Typography Hierarchy

| Role | Font | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Notes |
|------|------|------|--------|-------------|----------------|-------|
| Body | Geneva | 13.3333px | 400 | normal | normal | Standard reading text |
| Link | Geneva | 13.3333px | 700 | 0.9 | normal | Link (13.3333px) — Decoration: none |
| Input | monospace | 13.3333px | 400 | normal | normal | Form input (13.3333px) |
| Link Small | Geneva | 10.6667px | 400 | normal | normal | Link (10.6667px) — Decoration: none |
| Link Small | Geneva | 9.33333px | 400 | normal | normal | Link (9.33333px) — Decoration: none |

### Full Font Size Scale

Sizes detected in the design (descending): `16px`, `13.33px`, `10.67px`, `9.33px`

> 1 size(s) detected outside the sampled hierarchy (16px). These appear on elements not in the sampled set — likely additional display sizes, marketing-section overrides, or third-party-widget styles.

## 4. Component Stylings

### Inputs & Forms

**Text Input**
- Background: `#ffffff` `{colors.surface-2}`
- Text: `#000000`
- Padding: 1px 2px
- Radius: 0px
- Border: 2px inset rgb(118, 118, 118)
- Font: 13.3333px weight 400
- Use: Text fields, search inputs
- Focus: outline: `rgb(16, 16, 16) auto 1px`


## 4b. Component Behaviors (State Matrix)

### Interaction State Narrative


*State transitions extracted via Playwright simulation — exact values in the YAML matrix below.*

```yaml
component-behaviors:
  input:
    default:
      bg: "rgb(255, 255, 255)"
      fg: "rgb(0, 0, 0)"
      border: "2px inset rgb(118, 118, 118)"
    focus:
      bg: "transparent"
      fg: "inherit"
  link:
    default:
      bg: "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"
      fg: "rgb(0, 0, 0)"
```

**Agent usage**: Validate generated components against this matrix. If your output's `:hover` state changes properties not listed here, you are off-brand.


## 4c. Component Vocabulary (Closed System)

*This brand uses ONLY the following component vocabulary. Introducing new variants without justification breaks the system's tonal coherence.*

### Inputs & Forms
- **1 shape(s)** in this system: `Text Input`
- **DO NOT introduce new inputs & forms variants** without justification

## 5. Layout Principles

### Layout Type
**top-nav + content**

### Grid
Single column, centered content

### Max Width
1200px

### Spacing System
Compact spacing — information density prioritized

| Token | Value |
|-------|-------|
| xxs | 2px |
| xs | 2px |
| sm | 8px |
| md | 12px |
| base | 16px |
| lg | 24px |
| xl | 32px |
| 2xl | 48px |
| 3xl | 64px |

### Border Radius Scale
| Name | Value | Use |
|------|-------|-----|
| None | 0px | No rounding |
| Xs | 4px | Tiny corners (badges, micro elements) |
| Sm | 8px | Buttons, inputs, small elements |
| Md | 14px | Cards, containers |
| Lg | 20px | Large rounded elements, pill segments |
| Xl | 32px | Category strips, featured containers |
| Full | 9999px | Pills, avatars, circular elements |

### Shape Language

| Component | Border Radius |
|-----------|---------------|
| Inputs & Forms | `0px` |
| Page Body | `0px` |
| Primary Input | `0px` |

**Shape Personality**: Sharp & Angular — No rounding. Precise, editorial, enterprise feel.


## 5b. Spacing Rhythm Names

*Named spacing tokens with explicit use cases. Use these names in YOUR code instead of raw pixels for consistency.*

| Name | Value | Use case |
|------|-------|----------|
| **hero** | `64px` | Top/bottom of full-bleed hero sections |
| **section** | `32px` | Between major bands (color change, content shift) |
| **subsection** | `24px` | Within a section, between content groups |
| **card** | `12px` | Card padding, list-item spacing |
| **compact** | `8px` | Form fields, tight clusters, badge padding |
| **micro** | `2px` | Icon-text gap, tag inner padding |

**Agent rule**: NEVER hardcode raw pixel values for spacing in generated UI. Always reference these named tokens (`spacing-rhythm.section`, etc.).

