# DESIGN.md: Aesop-style design system

Measured from https://www.aesop.com/ on 2026-10-15 by PikSpec (https://www.pikspec.com). An independent measurement of the rendered page, not Aesop's official design system, and not affiliated with Aesop.

Use it to build your own product in this design language: put this file in your project root and tell your AI tool (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Lovable, v0) to follow DESIGN.md. Never use the original's name, logo, copy or images; licensed fonts are replaced with the closest free Google Fonts.

To capture any other page, or get a ready project for your tool: https://www.pikspec.com/build-with-ai

HOW IT SHOULD LOOK
Build it in the design language of aesop.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as aesop.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use aesop.com's name, logo, words or images.

Stack: use the one your project already has. Starting fresh: React + Vite + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS v4, with no UI kit (no shadcn/ui, MUI or Chakra) — their defaults would override this system. In a chat that shows one file (an artifact or canvas), build one HTML file instead, with the tokens below in its <style> block.
Use every value exactly as written. Do not round, rename, approximate or substitute a colour, size, radius, shadow or easing (fonts: see section 1). Anything not listed here does not exist in this system.

THE WEBSITE THIS SYSTEM COMES FROM
- Reference page: https://www.aesop.com/ — "www.aesop.com" (home page).
- Page frame: a top navigation bar and a footer.
- It uses 404 images including 3 videos, 23 of them large. Large, real product imagery is part of the look — leave clearly labelled image slots at those sizes rather than stock photos or abstract 3D shapes.
- Interaction: 58 buttons and 2 form fields on one page.
- The page runs about 9 screens long at 1440px wide.
- Density is moderate.

HOW IT LOOKS (WHAT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE ITSELF, BEYOND THE VALUES)
- Almost entirely neutral: 99% of the page is painted in #FFFEF2 and #333333.
- #945C26 is an accent: under 0.1% of the page, used for text only. Don't fill large areas with it.
- The largest type (36px SuisseIntl) is regular weight, not bold (400).
- Open: text covers 6% of the page.
- Share of the painted page: #FFFEF2 80.2% (dominant, backgrounds); #333333 8.1% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #252525 6.1% (supporting, backgrounds); #F6F5E8 4.7% (supporting, backgrounds); #666666 0.6% (supporting, text); #FFFFFF 0.2% (detail, backgrounds); #CED4DA 0.2% (detail, backgrounds). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline dividers: 1px lines in #333333 separate sections and rows (23 of them).
- Large images: Photographs, video or raster artwork cover about 58% of the page.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 36px weight 400; 31px weight 400; 24px weight 400; 18px weight 700; 16px weight 400; 14px weight 400.

