app-design

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---
name: app-design
description: >
  Use when building or modifying the app layout, 
  creating UI components, or making any visual design decisions. 
  Ensures consistency, accessibility, and a polished, unique app.
---

# App Design

Your job is to build cohesive, distinctive apps — not just correct ones. Add character through intentional design decisions — typography pairing, color emphasis, spatial rhythm, and a clear visual point of view.

## Aesthetic Direction

Before building anything, decide the app's tone in one word and its signature detail — the one thing someone notices first. These two choices guide every decision that follows. Pick a tone that is specific and bold, not safe or generic. Examples like editorial, geometric, organic, industrial, playful, or minimal are starting points — don't limit yourself to these. Invent a direction that fits the app's purpose.

Then match your execution to your direction — a maximalist direction needs layered effects and rich detail in the code; a minimalist direction needs precise spacing, restraint, and careful typography. Elegance comes from committing to the direction fully, not from adding more.

### Typography

Pick fonts that set the app's character — this is one of the strongest signals of intentional design. At minimum choose a characterful `--font-heading` paired with a complementary `--font-base`, ideally from the same foundry or design family. Update `--font-monospace` and `--font-numeric` if necessary. Avoid generic defaults like Arial, Inter, or Roboto.

Load fonts via Google Fonts (or another CDN) as `<link>` tags in `index.html`, then update the font family tokens in the `@theme` block of `global.css`.

### Theming Workflow

Start by customizing `src/global.css` — this is the single source of truth for the app's visual identity. Every component uses these tokens, so setting them first means the entire UI shifts together.

1. **Colors**: Update the semantic color tokens (`--color-primary`, `--color-background`, `--color-card`, `--color-border`, etc.) in both the `@theme` block and the `.dark` override to match the aesthetic direction. The defaults are neutral blue/grey — make them yours.
2. **Radius**: Adjust `--radius` (the base radius) and the radius scale to match the tone — sharp/geometric (lower values), soft/rounded (higher values), or pill-shaped (`--radius-circular`).
3. **Fonts**: Update the font family tokens as described in the Typography section above.
4. **Then build components.** Focus component-level styling on layout, spacing, and element-specific details — not re-specifying colors and radii that the tokens already handle.
5. **Selective overrides last.** After the base theme is in place, inspect and adjust individual components that need to deviate — an accent-colored card border, a button with a unique hover effect, etc.

---

Keep these principles in mind:
- Use semantic color tokens so surfaces, text, and borders adapt correctly to light and dark mode.
- Maintain sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds.
- The recommended minimum text size is `text-200`. 
- Keep spacing consistent — use the spacing tokens from the theme rather than arbitrary values.
- Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard-accessible with visible focus indicators and appropriate disabled states.

Read these reference files — they include "Make it yours" prompts that tie back to the aesthetic direction above:
- [UI Style Recipes](references/ui-style-recipes.md) — per-element styling guidance for buttons, cards, inputs, dialogs, tabs, tooltips, tables, and more.
- [Visual Style Recipes](references/visual-style-recipes.md) — chart theming, Vega-Lite config, dark mode chart support, and mark-specific styling.

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## App Layout

These are good defaults for app structure. Adapt them to the specific app's needs.

### Page Structure

- The app layout should fill the viewport.
- On wide screens, constrain the content width so it doesn't stretch uncomfortably. Use respon