## 6. Depth & Elevation

| Level | Treatment | Use |
|-------|-----------|-----|
| Flat (Level 0) | No shadow | Page background, content blocks |

**Shadow Philosophy**: Flat design — no shadows used. Borders and spacing define structure.

## 8. Do's and Don'ts

### Do
- Use Geneva as the primary typeface — it defines the brand personality
- The system uses a single text weight (400) — hierarchy comes from size and color, not weight
- Use Bright Orange (`#ff6600`) as the primary accent — it's the brand's signature interactive color
- Style form inputs with a `2px inset rgb(118, 118, 118)` border — use border-based inputs, not floating labels or underline-only
- Respect the 2px–32px spacing range — the design uses a wide scale for visual breathing room

### Don't
- Don't substitute with generic sans-serif or serif — the custom font carries the brand
- Don't introduce bolder or lighter weights — 400 is the only weight in this system
- Don't introduce additional saturated accent colors — the palette is intentionally controlled
- Don't remove the input border — the border is the primary affordance indicator for form fields


## 7b. Enforceable Brand Rules

*Structured Do/Don't with reasoning and validation tests. Agents can programmatically verify generated UI.*

```yaml
rules:
  - id: brand-canvas-001
    type: do
    rule: "Always use the page background `rgb(255,255,255)` as the base canvas"
    why: "Every component is designed to composit against this exact tone"
    test: "document.body.style.backgroundColor === 'rgb(255,255,255)'"
  - id: brand-accent-001
    type: do
    rule: "Reserve `rgb(255, 102, 0)` for primary CTAs and brand-mark signals only"
    why: "Single chromatic assertion device — overuse dilutes meaning"
    test: "querySelectorAll('[style*=\"rgb(255, 102, 0)\"]').length <= 3 per fold"
  - id: brand-depth-001
    type: dont
    rule: "Do NOT introduce drop shadows on cards or sections"
    why: "Containment is achieved via borders, not elevation — adding shadows breaks the depth contract"
    test: "getComputedStyle(card).boxShadow === 'none'"
```

## 9. Responsive Behavior

### Breakpoints
| Name | Width | Key Changes |
|------|-------|-------------|
| Mobile | 389px | Single column, compact spacing |
| Mobile Large | 509px | Expanded mobile layout |
| Mobile Large | 599px | Expanded mobile layout |
| Mobile Large | 689px | Expanded mobile layout |
| Mobile Large | 750px | Expanded mobile layout |
| Desktop | 1259px | Full feature layout |

### Collapsing Strategy
- Navigation: horizontal links → hamburger menu on mobile
- Cards: multi-column → stacked vertical on mobile
- Footer: multi-column → stacked single column on mobile

### Touch Targets
- Navigation: adequate spacing between items
- Interactive elements: minimum 44px touch target recommended

### Collapsing Narrative

How the structural patterns adapt from desktop to mobile (extracted from both viewport extractions):

*No major structural differences detected between desktop and mobile widgets. The same blueprints scale rather than collapse — verify by inspecting actual mobile render.*

## 9b. Visual Tone & Photography

**Tone:** No imagery

No detectable photographic content. The site composes entirely with typography, color blocks, and minimal vector graphics. Clone strategy: lean on type hierarchy + layout rhythm rather than visual media.

**Media Format Mix:**
- *No detectable images.*

**Decorative Patterns Detected:**
- 30 multi-stop linear gradients (mesh-like, 3+ color stops) — the brand leans on rich color transitions for visual depth
- 30 background patterns (non-photo url() backgrounds) — textures/illustrations as backdrops

**Clone instruction for decorative work:** This is a gradient-rich design — invest in multi-stop CSS gradients (3+ color stops), not solid backgrounds.