1. DESIGN TOKENS — PASTE INTO YOUR GLOBAL CSS
Allowed colours, with how the original uses each. Use no other colour, including in hover states:
- #FFFEF2 — 80.2% · backgrounds (var(--color-text))
- #333333 — 8.1% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-background))
- #252525 — 6.1% · backgrounds (var(--color-surface))
- #F6F5E8 — 4.7% · backgrounds (var(--color-f6f5e8))
- #666666 — 0.6% · text
- #FFFFFF — 0.2% · backgrounds (var(--color-on-action))
- #CED4DA — 0.2% · backgrounds
- #006680 — Positive (var(--color-positive))
- #945C26 — Warning (var(--color-warning))
Fonts — put these first in your global CSS (one import per font, so one that fails cannot stop the others):
```css
@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter+Tight:wght@300;400;600;700&display=swap");
```
Font: aesop.com uses SuisseIntl (body) and SuisseIntl-Medium (interface) — its own licensed faces, not available to download. This kit uses Inter Tight for body and interface, the closest free match, already in the tokens. If you own the original, add it with @font-face and it is used first; to use another font, change the --font-* variables.
Keep every size, weight, line height and tracking exactly as listed whichever font renders.
```css
:root {
  --color-background: #333333; /* Background */
  --color-surface: #252525; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #FFFEF2; /* Text */
  --color-border: #252525; /* Border */
  --color-action: #333333; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF; /* On action */
  --color-positive: #006680; /* Positive */
  --color-warning: #945C26; /* Warning */
  --color-f6f5e8: #F6F5E8; /* 4.7% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "SuisseIntl", "Inter Tight", sans-serif; /* SuisseIntl on the site; Inter Tight renders */
  --font-interface: "SuisseIntl-Medium", "Inter Tight", sans-serif; /* SuisseIntl-Medium on the site; Inter Tight renders */
  --type-display: 36px; /* Display, weight 400 */
  --type-display-leading: 50.4px;
  --type-headline-large: 31px; /* Headline Large, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-large-leading: 41.23px;
  --type-headline-small: 24px; /* Headline Small, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-small-leading: 31.2px;
  --type-title: 18px; /* Title, weight 700 */
  --type-title-leading: 27px;
  --type-body-large: 16px; /* Body Large, weight 400 */
  --type-body-large-leading: 24px;
  --type-body-small: 14px; /* Body Small, weight 400 */
  --type-body-small-leading: 22.4px;
  --type-label-large: 12px; /* Label Large, weight 400 */
  --type-label-large-leading: 19.2px;
  --type-label-small: 11px; /* Label Small, weight 400 */
  --type-label-small-leading: 13.2px;
  --space-4: 4px;
  --space-8: 8px;
  --space-12: 12px;
  --space-16: 16px;
  --space-20: 20px;
  --space-24: 24px;
  --space-28: 28px;
  --space-32: 32px;
  --space-40: 40px;
  --space-48: 48px;
  --space-60: 60px;
  --space-80: 80px;
  --space-100: 100px;
  --space-120: 120px;
  --space-180: 180px;
  --radius-xs: 1.6px;
  --radius-sm: 2px;
  --radius-md: 3px;
  --radius-lg: 12px;
  --radius-2xl: 17px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --elevation-1: rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.2) 0px 0px 4px 0px;
  --elevation-2: rgba(255, 254, 242, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px 0px;
  --elevation-3: rgb(34, 34, 34) 0px 0px 8px 0px;
  --elevation-4: rgb(199, 197, 199) 0px 0px 12px 2px;
  --duration-1: 0.15s;
  --duration-2: 0.2s;
  --duration-3: 0.25s;
  --duration-4: 0.5s;
  --ease-1: ease-out;
  --ease-2: ease-in-out;
}
```
Tailwind CSS v4 (the default for new projects): put this after `@import "tailwindcss";`. It removes Tailwind's own palette, so only these colours exist as utilities:
```css
@theme {
  --color-*: initial;
  --color-background: #333333;
  --color-surface: #252525;
  --color-text: #FFFEF2;
  --color-border: #252525;
  --color-action: #333333;
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF;
  --color-positive: #006680;
  --color-warning: #945C26;
  --color-f6f5e8: #F6F5E8;
  --font-body: "SuisseIntl", "Inter Tight", sans-serif;
  --font-interface: "SuisseIntl-Medium", "Inter Tight", sans-serif;
  --text-display: 36px;
  --text-display--line-height: 50.4px;
  --text-headline-large: 31px;
  --text-headline-large--line-height: 41.23px;
  --text-headline-small: 24px;
  --text-headline-small--line-height: 31.2px;
  --text-title: 18px;
  --text-title--line-height: 27px;
  --text-body-large: 16px;
  --text-body-large--line-height: 24px;
  --text-body-small: 14px;
  --text-body-small--line-height: 22.4px;
  --text-label-large: 12px;
  --text-label-large--line-height: 19.2px;
  --text-label-small: 11px;
  --text-label-small--line-height: 13.2px;
  --radius-xs: 1.6px;
  --radius-sm: 2px;
  --radius-md: 3px;
  --radius-lg: 12px;
  --radius-2xl: 17px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --shadow-e1: rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.2) 0px 0px 4px 0px;
  --shadow-e2: rgba(255, 254, 242, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px 0px;
  --shadow-e3: rgb(34, 34, 34) 0px 0px 8px 0px;
  --shadow-e4: rgb(199, 197, 199) 0px 0px 12px 2px;
  --ease-1: ease-out;
  --ease-2: ease-in-out;
}
```
Tailwind CSS v3 only: extend the theme with these instead, and use no other palette:
```js
// tailwind.config — theme.extend
{
  colors: { "background": "var(--color-background)", "surface": "var(--color-surface)", "text": "var(--color-text)", "border": "var(--color-border)", "action": "var(--color-action)", "on-action": "var(--color-on-action)", "positive": "var(--color-positive)", "warning": "var(--color-warning)" },
  fontFamily: { "body": ["var(--font-body)"], "interface": ["var(--font-interface)"] },
  borderRadius: { "xs": "var(--radius-xs)", "sm": "var(--radius-sm)", "md": "var(--radius-md)", "lg": "var(--radius-lg)", "2xl": "var(--radius-2xl)", "3xl": "var(--radius-3xl)" },
  boxShadow: { "e1": "var(--elevation-1)", "e2": "var(--elevation-2)", "e3": "var(--elevation-3)", "e4": "var(--elevation-4)" },
}
```

