DESIGN.md
version: alpha
name: Zapier-Inspired-design-analysis
description: An inspired interpretation of Zapier's design language — a workflow-automation platform whose surface combines warm-cream neutrals (#fffefb canvas, #f8f4f0 soft cream) with deep coffee ink (#201515) and a single saturated orange CTA accent (#ff4f00); typography pairs the proprietary Degular Display family at hero scale with Inter for sub-displays and body, giving the brand a confident-warm rather than cool-tech voice.
colors: primary: "#ff4f00" on-primary: "#fffefb" ink: "#201515" ink-soft: "#2f2a26" ink-mid: "#36342e" body: "#605d52" body-mid: "#939084" mute: "#c5c0b1" canvas: "#fffefb" canvas-soft: "#f8f4f0"
typography: display-xl: fontFamily: Degular Display, Inter, system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif fontSize: 56px fontWeight: 500 lineHeight: 56px display-lg: fontFamily: Degular Display, Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 48px fontWeight: 500 lineHeight: 48px display-md: fontFamily: Degular Display, Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 32px fontWeight: 500 lineHeight: 36px letterSpacing: 1px display-sub-lg: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 48px fontWeight: 500 lineHeight: 49.92px display-sub-md: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 32px fontWeight: 400 lineHeight: 40px display-sub-sm: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 24px fontWeight: 600 lineHeight: 30px letterSpacing: -0.6px display-xs: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 20px fontWeight: 700 lineHeight: 25px letterSpacing: -0.5px body-lg: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 20px fontWeight: 400 lineHeight: 30px letterSpacing: -0.2px body-md: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 18px fontWeight: 400 lineHeight: 27px body-md-strong: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 18px fontWeight: 600 lineHeight: 27px body-sm: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 16px fontWeight: 400 lineHeight: 24px body-sm-strong: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 16px fontWeight: 600 lineHeight: 24px caption: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 14px fontWeight: 400 lineHeight: 21px eyebrow-uppercase: fontFamily: Degular Display, Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 14px fontWeight: 500 lineHeight: 14px letterSpacing: 1px button-md: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 18px fontWeight: 600 lineHeight: 27px button-sm: fontFamily: Inter, system-ui, sans-serif fontSize: 14.4px fontWeight: 700 lineHeight: 14.4px letterSpacing: 0.144px
rounded: none: 0px sm: 6px md: 12px pill: 9999px full: 9999px
spacing: xxs: 2px xs: 4px sm: 8px md: 12px lg: 16px xl: 24px 2xl: 32px 3xl: 48px 4xl: 64px
components: nav-bar: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-sm}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}" nav-link: textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-sm}" button-primary: backgroundColor: "{colors.primary}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" typography: "{typography.button-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}" button-secondary: backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" typography: "{typography.button-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}" button-tertiary: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" borderColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.button-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}" button-text: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.button-sm}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.sm} {spacing.lg}" text-input: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" borderColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.sm}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.lg}" card-content: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" card-feature-cream: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" card-feature-dark: backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" pricing-card: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" borderColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" pricing-card-featured: backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" typography: "{typography.body-md}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" hero-band: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.display-xl}" padding: "{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}" hero-band-dark: backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" typography: "{typography.display-xl}" padding: "{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}" content-band-cream: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.display-lg}" padding: "{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}" content-band-light: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.display-lg}" padding: "{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}" eyebrow-uppercase: textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.eyebrow-uppercase}" badge-pill: backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" typography: "{typography.body-sm}" rounded: "{rounded.pill}" padding: "{spacing.xs} {spacing.md}" footer: backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" typography: "{typography.body-sm}" padding: "{spacing.3xl} {spacing.xl}"