**Imagery Guidance for clones:**
- Don't add stock imagery just to "fill space" — this site's clarity comes from typographic restraint.
- Use generous whitespace, strong type hierarchy, and color blocks for visual rhythm.

## 10. Agent Prompt Guide

### Quick Reference
- Background: Pure White (`#ffffff`)
- Primary text: Slate Grey (`#828282`)
- Accent: Bright Orange (`#ff6600`)
- Border: Slate Grey (`#828282`)
- Font: Geneva
- Body: 13.3333px weight 400

### Example Component Prompts
- "Create the primary CTA button: `#ff6600` background, `#111111` text, 9999px border-radius, 11px 21px padding, 700 weight, Geneva font."
- "Build navigation: sticky on `#ffffff`. Geneva 16px weight 400 for links."

### Iteration Guide
1. **Canvas**: Set the light canvas to Pure White (`#ffffff`) — every component is composited against this exact base.
2. **Typography**: All type in Geneva, weight range 400–400. Never exceed 400 — heavier weights break the brand's tonal restraint.
3. **Accent**: Bright Orange (`#ff6600`) is the sole interactive color. On hover → Bright Orange (`#ff6600`). Use CSS transitions, not opacity/brightness filters.
4. **Spacing**: Use the `--ca-space-*` token scale (2px–32px). All padding, margin, and gap values are multiples from this scale — no magic numbers.
5. **Tokens**: Import from §11 CSS Export (`--ca-*` vars). Never hardcode hex values — always reference a token so theming remains consistent.

## 11. CSS Design Tokens Raw Export

*Copy-paste ready `:root {}` block — all values extracted directly from the live site.*

```css
/* Colors */
:root {
  --ca-surface-2: #ffffff;
  --ca-hairline: #828282;
  --ca-ink-subtle: #222222;
  --ca-primary-hover: #ff6600;
  --ca-on-primary: #111111;
}

/* Typography */
:root {
  --ca-font-primary: "Geneva", system-ui, sans-serif;
  --ca-text-body: 13.3333px;
  --ca-text-small: 13.3333px;
  --ca-text-mono: 13.3333px;
}

/* Spacing & Radius */
:root {
  --ca-space-xxs: 2px;
  --ca-space-xs: 2px;
  --ca-space-sm: 8px;
  --ca-space-md: 12px;
  --ca-space-base: 16px;
  --ca-space-lg: 24px;
  --ca-space-xl: 32px;
  --ca-space-2xl: 48px;
  --ca-space-3xl: 64px;
  --ca-radius-none: 0px;
  --ca-radius-xs: 4px;
  --ca-radius-sm: 8px;
  --ca-radius-md: 14px;
  --ca-radius-lg: 20px;
  --ca-radius-xl: 32px;
  --ca-radius-full: 9999px;
}
```


## 13. Page Structure Skeleton

*The actual layout the source site uses. Reproduce these sections in order to match the site structure.*

```yaml
page-skeleton:
  - section: content-section
    tag: center
    height: 1167px
    width: 1424px
    layout: block
    children: 1
  - section: content-section
    tag: table
    height: 1167px
    width: 1210px
    layout: block
    children: 1
    bg: "rgb(246, 246, 239)"
```

**Agent rule**: rebuild sections in this order (sorted by vertical position). Match the layout primitive (grid N-col / flex direction / block).


## 15. Asset Inventory (Image Roles & Ratios)

*Image inventory classified by role and aspect ratio. When reproducing the site, allocate this number of assets per role.*

```yaml
assets:
  thumbnail:
    count: 1
    avg-ratio: 1.00
    common-aspect: "~1:1 square"
```

**Agent rule**: when generating placeholder images, match these counts and aspect ratios. Use neutral placeholder backgrounds for `product` (e.g. `#f5f5f5`), full-color photography hints for `hero` and `editorial`.