2. BASE STYLES
```css
html { background: var(--color-background); }
body { margin: 0; font-family: var(--font-body); font-size: var(--type-body-large); line-height: var(--type-body-large-leading); color: var(--color-text); -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale; }
h1, h2, h3 { font-family: var(--font-body); margin: 0; }
a { color: inherit; }
:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--color-action); outline-offset: 2px; }
```

3. COMPONENTS — MATCH THESE EXACTLY
```css
.button { /* Secondary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border-radius: 50%;
  min-height: 40px;
  box-shadow: var(--elevation-1);
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label-large);
  font-weight: 400;
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary 2 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  padding: 13px 24px 12px 24px;
  min-height: 48px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-interface);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 21px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.link { /* Inline */
  background: transparent;
  border: 1px solid #FFFEF2;
  padding: 13px 24px 12px 24px;
  min-height: 48px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-interface);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 21px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  padding: 0px 12px 0px 12px;
  min-height: 24px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 12px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.link-3 { /* Strong */
  background: transparent;
  padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label-large);
  font-weight: 700;
  line-height: 14.4px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.input { /* Default */
  background: #FFFEF2;
  border: 1px solid #333333;
  padding: 0px 16px 0px 16px;
  min-height: 40px;
  color: #333333;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 400;
  /* recorded states: hover, focus, disabled */
}
```
Where a component lists recorded states, write those states using only the colours above; the capture saw that the state exists, not its values. Never invent a state colour.

4. PAGE COMPOSITION
- Dark interface on #333333. Keep that ground; do not add a light mode or alternate section backgrounds the system does not have.
- The opening screen carries a large image or video behind or across the heading. Leave a [content: hero image or video] slot there, at least half the screen wide; the opening is not text alone.
- #333333 is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #333333-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Inter Tight (standing in for SuisseIntl) for body; Inter Tight (standing in for SuisseIntl-Medium) for interface. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Corner radii are 1.6px, 2px, 3px, 12px, 17px, 20px — nothing else.
- Body text uses SuisseIntl at around 16px, weights 300, 400, 600, 700.
- Headings use Zapf-Humanist; the largest heading is 36px.
- Primary buttons are #333333, 50% radius, weight 400.
- Corner radii in use: 1.6px, 2px, 3px, 12px, 20px.

HOW THE ORIGINAL PACES ITS PAGE (BORROW THE RHYTHM — THE OPENING, THE COLOURED BANDS, THE CARD GRIDS — NOT THE LIST; BUILD THE SECTIONS YOUR PRODUCT NEEDS)
1. Hero — 720px tall, 3 equal columns, centred 31px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image behind the content, on #333333.
2. Hero — 769px tall, 6 equal columns, 20px gap, centred 31px heading (weight 400), image on the left.
3. Split — 814px tall, 2 equal columns, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image on the left.
4. Grid — 312px tall, 7 items in 6 columns with 15px gaps, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400).
5. Cards — 577px tall, split 1 / 4 / 7, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400).
6. Cards — 497px tall, split 7 / 4 / 1, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400).
7. Cards — 477px tall, split 1 / 4 / 7, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400).
8. Split — 218px tall, 2 equal columns, centred 14px heading (weight 400), on #F6F5E8.
9. Full-bleed image — 1085px tall, centred 31px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image behind the content.
10. Cards — 566px tall, 3 equal columns, left-aligned 31px heading (weight 400), on #F6F5E8.
11. Statement — 164px tall, centred 31px heading (weight 400).
12. Footer — 1027px tall, split 8 / 4, left-aligned 18px heading (weight 700), on #252525.
- Content sits in a 1200px container, 135px from the edge at 1440px wide.
- A 30px header scrolls away, transparent over the first section.
- The hero is 720px (0.8 screens): 3 equal columns, centred 31px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image behind the content, on #333333.
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: thirds (2×), sixths (2×), halves (2×), 1/4/7 (2×); gaps of 20px.
- Headings mix left (7) and centred (5) alignment.
- Sections change background 6 times, between #333333, #F6F5E8, #252525: colour comes in full-width bands, not in boxes.
- A typical section is about 497px tall.

COPY SHAPE (MATCH THE LENGTH AND CASE; WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS)
- The main heading is 4 words long.
- Section headings are short: typically 2 words.
- Heading case varies.
- The page describes itself in about 23 words; keep your intro paragraph to about that length.