─── Examples (illustrative) — auto-derived; resolve any TO_FILL markers below ───
ex-pricing-tier: description: "Default Pricing tier card. Re-uses feature-card chrome with brand canvas-soft surface." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" textColor: "{colors.ink}" borderColor: "{colors.mute}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" ex-pricing-tier-featured: description: "Featured/highlighted tier — polarity-flipped surface (dark fill + light text in light mode, light fill + dark text in dark mode)." backgroundColor: "{colors.ink}" textColor: "{colors.on-primary}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" ex-product-selector: description: "What's Included summary card — re-purposed for SaaS / B2B verticals (NOT a literal product gallery)." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" ex-cart-drawer: description: "Subscription summary — re-purposed for SaaS / B2B (line items per add-on, not literal cart)." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" item-divider: "{colors.mute}" ex-app-shell-row: description: "Sidebar nav row inside the App Shell example. Active state uses brand primary as the indicator." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" activeIndicator: "{colors.primary}" rounded: "{rounded.sm}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.lg}" ex-data-table-cell: description: "Default data-table th + td chrome. Header uses mono-caps eyebrow typography; body uses body-sm." headerBackground: "{colors.canvas-soft}" headerTypography: "{typography.caption}" bodyTypography: "{typography.body-sm}" cellPadding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.lg}" rowBorder: "{colors.mute}" ex-auth-form-card: description: "Sign-in / sign-up card. Re-uses feature-card chrome with text-input primitives inside." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" ex-modal-card: description: "Modal dialog surface — same chrome as feature-card with elevated shadow." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.xl}" ex-empty-state-card: description: "Empty-state illustration frame." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas-soft}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.3xl}" captionTypography: "{typography.body-md}" ex-toast: description: "Toast notification surface — feature-card shape + medium shadow." backgroundColor: "{colors.canvas}" rounded: "{rounded.md}" padding: "{spacing.md} {spacing.lg}" typography: "{typography.body-sm}"
Overview
Zapier is the original "connect your apps" workflow automation platform — and the marketing surface today reads as confidently-mature. The brand pairs a warm-cream canvas {colors.canvas} (#fffefb) with a deep coffee-ink {colors.ink} (#201515) and a single saturated orange {colors.primary} (#ff4f00) CTA. The warmth in the neutrals — slightly cream rather than pure white — is the brand's defining temperature signal.
Type carries the second voice. The proprietary Degular Display family carries hero displays at weight 500. The brand uses Inter for everything else — sub-displays, body, button, eyebrow. The two-face pairing reads as "the brand has its own typeface for the loud moments and uses the workhorse for the rest" — modest and unflashy.
Cards are universally {rounded.md} 12 px. Buttons share the same 12 px radius — not pills, not square. The brand sits between the friendly-rounded and the technical-square camps with a deliberate middle position.
Key Characteristics:
- A single primary CTA color
{colors.primary}(#ff4f00) — saturated orange. The brand's conversion signature. - Warm-cream canvas
{colors.canvas}(#fffefb) — not pure white. The temperature IS the brand voice. - Deep coffee ink
{colors.ink}(#201515) — not pure black. Warmth carries through to text. - Proprietary Degular Display for hero-scale, Inter for everything else. Two-face system.
{rounded.md}12 px for buttons and cards — the brand's middle-radius signature.- A muted cream / coffee neutral ladder —
{colors.canvas-soft}(#f8f4f0),{colors.mute}(#c5c0b1),{colors.body-mid}(#939084),{colors.body}(#605d52) — every neutral carries warmth, none are cool grey.
Colors
Brand & Accent
- Zapier Orange (
{colors.primary}—#ff4f00): The single brand accent. Every primary CTA pill, every conversion target. The saturated orange IS the brand.
Surface
- Canvas (
{colors.canvas}—#fffefb): Warm off-white page background. - Canvas Soft (
{colors.canvas-soft}—#f8f4f0): Cream-tinted soft surface for cards / inset regions.
Text
- Ink (
{colors.ink}—#201515): Deep coffee — every heading and primary text. - Ink Soft (
{colors.ink-soft}—#2f2a26): Near-black with brown warmth. - Ink Mid (
{colors.ink-mid}—#36342e): Mid-emphasis text. - Body (
{colors.body}—#605d52): Default body text color. - Body Mid (
{colors.body-mid}—#939084): Secondary body / metadata. - Mute (
{colors.mute}—#c5c0b1): Lowest-priority text — fine print, low-emphasis captions.
Semantic
The brand doesn't surface a separate semantic palette on its marketing pages. Status / validation cues borrow from the ink + orange hierarchy.
Typography
Font Family
Two faces ladder the system:
- Degular Display — proprietary geometric display sans used for hero headlines at weight 500. The brand's typographic signature.
- Inter — used for sub-displays, body, links, buttons, and eyebrows. Weights 400 / 500 / 600 / 700 are present.
