flowmanceArticle Design System
Article is a calm, magazine-like blog template. The whole page sits on one warm putty grey (#C1C1BE) with near-black #121212 type in Satoshi, so it reads like uncoated paper rather than a white screen. Structure comes from thin full-width hairlines and slightly darker grey cards, and the only strong colour is in the photography: red fur hats, pink backdrops, gold crowns. The published preview opens on an Intro page that indexes the layouts (Home 1–3, Article 1–3, Article Post, Article Category, Subscribe Modal, About 1–3, Contact); the system below covers that page and what its thumbnails show of the others.
Four signatures make it recognisable:
- Two-weight uppercase titles. Section and page titles set the first word bold and the rest light, with no gap change: HOME STYLES, ALL ARTICLES, ABOUT US, GET IN TOUCH, JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER.
- Putty grey, not white. Canvas #C1C1BE, cards #B3B2AF, rules #AAA9A5. The page has no white surface; even button text on black is the canvas grey.
- Dark title boxes on photos. Post titles sit in #121212 boxes with a 6px radius over the image, with a tiny category tag and a square arrow icon in the corner.
- Hairline structure. A 1px #AAA9A5 rule runs under the nav and between every section, from margin to margin.
Article is a light design with a dark #121212 footer and search overlay.
Colors
Surfaces
#C1C1BEPage background (--second-color)
#B3B2AFDemo and content cards (--main-color)
#AAA9A5Small fills and chips (--third-color)
#121212Footer, search overlay, post title boxes, newsletter modal
#121212Dark subscribe field, with a 24px user icon at 15px from the left
Ink
#C1C1BEText on primary
#121212Text on secondary
#121212Headlines, nav, labels (--dark)
#121212Body text
#C1C1BEText on inverse-canvas
#C1C1BEAction
#121212All filled buttons and the square icon boxes
#313131The circle that grows inside button-primary on hover
#C1C1BEThe light submit on the dark footer
Lines & effects
#232323.button:hover (form submits)
#AAA9A5Hairline under the nav, rules between sections, the 1px × 30px nav divider, input borders
#C1C1BE · 24%Border of the dark subscribe field
#FFFFFF · 50%0.5px ring on the small round arrow icon
Typography
Satoshi · display-hero
The quick brown fox jumpsTake your blog to the next level with Articlē. 101px · 500 · 0.95 · -2px
Satoshi · headline-search
The quick brown fox jumpsThe search overlay input. 36px · 400 · 1.17
Satoshi · body-lg
The quick brown fox jumpsHero lead A stylish, contemporary template crafted for diverse blog platforms. 23px · 500 · 1.2
Satoshi · title-section
The quick brown fox jumpsBold first word of section titles (HOME), FOLLOW US — @ARTICLE. 22px · 600 · 1.1
Satoshi · label-nav
The quick brown fox jumpsNav links Articles, Categories, About, Contact. 17px · 600 · 1.18
Satoshi · caption
The quick brown fox jumpsSearch hint Hit Enter to Search or X to close. 14px · 400 · 1.3
Spacing & shape
| Purpose | Value |
|---|---|
| Container | sections are full width with 2% side padding (about 29px at 1440), 3% at ≤767px |
| Section header | a full-width 1px line rule, about 60px of space, the two-weight title, then about 40px to the grid (.top-title is a 6-column grid with a 30px gap; it switches to flex at ≤991px) |
| Breakpoints | 991px, 767px, 479px (Webflow defaults), plus a min-width 768px step |
Spacing scale
| Token | Value | Preview |
|---|---|---|
xs | 5px | |
sm | 10px | |
md | 20px | |
lg | 25px | |
xl | 30px | |
2xl | 50px | |
3xl | 100px | |
4xl | 120px |
Layout spacing
| Token | Value | Preview |
|---|---|---|
side | 29px | |
column-gap | 50px | |
section-intro-bottom | 200px |
Border radius
Surfaces
How the surfaces stack, from the page background up. Hex codes and roles are in Colors above.
