Example: design system, designed by NorthcutBack to Northcut

Color

One neutral ramp and one accent. Every token has a semantic alias, so product code never references a raw hex.

50
200
400
600
800
950
accent.50
accent.500
accent.800

Typography

Geist for interface text, Geist Mono for numbers and code. Five sizes, two weights.

display / 48Display
title / 28Title
heading / 20Heading
body / 16Body text sits at sixteen pixels with a comfortable line height.
caption / 13Caption and helper text.

Spacing

A 4-pixel base. Components use the scale, never arbitrary values.

1234681216

Button

Four variants, one shape. Icons go on the trailing side only.

<Button variant="primary">Primary</Button>
<Button variant="danger">Delete</Button>

Badge

Status only. Never use a badge as a button.

DefaultActivePendingFailed

Card

One level of elevation. Cards never nest inside cards.

Invoice #2041

Due in 6 days. $1,240.00 to Halden Supply.

View invoice

Toast

Bottom-left, four seconds, one at a time. Success and error only; informational messages live inline.

Changes saved

Input

Label above, helper below, error replaces helper. Focus ring is two pixels, never a glow.

We only use this to send your receipt.

Forms

Rules for composing inputs into a form.

Do

Single column. Labels above. Group related fields with a heading. One primary action at the end.

Don't

Placeholder text as the label. Two primary buttons. Disabling the submit button before the user has tried.

Empty states

Every list has one. Say what belongs here and give the first action.

No invoices yet

Invoices you send will appear here.

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