# DESIGN.md: Allbirds-style design system

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

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 allbirds.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as allbirds.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use allbirds.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.allbirds.com/ — "www.allbirds.com" (home page).
- Page frame: a top navigation bar and a footer.
- Content is grouped in cards (21 on the page, up to 12 side by side). Keep cards for grouped content only, not for every section.
- It uses 26 images, 22 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: 35 buttons and 3 form fields on one page.
- The page runs about 4 screens long at 1440px wide.
- Density is moderate.

HOW IT LOOKS (WHAT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE ITSELF, BEYOND THE VALUES)
- Almost entirely neutral: 100% of the page is painted in #ECE9E2 and #FFFFFF.
- The largest type (40px Self Modern) is regular weight, not bold (400).
- Very airy: text covers 5% of the page. Sections sit about 40px apart.
- Share of the painted page: #ECE9E2 65.5% (dominant, backgrounds); #FFFFFF 22.5% (dominant, backgrounds); #212121 10.9% (supporting, backgrounds); #000000 0.9% (supporting, text); #101828 0.1% (detail, text). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline dividers: 1px lines in #FFFFFF separate sections and rows (21 of them).
- Large images: Photographs, video or raster artwork cover about 62% of the page.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 40px weight 400; 24px weight 400 tracking 0.025em; 16px weight 500 tracking 0.05em uppercase; 14px weight 400; 12px 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:
- #ECE9E2 — 65.5% · backgrounds (var(--color-ece9e2))
- #FFFFFF — 22.5% · backgrounds (var(--color-background))
- #212121 — 10.9% · backgrounds (var(--color-action))
- #000000 — 0.9% · text (var(--color-text))
- #101828 — 0.1% · text
- #737373 — hairlines and grid lines
- #E0E2DC — Surface (var(--color-surface))
- #242729 — Text muted (var(--color-text-muted))
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=Figtree:wght@400;500;700;900&display=swap");
@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;500&display=swap");
```
Font: allbirds.com uses Geograph (body), Akkurat Mono (code) and Self Modern (interface) — its own licensed faces, not available to download. This kit uses Figtree for body and interface and JetBrains Mono for code, the closest free matches, 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: #FFFFFF; /* Background */
  --color-surface: #E0E2DC; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #000000; /* Text */
  --color-text-muted: #242729; /* Text muted */
  --color-border: #E0E2DC; /* Border */
  --color-action: #212121; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF; /* On action */
  --color-ece9e2: #ECE9E2; /* 65.5% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "Geograph", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* Geograph on the site; Figtree renders */
  --font-code: "Akkurat Mono", "JetBrains Mono", monospace; /* Akkurat Mono on the site; JetBrains Mono renders */
  --font-interface: "Self Modern", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* Self Modern on the site; Figtree renders */
  --type-display: 40px; /* Display, weight 400 */
  --type-display-leading: 60px;
  --type-headline: 24px; /* Headline, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-leading: 32px;
  --type-headline-tracking: 0.025em;
  --type-body-large: 16px; /* Body Large, weight 400 */
  --type-body-large-leading: 22px;
  --type-body-small: 14px; /* Body Small, weight 400 */
  --type-body-small-leading: 21px;
  --type-label: 12px; /* Label, weight 400 */
  --type-label-leading: 16px;
  --space-1: 4px;
  --space-2: 8px;
  --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px;
  --space-5: 20px;
  --space-6: 24px;
  --space-7: 28px;
  --space-8: 32px;
  --space-9: 36px;
  --space-10: 40px;
  --space-11: 44px;
  --space-14: 56px;
  --space-16: 64px;
  --space-20: 80px;
  --space-28: 112px;
  --space-31: 124px;
  --space-42: 168px;
  --radius-sm: 4px;
  --radius-md: 6px;
  --radius-lg: 8px;
  --radius-xl: 12px;
  --radius-2xl: 16px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --radius-24: 24px; /* component radius */
  --elevation-1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgb(87, 87, 87) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 1px;
  --elevation-2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 1px 3px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 1px 2px -1px;
  --elevation-3: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 20px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 0px 1px 0px;
  --elevation-4: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 10px 15px -3px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 4px 6px -4px;
  --elevation-5: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 20px 25px -5px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 8px 10px -6px;
  --duration-1: 0.15s;
  --duration-2: 0.2s;
  --duration-3: 0.3s;
  --ease-1: cubic-bezier(0.37, 0, 0.63, 1);
  --ease-2: cubic-bezier(0.61, 1, 0.88, 1);
  --ease-3: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
}
```
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: #FFFFFF;
  --color-surface: #E0E2DC;
  --color-text: #000000;
  --color-text-muted: #242729;
  --color-border: #E0E2DC;
  --color-action: #212121;
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF;
  --color-ece9e2: #ECE9E2;
  --font-body: "Geograph", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --font-code: "Akkurat Mono", "JetBrains Mono", monospace;
  --font-interface: "Self Modern", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --text-display: 40px;
  --text-display--line-height: 60px;
  --text-headline: 24px;
  --text-headline--line-height: 32px;
  --text-headline--letter-spacing: 0.025em;
  --text-body-large: 16px;
  --text-body-large--line-height: 22px;
  --text-body-small: 14px;
  --text-body-small--line-height: 21px;
  --text-label: 12px;
  --text-label--line-height: 16px;
  --radius-sm: 4px;
  --radius-md: 6px;
  --radius-lg: 8px;
  --radius-xl: 12px;
  --radius-2xl: 16px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --shadow-e1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgb(87, 87, 87) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 1px;
  --shadow-e2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 1px 3px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 1px 2px -1px;
  --shadow-e3: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 2px 20px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25) 0px 0px 1px 0px;
  --shadow-e4: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 10px 15px -3px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 4px 6px -4px;
  --shadow-e5: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 20px 25px -5px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 8px 10px -6px;
  --ease-1: cubic-bezier(0.37, 0, 0.63, 1);
  --ease-2: cubic-bezier(0.61, 1, 0.88, 1);
  --ease-3: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
}
```
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)", "text-muted": "var(--color-text-muted)", "border": "var(--color-border)", "action": "var(--color-action)", "on-action": "var(--color-on-action)" },
  fontFamily: { "body": ["var(--font-body)"], "code": ["var(--font-code)"], "interface": ["var(--font-interface)"] },
  borderRadius: { "sm": "var(--radius-sm)", "md": "var(--radius-md)", "lg": "var(--radius-lg)", "xl": "var(--radius-xl)", "2xl": "var(--radius-2xl)", "3xl": "var(--radius-3xl)", "full": "var(--radius-full)" },
  boxShadow: { "e1": "var(--elevation-1)", "e2": "var(--elevation-2)", "e3": "var(--elevation-3)", "e4": "var(--elevation-4)", "e5": "var(--elevation-5)" },
}
```

