# DESIGN.md: Klarna-style design system

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

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 klarna.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as klarna.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use klarna.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.klarna.com/international/ — "www.klarna.com".
- Page frame: a top navigation bar.
- It uses 1 image, 1 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: 5 buttons on one page.
- The page runs about 5 screens long at 1440px wide.
- Density is low: few elements per screen, generous space around each one.

HOW IT LOOKS (WHAT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE ITSELF, BEYOND THE VALUES)
- Almost entirely neutral: 100% of the page is painted in #FFFFFF and #0B051D.
- The largest type (66px Klarna Title) is regular weight, not bold (400), tracked to 0.005em.
- Very airy: text covers 5% of the page.
- Structure comes from thin grid lines, not from shadows or filled cards.
- Share of the painted page: #FFFFFF 82.8% (dominant, backgrounds); #0B051D 12% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #F9F8F5 2.5% (detail, backgrounds); #000000 1.5% (detail, backgrounds); #C4C3CA 0.4% (detail, text); #E2E2E7 0.4% (detail, lines); #0E0E0F 0.4% (detail, text). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline grid: 1px lines in #E2E2E7 run both across and down the page (80 across, 74 down), dividing it into cells instead of cards.
- Illustrations: One large illustration in filled shapes, in #FFFFFF.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 66px weight 400 tracking 0.005em; 52px weight 400 tracking 0.006em; 31.01px weight 700 tracking -0.002em; 24px weight 700 tracking -0.002em; 16px weight 500 tracking -0.003em; 14px weight 400 tracking -0.003em.

