minimalist-ui

Minimalist UI Protocol

Premium Utilitarian Minimalism & Editorial UI — refined, document-style interfaces with deliberate constraints.

Core Aesthetic

A high-contrast warm monochrome palette, bespoke typographic hierarchies, meticulous structural macro-whitespace, bento-grid layouts, and an ultra-flat component architecture.

Mantra: Every element must justify its existence. If it doesn't communicate, remove it.

Typographic Foundation

Font Selection

Role	Options	Notes
Body/UI	SF Pro Display, Geist Sans, Switzer	Geometric sans-serif
Headings	Lyon Text, Newsreader, Playfair Display	Editorial serif, tight tracking
Metadata/Mono	Geist Mono, JetBrains Mono	Data, timestamps, labels

Never use: Inter, Roboto, Open Sans — too generic.

Typography Rules

• Off-black text: #111111 (never pure #000000)
• Heading tracking: tight (letter-spacing: -0.02em)
• Body line height: 1.6–1.7
• Maximum 2 type sizes in any single component

Color Palette

Role	Value	Usage
Canvas	#F7F6F3	Warm off-white background
Text primary	#111111	Body text, headings
Text secondary	#666666	Labels, metadata
Borders	#EAEAEA	Card borders, dividers
Accent	Sparse pastel	ONE desaturated accent only

Accent colors: pale red, pale blue, pale green, pale yellow — never saturated.

Component Specifications

Cards

.card {
  border: 1px solid #EAEAEA;
  border-radius: 8px; /* never > 12px */
  background: #FFFFFF;
  padding: 1.5rem;
}

.card:hover {
  box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); /* ultra-soft, not harsh */
}

CTAs / Buttons

.btn-primary {
  background: #111111;
  color: #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: 6px;
  padding: 0.625rem 1.25rem;
  transition: opacity 0.15s ease;
}

.btn-primary:hover {
  opacity: 0.85; /* not scale, not color change — just opacity */
}

Prohibited Elements

• No Inter/Roboto/Open Sans
• No Tailwind heavy shadows (shadow-lg, shadow-xl)
• No gradients (linear or radial)
• No neon or saturated accent colors
• No pill-shaped buttons
• No emojis anywhere — not in code, markup, headings, or alt text
• No glassmorphism
• No three-column equal feature grids

Motion — Ultra-Subtle Only

/* Entry animation */
@keyframes fade-in {
  from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(4px); }
  to   { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); }
}

.card { animation: fade-in 0.2s ease-out; }

/* Hover */
.card:hover { box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.06); }

Rules:

• Animate only transform and opacity
• Maximum 200ms duration for hover states
• No bouncing, spring physics, or overshooting in minimalist contexts

Iconography

• Use single-weight, minimal icon sets (Phosphor Thin, Lucide)
• Icons at 16–20px, never larger in body content
• Icon + label always — never icon alone
• SVG preferred, no icon fonts

Bento Grid

.bento-grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(12, 1fr);
  gap: 1rem;
}

/* Cards span different column widths for visual rhythm */
.card-wide { grid-column: span 8; }
.card-narrow { grid-column: span 4; }

Execution Protocol

1. Establish typographic hierarchy before any color decisions
2. Set spacing scale (base 4px or 8px)
3. Layout in grayscale first — no color until structure is right
4. Add single accent color last
5. Remove anything not earning its place

Pre-Output Checklist

• [ ] No emojis
• [ ] No pure black (#000000)
• [ ] No generic fonts (Inter/Roboto/Open Sans)
• [ ] No heavy shadows
• [ ] No gradients
• [ ] Single accent color only, desaturated
• [ ] Cards use exactly border: 1px solid #EAEAEA
• [ ] Animations ≤ 200ms, transform/opacity only
• [ ] Mobile layout uses w-full px-4 py-8