# DESIGN.md: Coinbase-style design system

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

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 coinbase.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as coinbase.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use coinbase.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.coinbase.com/en-in — "www.coinbase.com".
- Page frame: a top navigation bar and a footer.
- It uses 17 images, 7 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: 34 buttons on one page.
- The page runs about 5 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 #FFFFFF and #EEF0F3.
- #F0616D is an accent: 0.3% of the page, used for text only. Don't fill large areas with it.
- #0052FF is an accent: 0.1% of the page, as small fills such as buttons and badges. Keep it to small areas.
- The largest type (80px CoinbaseDisplay) is regular weight, not bold (400).
- Balanced: text covers 17% of the page.
- Share of the painted page: #FFFFFF 55.6% (dominant, backgrounds); #EEF0F3 30.9% (dominant, backgrounds); #0A0B0D 5.4% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #F7F8F9 5.3% (supporting, backgrounds); #5B616E 2.3% (supporting, text); #F0616D 0.3% (accent, text); #0052FF 0.1% (accent, backgrounds and text); #1D1D1D 0.1% (detail, text). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline dividers: 1px lines in #0A0B0D separate sections and rows (5 of them).
- Large images: Photographs, video or raster artwork cover about 20% of the page.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 80px weight 400; 64px weight 400; 44px weight 400; 36px weight 400; 28px weight 400; 24px 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:
- #FFFFFF — 55.6% · backgrounds (var(--color-background))
- #EEF0F3 — 30.9% · backgrounds (var(--color-surface))
- #0A0B0D — 5.4% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-0a0b0d))
- #F7F8F9 — 5.3% · backgrounds (var(--color-f7f8f9))
- #5B616E — 2.3% · text (var(--color-text-muted))
- #F0616D — 0.3% · text (var(--color-negative))
- #0052FF — 0.1% · backgrounds, text
- #1D1D1D — 0.1% · text
- #000000 — Text (var(--color-text))
- #D1D1D1 — Border (var(--color-border))
- #282B31 — Action (var(--color-action))
- #0667D0 — Link (var(--color-link))
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;600;700&display=swap");
@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Archivo:wght@400&display=swap");
```
Font: coinbase.com uses CoinbaseSans (body), CoinbaseText (interface) and CoinbaseDisplay (display) — its own licensed faces, not available to download. This kit uses Figtree for body and interface and Archivo for display, 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: #EEF0F3; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #000000; /* Text */
  --color-text-muted: #5B616E; /* Text muted */
  --color-border: #D1D1D1; /* Border */
  --color-action: #282B31; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF; /* On action */
  --color-link: #0667D0; /* Link */
  --color-negative: #F0616D; /* Negative */
  --color-0a0b0d: #0A0B0D; /* 5.4% of the page, as fills */
  --color-f7f8f9: #F7F8F9; /* 5.3% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "CoinbaseSans", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* CoinbaseSans on the site; Figtree renders */
  --font-interface: "CoinbaseText", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* CoinbaseText on the site; Figtree renders */
  --font-display: "CoinbaseDisplay", "Archivo", sans-serif; /* CoinbaseDisplay on the site; Archivo renders */
  --type-display-1: 80px; /* Display 1, weight 400 */
  --type-display-1-leading: 80px;
  --type-display-2: 64px; /* Display 2, weight 400 */
  --type-display-2-leading: 64px;
  --type-display-3: 44px; /* Display 3, weight 400 */
  --type-display-3-leading: 48px;
  --type-display-4: 36px; /* Display 4, weight 400 */
  --type-display-4-leading: 40px;
  --type-headline: 28px; /* Headline, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-leading: 28px;
  --type-title-large: 20px; /* Title Large, weight 600 */
  --type-title-large-leading: 28px;
  --type-title-small: 18px; /* Title Small, weight 400 */
  --type-title-small-leading: 18px;
  --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: 21px;
  --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-12: 48px;
  --space-16: 64px;
  --space-20: 80px;
  --radius-xs: 2px;
  --radius-sm: 3px;
  --radius-md: 4px;
  --radius-xl: 16px;
  --radius-2xl: 17px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --radius-40: 40px; /* component radius */
  --radius-56: 56px; /* component radius */
  --elevation-1: rgb(199, 197, 199) 0px 0px 12px 2px;
  --elevation-2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 18px 0px;
  --duration-1: 0.3s;
  --ease-1: 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: #FFFFFF;
  --color-surface: #EEF0F3;
  --color-text: #000000;
  --color-text-muted: #5B616E;
  --color-border: #D1D1D1;
  --color-action: #282B31;
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF;
  --color-link: #0667D0;
  --color-negative: #F0616D;
  --color-0a0b0d: #0A0B0D;
  --color-f7f8f9: #F7F8F9;
  --font-body: "CoinbaseSans", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --font-interface: "CoinbaseText", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --font-display: "CoinbaseDisplay", "Archivo", sans-serif;
  --text-display-1: 80px;
  --text-display-1--line-height: 80px;
  --text-display-2: 64px;
  --text-display-2--line-height: 64px;
  --text-display-3: 44px;
  --text-display-3--line-height: 48px;
  --text-display-4: 36px;
  --text-display-4--line-height: 40px;
  --text-headline: 28px;
  --text-headline--line-height: 28px;
  --text-title-large: 20px;
  --text-title-large--line-height: 28px;
  --text-title-small: 18px;
  --text-title-small--line-height: 18px;
  --text-body-large: 16px;
  --text-body-large--line-height: 24px;
  --text-body-small: 14px;
  --text-body-small--line-height: 21px;
  --radius-xs: 2px;
  --radius-sm: 3px;
  --radius-md: 4px;
  --radius-xl: 16px;
  --radius-2xl: 17px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --shadow-e1: rgb(199, 197, 199) 0px 0px 12px 2px;
  --shadow-e2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 18px 0px;
  --ease-1: 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)", "text-muted": "var(--color-text-muted)", "border": "var(--color-border)", "action": "var(--color-action)", "on-action": "var(--color-on-action)", "link": "var(--color-link)", "negative": "var(--color-negative)" },
  fontFamily: { "body": ["var(--font-body)"], "interface": ["var(--font-interface)"], "display": ["var(--font-display)"] },
  borderRadius: { "xs": "var(--radius-xs)", "sm": "var(--radius-sm)", "md": "var(--radius-md)", "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)" },
}
```