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
.card { /* Default */
  background: var(--color-background);
  border-radius: var(--radius-2xl);
  min-height: 501px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.card-2 { /* Alternative 1 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  box-shadow: var(--elevation-5);
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.card-3 { /* Alternative 2 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  border-radius: var(--radius-24);
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 45px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.link-3 { /* Inline 3 */
  background: transparent;
  color: #212121;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 16px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.button { /* Primary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border: 1px solid #212121;
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  padding: 8px 16px 8px 16px;
  min-height: 33px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 15px;
  /* recorded states: focus, hover */
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
  padding: 12px 0px 12px 0px;
  min-height: 48px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.button-3 { /* Secondary 2 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  border: 1px solid #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  padding: 8px 16px 8px 16px;
  min-height: 33px;
  color: #212121;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 15px;
  /* recorded states: focus, hover */
}
.input { /* Default */
  background: transparent;
  border: 1px solid #000000;
  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
  padding: 8px 40px 8px 12px;
  min-height: 40px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
}
.input-2 { /* Alternative 1 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  border: 1px solid #212121;
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  padding: 10px 80px 10px 12px;
  min-height: 42px;
  color: #212121;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
  /* recorded states: 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
- Light interface on #FFFFFF. Keep that ground; do not add a dark 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.
- #212121 is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #212121-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Figtree (standing in for Geograph) for body; JetBrains Mono (standing in for Akkurat Mono) for code; Figtree (standing in for Self Modern) for interface. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Everything sits on a 4px grid.
- Corner radii are 4px, 6px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 20px, fully round (pill) — nothing else.
- Body text uses Geograph at around 16px, weights 400, 500, 700, 900.
- Headings use Self Modern; the largest heading is 40px.
- Primary buttons are #212121, pill-shaped, weight 500.
- Cards use 12px corners with a soft shadow.
- Corner radii in use: 9999px (pill), 16px, 12px, 20px, 4px.

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 — 784px tall, right-aligned 24px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image behind the content.
2. Cards — 471px tall, 4 equal columns, 10px gap, centred 12px heading (weight 500), image on the left.
3. Statement — 565px tall, a strip of 12 small items (logos, links or icons), centred 16px heading (weight 500), image on the left.
4. Cards — 667px tall, 3 equal columns, 10px gap, centred 40px heading (weight 400) set mid-band, image centred.
5. Cards — 240px tall, 3 equal columns, 10px gap, left-aligned 14px heading (weight 400).
6. Footer — 763px tall, 2 equal columns, 32px gap, left-aligned 12px heading (weight 400), on #212121.
- Content runs 1420px wide with 42px side margins at 1440px; there is no narrower centred container.
- The hero is 784px (0.9 screens): right-aligned 24px heading (weight 400) set low in the band, image behind the content.
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: thirds (2×), quarters, halves; gaps of 10px.
- Headings mix left (2) and centred (3) alignment.
- Sections share one background; they are separated by space and lines, not colour bands.
- A typical section is about 565px tall.

COPY SHAPE (MATCH THE LENGTH AND CASE; WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS)
- The main heading is 4 words long.
- Section headings are short: typically 3 words.
- Headings are in Title Case.
- The page describes itself in about 22 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 512px wide, centred, with var(--space-4) (16px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(24px, 2.8vw, 40px). 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 (21:1), Text muted on Background (15:1), Action on Background (16.1:1), Text on Surface (16.1:1), Text muted on Surface (11.5:1), Action on Surface (12.3:1) and On action on Action (16.1:1).
- 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: #ECE9E2, #FFFFFF, #212121, #000000, #101828, #737373, #E0E2DC, #242729. 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.)
- Only the fonts in the tokens: Figtree for body; JetBrains Mono for code; Figtree for interface. No other typeface, and no Inter, Roboto or system UI font unless it is one of these. (The page is set in Self Modern and Geograph and Akkurat Mono; 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 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, cards, 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 allbirds.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.
- 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.
- 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.