kyler.design – Design System Reference

1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere

Dark minimal portfolio with near-black surfaces and tightly controlled accent highlights. The low-saturation approach draws the eye to selected moments of colour without visual noise.

The overall mode is dark, with a editorial, serif-driven typographic identity. Depth is entirely absent – the composition is rigorously flat.

2. Color Palette & Roles

Design Tokens

• var(--background): #0f0f0f
• var(--highlight-bg): #1f1f1f
• var(--popover): rgb(26,26,26)
• var(--border-muted): #404040

Computed Roles

• background (body): rgb(15, 15, 15)
• text (body): rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8)
• border (body): rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.075)
• text (h3): rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.6)
• surface (div.navigation-overlay): rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)

Key observations: Token-driven colour system – use CSS custom properties as the single source of truth. Never hardcode hex values. Dark-mode-first palette.

3. Typography Rules

h3 – Finder, 12px, weight 400, line-height 19.2px, uppercase

Hierarchy principle: A single typeface (Finder) handles all levels. Size and weight alone establish rhythm.

What is absent: No monospace or system-UI fallback. The serif identity is deliberate – do not substitute.

4. Component Styling

Border radii: No border radii detected – corners are sharp throughout.

Interactive states:

• button: tag: button “Things I’d like to d”, default: [object Object], hover: null, focus: [object Object]

Buttons & controls: Match the typographic register – serif labels, generous line-height, understated borders.

5. Layout Principles

Common padding values: 128px 16px, 16px 0px.

The dominant padding rhythm (128px 16px) suggests a fixed-pixel grid.

Avoid introducing grid lines, dividers, or decorative rules unless absolutely necessary. Let whitespace do the structural work.

6. Depth & Elevation

No box shadows detected. Depth is achieved through colour contrast and spacing alone – the design is intentionally flat.

Maintain the flat aesthetic throughout. If you must indicate overlapping layers (modals, tooltips), use border outlines or background tints rather than shadows.

7. Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

• Respect the editorial, serif-driven typographic voice – every element should speak the same typeface language.
• Use whitespace as a primary design tool. When in doubt, add space rather than elements.
• Reference CSS custom properties exclusively – never bypass the token layer.
• Keep interactions subtle: micro-transitions at 150-200ms maximum.

Don’t:

• Do not swap the serif for a sans-serif alternative. The editorial register depends on it.
• Do not add drop shadows, gradients, or decorative textures unless they are already present in the system.
• Do not use colour to communicate hierarchy – spacing and scale do that work here.
• Avoid centring body text. The layout has a strong left-anchored reading rhythm.

8. Responsive Behavior

Breakpoints detected: 600, 640, 768, 1024.

Honour the breakpoints extracted above.

On small screens, collapse multi-column layouts to a single column without compromising the typographic scale. The type should remain readable – never below 14px rendered size.

9. Agent Prompt Guide

When generating UI components, extensions, or page sections for kyler.design, instruct the agent as follows:

“Build in the style of kyler.design: dark minimal portfolio with near-black surfaces and tightly controlled accent highlights. Use Finder as the primary typeface. Dark background, light text. No shadows or elevation. Token-driven colours via CSS custom properties. No animations – immediate state changes only. Generous whitespace, strong typographic scale. Sharp corners throughout.”

Generated by Sparkbites – extracted from live CSS analysis