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-display); margin: 0; }
a { color: var(--color-link); }
:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--color-action); outline-offset: 2px; }
```

3. COMPONENTS — MATCH THESE EXACTLY
```css
.button { /* Primary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border: 1px solid #0A0B0D;
  border-radius: var(--radius-40);
  padding: 8px 16px 8px 16px;
  min-height: 40px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 600;
  line-height: 19.2px;
  /* recorded states: hover, focus */
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary */
  background: #0052FF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-56);
  padding: 16px 32px 16px 32px;
  min-height: 56px;
  color: #FFFFFF;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 600;
  line-height: 18.4px;
  /* recorded states: hover, active, disabled, focus, focus-visible */
}
.button-3 { /* Secondary 2 */
  background: var(--color-surface);
  padding: 10px 16px 10px 16px;
  min-height: 36px;
  color: #0052FF;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 18.4px;
  /* recorded states: hover, active, disabled, focus, focus-visible */
}
.link { /* Inline */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 80px;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 18.4px;
  /* recorded states: hover, active, disabled, focus, focus-visible */
}
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 24px;
  color: var(--color-text-muted);
  font-family: var(--font-interface);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 24px;
}
.link-3 { /* Inline 3 */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  min-height: 44px;
  color: var(--color-link);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 15px;
}
.nav { /* Default */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 44px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 18.4px;
}
```
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.
- #282B31 is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #282B31-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Figtree (standing in for CoinbaseSans) for body; Figtree (standing in for CoinbaseText) for interface; Archivo (standing in for CoinbaseDisplay) for display. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Everything sits on a 4px grid.
- Corner radii are 2px, 3px, 4px, 16px, 17px, 20px, fully round (pill) — nothing else.
- Body text uses CoinbaseSans at around 16px, weights 400, 600, 700.
- Headings use CoinbaseIcons; the largest heading is 80px.
- Primary buttons are #282B31, 56px radius, weight 600.
- Corner radii in use: 56px, 9999px (pill), 40px, 24px, 2px.

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 — 69px tall, split 8 / 4, 16px gap, centred 20px heading (weight 400), on #FFFFFF.
2. Hero — 792px tall, 2 equal columns, 48px gap, left-aligned 80px heading (weight 400) set mid-band, image on the right, on #FFFFFF.
3. Text — 800px tall, left-aligned 44px heading (weight 400) set mid-band, on #EEF0F3.
4. Grid — 1188px tall, 4 items in 2 columns with 16px gaps, centred 64px heading (weight 400), on #FFFFFF.
5. Split — 652px tall, 2 equal columns, 48px gap, left-aligned 44px heading (weight 400), image on the right, on #FFFFFF.
6. Footer — 1230px tall, split 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 2, 16px gap, left-aligned 64px heading (weight 400), on #EEF0F3.
- Content sits in a 1200px container, 116px from the edge at 1440px wide.
- The hero is 69px (0.1 screens): split 8 / 4, 16px gap, centred 20px heading (weight 400), on #FFFFFF.
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: halves (3×), 8/4, 3/3/2/2/2; gaps of 16px.
- Headings align left (4 of 6 sections); centre only the occasional statement.
- Sections change background 3 times, between #FFFFFF, #EEF0F3: colour comes in full-width bands, not in boxes.
- A typical section is about 800px tall.

COPY SHAPE (MATCH THE LENGTH AND CASE; WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS)
- The main heading is 6 words long.
- Section headings are medium length: typically 7 words.
- Headings are in sentence case (only the first word capitalised).
- The page describes itself in about 14 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-4) (16px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(44px, 5.6vw, 80px). 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 (6.2:1), Action on Background (14.2:1), Link on Background (5.4:1), Text on Surface (18.4:1), Text muted on Surface (5.4:1), Action on Surface (12.4:1), Link on Surface (4.8:1) and On action on Action (14.2:1).
- Only for text 24px and up, or 18.66px bold: Negative on Background (3.2:1).
- 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)
- Only the two shadows in the tokens, on the components that use them. (2 shadow values were measured; inventing softer ones changes the depth of the page.)
- No gradients: not in backgrounds, text, buttons or borders. (No gradient was measured.)
- Only these colours: #FFFFFF, #EEF0F3, #0A0B0D, #F7F8F9, #5B616E, #F0616D, #0052FF, #1D1D1D, #000000, #D1D1D1, #282B31, #0667D0. 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.)
- #F0616D only for text — never as a section background or a large panel. (It covers 0.3% of the page.)
- #0052FF only as small fills (buttons, badges) — never a section background or a large panel. (It covers 0.1% of the page.)
- Only the fonts in the tokens: Figtree for body; Figtree for interface; Archivo for display. No other typeface, and no Inter, Roboto or system UI font unless it is one of these. (The page is set in CoinbaseText and CoinbaseSans and CoinbaseDisplay; 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, text, grid, split, 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.
- Do not use coinbase.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.
- #F0616D covers about 0.3% of the page or less, as on the original.
- #0052FF 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 116px 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.