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 — 82.8% · backgrounds (var(--color-background))
- #0B051D — 12% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-text))
- #F9F8F5 — 2.5% · backgrounds (var(--color-surface))
- #000000 — 1.5% · backgrounds (var(--color-000000))
- #C4C3CA — 0.4% · text
- #E2E2E7 — 0.4% · lines (var(--color-border))
- #0E0E0F — 0.4% · text
- #555555 — 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&display=swap");
@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Archivo:wght@400&display=swap");
```
Font: klarna.com uses Klarna Text (body) and Klarna Title (display) — its own licensed faces, not available to download. This kit uses Figtree for body 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: #F9F8F5; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #0B051D; /* Text */
  --color-text-muted: #555555; /* Text muted */
  --color-border: #E2E2E7; /* Border */
  --color-action: #0B051D; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #F9F8F5; /* On action */
  --color-link: #0B051D; /* Link */
  --color-000000: #000000; /* 1.5% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "Klarna Text", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* Klarna Text on the site; Figtree renders */
  --font-display: "Klarna Title", "Archivo", sans-serif; /* Klarna Title on the site; Archivo renders */
  --type-display-large: 66px; /* Display Large, weight 400 */
  --type-display-large-leading: 73.26px;
  --type-display-large-tracking: 0.005em;
  --type-display-small: 52px; /* Display Small, weight 400 */
  --type-display-small-leading: 57.72px;
  --type-display-small-tracking: 0.006em;
  --type-headline-large: 31.01px; /* Headline Large, weight 700 */
  --type-headline-large-leading: 34.4189px;
  --type-headline-large-tracking: -0.002em;
  --type-headline-small: 24px; /* Headline Small, weight 700 */
  --type-headline-small-leading: 25.2px;
  --type-headline-small-tracking: -0.002em;
  --type-body-large: 16px; /* Body Large, weight 500 */
  --type-body-large-leading: 20px;
  --type-body-large-tracking: -0.003em;
  --type-body-small: 14px; /* Body Small, weight 400 */
  --type-body-small-leading: 14.7px;
  --type-body-small-tracking: -0.003em;
  --type-label-large: 13px; /* Label Large, weight 500 */
  --type-label-large-leading: 17px;
  --type-label-small: 10px; /* Label Small, weight 400 */
  --type-label-small-leading: 10.5px;
  --type-label-small-tracking: -0.005em;
  --space-1: 4px;
  --space-2: 8px;
  --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px;
  --space-5: 20px;
  --space-6: 24px;
  --space-8: 32px;
  --space-10: 40px;
  --space-12: 48px;
  --space-16: 64px;
  --space-18: 72px;
  --space-20: 80px;
  --radius-xs: 2px;
  --radius-sm: 3px;
  --radius-md: 8px;
  --radius-lg: 10px;
  --radius-2xl: 17px;
  --radius-3xl: 20px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --elevation-1: rgb(199, 197, 199) 0px 0px 12px 2px;
  --elevation-2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 18px 0px;
  --duration-1: 0.2s;
  --duration-2: 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: #F9F8F5;
  --color-text: #0B051D;
  --color-text-muted: #555555;
  --color-border: #E2E2E7;
  --color-action: #0B051D;
  --color-on-action: #F9F8F5;
  --color-link: #0B051D;
  --color-000000: #000000;
  --font-body: "Klarna Text", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --font-display: "Klarna Title", "Archivo", sans-serif;
  --text-display-large: 66px;
  --text-display-large--line-height: 73.26px;
  --text-display-large--letter-spacing: 0.005em;
  --text-display-small: 52px;
  --text-display-small--line-height: 57.72px;
  --text-display-small--letter-spacing: 0.006em;
  --text-headline-large: 31.01px;
  --text-headline-large--line-height: 34.4189px;
  --text-headline-large--letter-spacing: -0.002em;
  --text-headline-small: 24px;
  --text-headline-small--line-height: 25.2px;
  --text-headline-small--letter-spacing: -0.002em;
  --text-body-large: 16px;
  --text-body-large--line-height: 20px;
  --text-body-large--letter-spacing: -0.003em;
  --text-body-small: 14px;
  --text-body-small--line-height: 14.7px;
  --text-body-small--letter-spacing: -0.003em;
  --text-label-large: 13px;
  --text-label-large--line-height: 17px;
  --text-label-small: 10px;
  --text-label-small--line-height: 10.5px;
  --text-label-small--letter-spacing: -0.005em;
  --radius-xs: 2px;
  --radius-sm: 3px;
  --radius-md: 8px;
  --radius-lg: 10px;
  --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)" },
  fontFamily: { "body": ["var(--font-body)"], "display": ["var(--font-display)"] },
  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)", "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
.link { /* Inline */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
  padding: 6px 6px 6px 6px;
  min-height: 32px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 20px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, hover, active */
}
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  padding: 8px 12px 8px 12px;
  min-height: 32px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 16px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, hover, active */
}
.link-3 { /* Inline 3 */
  background: transparent;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 0px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible */
}
.nav { /* Default */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 72px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 20px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible */
}
.button { /* Primary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
  padding: 11px 20px 11px 20px;
  min-height: 42px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 20px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, hover */
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary */
  background: var(--color-000000);
  border-radius: var(--radius-xs);
  min-height: 25px;
  color: #FFFFFF;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 25px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, hover, focus */
}
.button-3 { /* Secondary 2 */
  background: var(--color-background);
  border: 1px solid #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-3xl);
  min-height: 40px;
  color: var(--color-000000);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 16.8px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, hover, focus */
}
```
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.
- #0B051D is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #0B051D-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Figtree (standing in for Klarna Text) for body; Archivo (standing in for Klarna Title) for display. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Everything sits on a 4px grid.
- Corner radii are 2px, 3px, 8px, 10px, 17px, 20px, fully round (pill) — nothing else.
- Body text uses Klarna Text at around 16px, weights 400, 500, 700.
- Headings use Klarna Title; the largest heading is 66px.
- Primary buttons are #0B051D, pill-shaped, weight 500.
- Cards use 10px corners with a soft shadow.
- Corner radii in use: 2px, 9999px (pill), 8px, 32px, 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 — 225px tall, centred 66px heading (weight 400).
2. Text — 74px tall, left-aligned 52px heading (weight 400).
3. Text — 2328px tall, left-aligned 16px heading (weight 500).
4. Cards — 386px tall, 3 equal columns, 48px gap, left-aligned 52px heading (weight 400), on #FFFFFF.
5. Text — 381px tall, left-aligned 52px heading (weight 400), on #FFFFFF.
6. Footer — 745px tall, 4 equal columns, 48px gap, left-aligned 24px heading (weight 700), artwork centred, on #0B051D.
- Content sits in a 1140px container, 183px from the edge at 1440px wide.
- A 72px header scrolls away, transparent over the first section.
- The hero is 225px (0.3 screens): centred 66px heading (weight 400).
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: thirds, quarters; gaps of 48px.
- Headings align left (5 of 6 sections); centre only the occasional statement.
- Sections change background 2 times, between #FFFFFF, #0B051D: colour comes in full-width bands, not in boxes.
- A typical section is about 386px tall.

COPY SHAPE (MATCH THE LENGTH AND CASE; WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS)
- The main heading is 2 words long.
- Section headings are short: typically 2 words.
- Headings are in sentence case (only the first word capitalised).
- The page describes itself in about 21 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 1360px wide, centred, with var(--space-4) (16px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(31.01px, 4.6vw, 66px). 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 (19.9:1), Text muted on Background (7.5:1), Action on Background (19.9:1), Link on Background (19.9:1), Text on Surface (18.8:1), Text muted on Surface (7:1), Action on Surface (18.8:1), Link on Surface (18.8:1) and On action on Action (18.8:1).
- 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, #0B051D, #F9F8F5, #000000, #C4C3CA, #E2E2E7, #0E0E0F, #555555. 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; 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 Klarna Text and Klarna Title; the tokens carry what stands in for them.)
- Headings and large text never heavier than weight 700. Do not make headlines bold to add emphasis. (Every size from 24px up is set at weight 700 or lighter.)
- No all-caps eyebrow labels above headings. (No uppercase text was measured.)
- No stock photography or AI-generated photos. (Photographs cover almost none of the page.)
- 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, cards, 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 klarna.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 700.
- Every section, including ones the original does not have, uses only this system's colours, type, shapes and spacing.
- Content sits in a 1140px container with 183px 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.