Hierarchy
| Token | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
{typography.display-xl} | 56px | 500 | 56px | 0 | Hero headline (Degular Display). |
{typography.display-lg} | 48px | 500 | 48px | 0 | Sub-hero displays (Degular Display). |
{typography.display-md} | 32px | 500 | 36px | 1px | Section displays (Degular Display, positive tracking). |
{typography.display-sub-lg} | 48px | 500 | 49.92px | 0 | Inter-rendered sub-display. |
{typography.display-sub-md} | 32px | 400 | 40px | 0 | Inter sub-display. |
{typography.display-sub-sm} | 24px | 600 | 30px | -0.6px | Card titles (Inter, semibold). |
{typography.display-xs} | 20px | 700 | 25px | -0.5px | Inline display micro-headings. |
{typography.body-lg} | 20px | 400 | 30px | -0.2px | Lead paragraphs. |
{typography.body-md} | 18px | 400 | 27px | 0 | Default body. |
{typography.body-md-strong} | 18px | 600 | 27px | 0 | Bolded inline body. |
{typography.body-sm} | 16px | 400 | 24px | 0 | Secondary body. |
{typography.body-sm-strong} | 16px | 600 | 24px | 0 | Bold caption. |
{typography.caption} | 14px | 400 | 21px | 0 | Fine print. |
{typography.eyebrow-uppercase} | 14px | 500 | 14px | 1px | UPPERCASE eyebrow (Degular Display, positive tracking). |
{typography.button-md} | 18px | 600 | 27px | 0 | Primary button label. |
{typography.button-sm} | 14.4px | 700 | 14.4px | 0.144px | Small button label. |
Principles
- Degular Display 500 for hero, Inter for everything else. Strict role separation.
- Positive tracking on the Degular eyebrow —
1 pxat 14 px is the brand's signature label style. - Sentence-case headlines. The brand never uppercases display sizes.
Note on Font Substitutes
Degular Display is proprietary. Open-source substitutes:
- Display — Inter weight 500 at hero scale comes closest. Mona Sans weight 500 is a softer alternative.
- Sub-display + body — Inter is the brand's actual second face.
Layout
Spacing System
- Base unit: 4 px.
- Tokens:
{spacing.xxs}2 px ·{spacing.xs}4 px ·{spacing.sm}8 px ·{spacing.md}12 px ·{spacing.lg}16 px ·{spacing.xl}24 px ·{spacing.2xl}32 px ·{spacing.3xl}48 px ·{spacing.4xl}64 px. - Section padding: bands use
{spacing.4xl}64 px top/bottom. - Card interior: cards at
{spacing.xl}24 px.
Grid & Container
- Marketing container ~1280 px wide; centred with gutters.
- Hero: split at desktop (headline left, illustration right); stacked at mobile.
- Pricing tier grid: 3 / 4-up at desktop.
Responsive Strategy
Breakpoints
| Name | Width | Key Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | < 768px | Hero stacks; grids 1-up; hamburger nav. |
| Tablet | 768–1023px | 2-up grids. |
| Desktop | ≥ 1024px | Full grids; hero split. |
Touch Targets
Buttons render ~48 px tall (12 vertical padding + 27 line). WCAG AAA met.
Image Behavior
The brand uses illustrative SVGs of zaps / workflows + product screenshots inside {rounded.md} framed cards. Photography is rare.
Elevation & Depth
| Level | Treatment | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Level 0 — Flat | No shadow, no border. | Default for hero. |
| Level 1 — Hairline | 1 px solid {colors.ink} border. | Pricing-tier card chrome, outline buttons. |
| Level 2 — Soft Card | {colors.canvas-soft} cream fill against {colors.canvas} page. | Default content cards — surface contrast carries elevation. |
Shapes
Border Radius Scale
| Token | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
{rounded.none} | 0px | Full-bleed bands. |
{rounded.sm} | 6px | Inline pills, form inputs. |
{rounded.md} | 12px | The brand's canonical button + card radius. |
{rounded.pill} | 9999px | Status pills, badges. |
{rounded.full} | 9999px | Circular icon containers. |
Components
Buttons
button-primary — the orange CTA.
- Background
{colors.primary}, text{colors.on-primary}(warm white), label{typography.button-md}, padding{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}, shape{rounded.md}12 px.
button-secondary — the dark coffee-ink CTA.
- Background
{colors.ink}, text{colors.on-primary}, same typography / padding / shape.
button-tertiary — the outline CTA.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, 1 px solid{colors.ink}border, same typography / padding / shape.
button-text — text-only CTA used inside cards / nav.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, body in{typography.button-sm}, padding{spacing.sm} {spacing.lg}, shape{rounded.md}.
Cards & Containers
card-content — the default cream content card.
- Background
{colors.canvas-soft}, text{colors.ink}, padding{spacing.xl}, shape{rounded.md}.
card-feature-cream — the cream feature card.
- Same chrome as
card-content. Hosts headline + body + illustration.
card-feature-dark — the polarity-flipped dark coffee card.
- Background
{colors.ink}, text{colors.on-primary}, padding{spacing.xl}, shape{rounded.md}.
pricing-card — the default pricing tier card.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, 1 px solid{colors.ink}border, padding{spacing.xl}, shape{rounded.md}.
pricing-card-featured — the polarity-flipped featured pricing tier.