## 17. Content Architecture & Resources (Links by Purpose)

*The page's links classified by purpose — the information architecture to reproduce. Categories, featured images, devices and projects are extracted from the rendered DOM, not guessed.*

**By purpose:** **auth** 1 · **blog** 3 · **social** 1 · **other** 55

**Primary actions (conversion path):**
- Account access — "login" (login/signup) → `https://news.ycombinator.com/login?goto=news`

**Signals:** 1/60 links carry a featured image · dominant link roles: inline-link (58), content-card (1), social-link (1).


---
## Extraction Completeness: 30/100 (D)

| Category | Score | Max | Detail |
|----------|-------|-----|--------|
| Colors & Palette | 8 | 25 | 6 named colors |
| Typography | 13 | 20 | 5 roles defined |
| Components | 4 | 20 | 1 specs extracted |
| Motion & Interaction | 0 | 15 | No keyframes |
| CSS Custom Properties | 0 | 10 | 0 vars |
| Responsive Breakpoints | 5 | 5 | 6 breakpoints |
| Variable Fonts | 0 | 5 | None detected |

## 12. Known Gaps & Confidence

Explicit list of what this extraction could NOT capture. Agents should not invent values for these — either skip the feature or use the documented baseline + heuristic fallback.

*Auto-detected extraction limitations — understand before building:*

- **Sparse component extraction** — fewer than 5 component types detected. Highly dynamic sections (modals, datepickers, carousels) require interaction to render and are not captured in a static pass.

| Category | What's missing | Fallback strategy |
|----------|----------------|-------------------|
| **Photography** | No photographic content detected on this page | Don't add stock imagery; clarity comes from type + color blocks |
| **Keyframe animations** | No @keyframes declarations found (transitions only) | Use CSS transitions for state changes; avoid complex scroll-based animations |
| **Dark mode** | No dark-mode CSS variables or media queries detected | Light mode is canonical; do not generate dark-mode variants unless explicitly requested |
| **Design tokens** | Only 0 CSS custom properties (low signal for semantic naming) | Color names are nearest-neighbor approximations; verify against brand guidelines if available |

### Per-section confidence

| Section | Confidence | Reason |
|---------|------------|--------|
| §1 Visual Theme | High | Body bg extracted via getComputedStyle() |
| §2 Colors | Low | 0 CSS vars (semantic naming requires ≥20 for high) |
| §3 Typography | High | 5 typography roles inferred |
| §4 Components | Low | 1 component variants captured |
| §7 Motion | Medium | Transitions only |
| §8 Do's/Don'ts | High | 9 rules generated; design-decisions.json has evidence per rule |
| §9 Responsive | High | 6 breakpoints detected |
| §9b Photography | Low | 0 images, hero not detected |

## 11.2 Measured Reality (CDP Engine)

Captured directly from Chrome's engine across **all 1286 rendered nodes** — not a sample. These are the values the page *actually paints*, weighted by how often they appear.

### Real Responsive Breakpoints
**21 breakpoints** read from the live `@media` rules (not guessed) — 14 most relevant:
`300px` · `389px` · `390px` · `509px` · `510px` · `599px` · `600px` · `689px` · `690px` · `750px` · `809px` · `810px` · `899px` · `900px` … (+7 more)

### Measured Design Scale
**Type scale by usage** (× = paint count): `13.3333px`×410 · `10.6667px`×198 · `16px`×107

**Weights** (× = paint count): `400`×1282 · `700`×3

### Provenance — measured styles on key elements
Read from the live CSSOM (includes runtime-injected CSS). This is *what actually styles the page*, by element:

```css
body { font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size:10pt; color:#828282 }
a { color:#000000 }
input { font-family:monospace; font-size:10pt }
```

> Selectors normalised to their semantic element — source class names are often build-hashed (`.bgDIHX`) and not reusable. The declarations + CSS vars are the transferable part.

---
*Generated by Prism — automated Playwright extraction + design analysis.*
*Source: https://news.ycombinator.com | 2026-06-11T06:13:25.299Z*
*Values extracted via getComputedStyle() (rendered) + CSS custom properties (tokens, marked `(token)`). Token-only values may not be painted — verify against the live site before shipping.*