Motion
| Label roll (nav, buttons) | y 0 → −100%, 500ms outQuint, with a copy rising from y 103%; the #313131 overlay appears on filled buttons |
| Text colour on hover | 500ms outQuint |
| Card lift on hover | y 0 → −30px, 300ms ease, and back |
| Size change | 500ms (linear) and 300ms ease |
| Fades | opacity, 300ms ease; search overlay and modal 200ms ease with display: block |
| Reveal on scroll | y 0% rises, 500ms; y −38px → 0, 500ms |
| Slide in | x 30px → 0, 800ms outExpo; x −30px → 0, 500ms outQuart |
| Page scroll | Page-scroll actions tie the nav and footer logo to scroll position |
| Buttons | all .3s |
Do’s and don’ts
- Use #C1C1BE as the page and #121212 for all text; swap them for dark blocks.
- Set section titles, and most page titles, in uppercase with the first word at 600 and the rest at 400 (the Article Post title is the exception, in sentence case).
- Separate sections with a full-width 1px #AAA9A5 rule.
- Use #B3B2AF cards with a 10px radius and 6px-radius images inside.
- Put post titles in #121212 boxes over the photo, with a 38px square icon box in the corner.
- Use the em dash in labels and buttons (Buy Article — $79).
- Use white backgrounds or white text. The light tone is always #C1C1BE.
- Add shadows, blur or gradients.
- Use grey for body text. Hierarchy comes from weight and size; body stays #121212.
- Mix in a brand accent colour; strong colour lives in the photos only.
- Round anything above 10px, except circles for icons and avatars.
- Set display titles in one weight; the bold/light split is the template's mark.
Example prompt
Any page in the Article style
More design systems like this
Blog design systems, the same colors first.
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Get All AccessUpgrade to All AccessHow to use the Article design system
Pick a file to see what it’s for and where it goes.
What it is
The whole design system in one markdown file, written for AI: every color, type style, spacing value, component and motion rule, plus do's, don'ts and a ready prompt.
Best for
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor and v0, or any other AI tool that builds pages or code.
How to use it
- Put
DESIGN.mdin your project and mention it in your request, or save it as.cursor/rules/article.mdc - For the rule file, start it with a front-matter block that sets
alwaysApply: true, so every chat uses it - Ask: “Build a pricing page using DESIGN.md.” Cursor follows the colors, fonts, spacing and rules
- Put
DESIGN.mdin the project root - Add one line to
CLAUDE.md: “Follow DESIGN.md for all UI.” - Ask for any page or component; Claude reads the file first
- Attach
DESIGN.mdto the chat (or paste it in) - Ask: “Build a landing page in this design system.”
- Keep the file in the chat or project knowledge, so follow-up pages stay on style
What it is
Every token as data, in the W3C Design Tokens format: colors with their roles, type styles, radius, spacing, and component tokens that point at them.
Best for
Figma (Tokens Studio), Style Dictionary and other design-token tools, and build scripts.
How to use it
- In Figma, open Tokens Studio, choose Import, and pick
tokens.json - Or point Style Dictionary’s
sourceat it to generate tokens for any platform - In code, import it like any JSON file
What it is
A Tailwind CSS v4 theme: every color, font, type style, radius and spacing value becomes a Tailwind utility, like bg-canvas, text-headline-lg or rounded-md.
Best for
Tailwind v4 projects, and AI builders that write Tailwind (v0, Lovable, Bolt).
How to use it
- Save
theme.cssnext to your main CSS file - Import it after Tailwind:
@import "tailwindcss"; @import "./theme.css"; - Use the classes:
bg-canvas text-ink rounded-md p-lg
What it is
The same tokens as plain CSS variables on :root. Component values point at the color variables, so changing one color updates everything that uses it.
Best for
Any website: plain CSS, Webflow custom code, Framer, WordPress.
How to use it
- Add it to your stylesheet, or in Webflow paste it into Site settings → Custom code inside a
<style>tag - Use the variables anywhere:
color: var(--color-ink) - Change a token once and every place that uses it follows