5. MOTION
Interactive elements change colour, background, border and opacity with the measured timing. Animate nothing else.
```css
a, button, [role="button"], input { transition: color var(--duration-1) var(--ease-1), background-color var(--duration-1) var(--ease-1), border-color var(--duration-1) var(--ease-1), opacity var(--duration-1) var(--ease-1); }
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *, *::before, *::after { animation-duration: 0.01ms !important; animation-iteration-count: 1 !important; transition-duration: 0.01ms !important; scroll-behavior: auto !important; }
}
```
No scroll-triggered fade-ins, parallax, typewriter text or bouncing elements.

6. RESPONSIVE
- The design was measured at 1440px wide. Lay it out for that width first, then let it reflow down to 360px.
- Content sits in a column at most 1200px wide, centred, with var(--space-16) (16px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(18px, 2.5vw, 36px). Every other size stays fixed.
- Break on composition, not device names: a row of columns drops a column when any column would be narrower than 240px; side-by-side splits stack when either side would be narrower than 320px.
- Spacing steps never change between sizes; use smaller steps from the same list where space is tight.
- On touch screens, every link and button has a hit area of at least 44 × 44px without changing its drawn size.

7. ACCESSIBILITY
- Text pairs that pass for body copy: Text on Background (12.5:1), Text on Surface (15.1:1) and On action on Action (12.6:1).
- Use no other text-on-background pairing.
- One h1 per page, headings in order, landmarks (header, nav, main, footer), real buttons and links, a label on every field, alt text on every image, an aria-label on icon-only buttons.
- Every interactive element shows the :focus-visible outline above.

8. DO NOT (THESE ARE WHAT MAKE AI-BUILT SITES LOOK GENERIC)
- No gradients: not in backgrounds, text, buttons or borders. (No gradient was measured.)
- Only these colours: #FFFEF2, #333333, #252525, #F6F5E8, #666666, #FFFFFF, #CED4DA, #006680, #945C26. No new tints, no Tailwind defaults (slate, indigo, violet). (They are every colour that covers a measurable part of the page, and the colours its lines and drawings use.)
- #945C26 only for text — never as a section background or a large panel. (It covers under 0.1% of the page.)
- Only the fonts in the tokens: Inter Tight for body; Inter Tight for interface. No other typeface, and no Inter, Roboto or system UI font unless it is one of these. (The page is set in SuisseIntl and Zapf-Humanist and SuisseIntl-Medium; the tokens carry what stands in for them.)
- Headings and large text never heavier than weight 400. Do not make headlines bold to add emphasis. (Every size from 24px up is set at weight 400 or lighter.)
- No all-caps eyebrow labels above headings. (No uppercase text was measured.)
- No icon above every feature, no emoji, no decorative blobs, sparkles or glows. (None of these is part of the captured design; they are a coding model's defaults.)
- Build the sections your product needs, not the original's list. Give each one this system's look: its kinds of section (hero, split, grid, cards, image, statement, footer), its colours, type, shapes and spacing. (The style carries to any kind of site; the original's page was for a different product.)
- No glassmorphism, backdrop blur, glowing orbs, noise blobs or neon outlines.
- No row of three identical feature cards as the default section. Vary the layout from section to section: a split, a list, a single large statement, a table.
- No centred-everything hero with a pill badge, a gradient headline and two buttons. Lead with the most specific thing about the product.
- No filler copy: no "Unlock your potential", "Revolutionize", "Seamless", "Elevate", "Supercharge", "Next-gen" or lorem ipsum. Write plain, specific sentences a real company would publish.
- No made-up statistics, testimonials or customer logos. Leave a clearly marked [content: …] slot instead.
- No radius larger than the largest one listed.
- No shadows other than the levels listed.
- Do not use aesop.com's name, logo, copy or images. This is its design system, not its content.

BEFORE YOU FINISH
- Search your code for every colour, font size, spacing value, radius, shadow and easing, and replace anything that is not a variable above.
- Check that no [content: …] slot has been filled with invented facts.
- Search your CSS for gradient(. There should be none.
- Every colour value in your CSS is one of the allowed colours. Nothing else, including in hover states.
- #945C26 covers about 0.1% of the page or less, as on the original.
- No text 24px or larger has a font-weight above 400.
- Every section, including ones the original does not have, uses only this system's colours, type, shapes and spacing.
- Content sits in a 1200px container with 135px side margins at 1440px.
- There is no placeholder copy (lorem ipsum, "Feature one", "Your headline here"). Every word is real.
- Take a screenshot at 1440px and put it beside the original. List every difference in colour, weight, spacing, alignment and imagery, and fix each before finishing. Then check 390px wide: nothing scrolls sideways and no heading runs off the screen.