- Background
{colors.ink}, text{colors.on-primary}, same shape / padding.
Inputs & Forms
text-input — the canonical text input.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, 1 px solid{colors.ink}border, body in{typography.body-md}, padding{spacing.md} {spacing.lg}, shape{rounded.sm}6 px.
Navigation
nav-bar — the sticky top nav.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, padding{spacing.md} {spacing.xl}.
nav-link — link items inside nav.
- Text
{colors.ink}, set in{typography.body-sm}.
footer — the dark coffee footer.
- Background
{colors.ink}, text{colors.canvas-soft}, padding{spacing.3xl} {spacing.xl}. Body in{typography.body-sm}.
Signature Components
hero-band — the cream hero band.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, padding{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}. Headline in{typography.display-xl}(Degular Display 56 px / 500).
hero-band-dark — the polarity-flipped dark coffee hero.
- Background
{colors.ink}, text{colors.on-primary}, same scale.
content-band-cream — the cream content band that follows hero.
- Background
{colors.canvas-soft}, text{colors.ink}, padding{spacing.4xl} {spacing.xl}. Section headline in{typography.display-lg}.
content-band-light — the white content band.
- Background
{colors.canvas}, text{colors.ink}, same padding / scale.
eyebrow-uppercase — the small UPPERCASE Degular eyebrow above section headlines.
- Text
{colors.ink}, set in{typography.eyebrow-uppercase}(14 px / 500 /1 pxtracking).
badge-pill — the inline pill for metadata / tag.
- Background
{colors.canvas-soft}, text{colors.ink}, body in{typography.body-sm}, padding{spacing.xs} {spacing.md}, shape{rounded.pill}.
Examples (illustrative)
Auto-derived kit-mirror demonstration surfaces (
scripts/derive-examples-block.mjs). Eachex-*entry references brand-native primitives so downstream consumers (/preview-design,/generate-kit) re-skin the same 10 surfaces consistently.TO_FILLmarkers indicate missing primitives — resolve in the LLM judgment pass.
ex-pricing-tier — Default Pricing tier card. Re-uses feature-card chrome with brand canvas-soft surface.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,textColor,borderColor,rounded,padding
ex-pricing-tier-featured — Featured/highlighted tier — polarity-flipped surface (dark fill + light text in light mode, light fill + dark text in dark mode).
- Properties:
backgroundColor,textColor,rounded,padding
ex-product-selector — What's Included summary card — re-purposed for SaaS / B2B verticals (NOT a literal product gallery).
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding
ex-cart-drawer — Subscription summary — re-purposed for SaaS / B2B (line items per add-on, not literal cart).
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding,item-divider
ex-app-shell-row — Sidebar nav row inside the App Shell example. Active state uses brand primary as the indicator.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,activeIndicator,rounded,padding
ex-data-table-cell — Default data-table th + td chrome. Header uses mono-caps eyebrow typography; body uses body-sm.
- Properties:
headerBackground,headerTypography,bodyTypography,cellPadding,rowBorder
ex-auth-form-card — Sign-in / sign-up card. Re-uses feature-card chrome with text-input primitives inside.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding
ex-modal-card — Modal dialog surface — same chrome as feature-card with elevated shadow.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding
ex-empty-state-card — Empty-state illustration frame.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding,captionTypography
ex-toast — Toast notification surface — feature-card shape + medium shadow.
- Properties:
backgroundColor,rounded,padding,typography
Do's and Don'ts
Do
- Reserve
{colors.primary}Zapier orange for every primary CTA. The saturated orange IS the conversion signature. - Keep canvas WARM —
{colors.canvas}#fffefbcream, not pure white. The temperature is the brand voice. - Set hero headlines in
{typography.display-xl}Degular Display weight 500. Sentence-case, no uppercase. - Pair Degular Display (hero, eyebrow) with Inter (everything else). Two faces, two roles.
- Use
{rounded.md}12 px for buttons + cards. The middle radius is the brand's signature. - Pair orange CTA with ink-dark text on cream backgrounds — the three-token rhythm is the brand's whole conversion story.
Don't
- Don't replace cream canvas with pure white. The warmth is the brand.
- Don't use pure black ink. The coffee-warmth in
#201515carries through every text color. - Don't render CTAs as pills. The brand's button is 12 px rounded rectangle.
- Don't introduce a second chromatic accent. Orange + cream + coffee is the entire palette.
- Don't substitute Degular Display with a cool geometric sans (e.g., generic Helvetica) — the brand's display face has warm proportions that the substitute doesn't capture.