# DESIGN.md: Patreon-style design system

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

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 patreon.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as patreon.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use patreon.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.patreon.com/en-GB — "www.patreon.com".
- Page frame: a top navigation bar and a footer.
- Content is grouped in cards (1 on the page). Keep cards for grouped content only, not for every section.
- It uses 169 images including 4 videos, 13 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: 17 buttons and 1 form field on one page.
- The page runs about 8 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)
- Colourful: only 51% of the page is neutral; #71A0FF (24.1%) and #94BBFF (14.3%) fill whole sections.
- #002A57 is an accent: under 0.1% of the page, as small fills such as buttons and badges. Keep it to small areas.
- The largest type (187.5px Oracle) is light, not bold (250), tracked to -0.06em.
- Balanced: text covers 20% of the page.
- Share of the painted page: #FFFFFF 26.4% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #71A0FF 24.1% (dominant, backgrounds); #000000 14.5% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #94BBFF 14.3% (supporting, backgrounds); #95ADCB 10.5% (supporting, backgrounds); #90867A 10.1% (supporting, backgrounds). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline dividers: 1px lines in #000000 separate sections and rows (10 of them).
- Large images: Photographs, video or raster artwork cover about 50% of the page.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 187.5px weight 250 tracking -0.06em; 127.5px weight 250 tracking -0.06em; 54px weight 250 tracking -0.04em; 39px weight 300 tracking -0.055em; 27px weight 400 tracking -0.02em; 25.5px weight 400 tracking -0.04em.

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 — 26.4% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-text-muted))
- #71A0FF — 24.1% · backgrounds (var(--color-background))
- #000000 — 14.5% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-on-action))
- #94BBFF — 14.3% · backgrounds (var(--color-94bbff))
- #95ADCB — 10.5% · backgrounds (var(--color-95adcb))
- #90867A — 10.1% · backgrounds (var(--color-surface))
- #1A1A1A — Text (var(--color-text))
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@300;400;500&display=swap");
```
Font: patreon.com uses Oracle (body) — its own licensed face, not available to download. This kit uses Figtree for body, 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: #71A0FF; /* Background */
  --color-surface: #90867A; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #1A1A1A; /* Text */
  --color-text-muted: #FFFFFF; /* Text muted */
  --color-action: #FFFFFF; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #000000; /* On action */
  --color-94bbff: #94BBFF; /* 14.3% of the page, as fills */
  --color-95adcb: #95ADCB; /* 10.5% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "Oracle", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* Oracle on the site; Figtree renders */
  --type-display-1: 187.5px; /* Display 1, weight 250 */
  --type-display-1-leading: 183.75px;
  --type-display-1-tracking: -0.06em;
  --type-display-2: 127.5px; /* Display 2, weight 250 */
  --type-display-2-leading: 127.5px;
  --type-display-2-tracking: -0.06em;
  --type-display-3: 54px; /* Display 3, weight 250 */
  --type-display-3-leading: 59.4px;
  --type-display-3-tracking: -0.04em;
  --type-display-4: 39px; /* Display 4, weight 300 */
  --type-display-4-leading: 42.9px;
  --type-display-4-tracking: -0.055em;
  --type-headline-large: 27px; /* Headline Large, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-large-leading: 27px;
  --type-headline-large-tracking: -0.02em;
  --type-headline-small: 25.5px; /* Headline Small, weight 400 */
  --type-headline-small-leading: 30.6px;
  --type-headline-small-tracking: -0.04em;
  --type-title: 22px; /* Title, weight 350 */
  --type-title-leading: 26.4px;
  --type-title-tracking: -0.02em;
  --type-body: 15px; /* Body, weight 400 */
  --type-body-leading: 18px;
  --type-body-tracking: -0.02em;
  --type-label: 13.5px; /* Label, weight 350 */
  --type-label-leading: 14.85px;
  --type-label-tracking: -0.02em;
  --space-4: 4px;
  --space-8: 8px;
  --space-20: 20px;
  --space-24: 24px;
  --space-32: 32px;
  --space-52: 52px;
  --space-60: 60px;
  --space-120: 120px;
  --space-124: 124px;
  --space-128: 128px;
  --space-188: 188px;
  --radius-3xl: 30px;
  --radius-45: 45px; /* component radius */
  --elevation-1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 2px 24px 0px;
  --duration-1: 0.25s;
  --duration-2: 0.5s;
  --duration-3: 1s;
  --ease-1: cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 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: #71A0FF;
  --color-surface: #90867A;
  --color-text: #1A1A1A;
  --color-text-muted: #FFFFFF;
  --color-action: #FFFFFF;
  --color-on-action: #000000;
  --color-94bbff: #94BBFF;
  --color-95adcb: #95ADCB;
  --font-body: "Oracle", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --text-display-1: 187.5px;
  --text-display-1--line-height: 183.75px;
  --text-display-1--letter-spacing: -0.06em;
  --text-display-2: 127.5px;
  --text-display-2--line-height: 127.5px;
  --text-display-2--letter-spacing: -0.06em;
  --text-display-3: 54px;
  --text-display-3--line-height: 59.4px;
  --text-display-3--letter-spacing: -0.04em;
  --text-display-4: 39px;
  --text-display-4--line-height: 42.9px;
  --text-display-4--letter-spacing: -0.055em;
  --text-headline-large: 27px;
  --text-headline-large--line-height: 27px;
  --text-headline-large--letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  --text-headline-small: 25.5px;
  --text-headline-small--line-height: 30.6px;
  --text-headline-small--letter-spacing: -0.04em;
  --text-title: 22px;
  --text-title--line-height: 26.4px;
  --text-title--letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  --text-body: 15px;
  --text-body--line-height: 18px;
  --text-body--letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  --text-label: 13.5px;
  --text-label--line-height: 14.85px;
  --text-label--letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  --radius-3xl: 30px;
  --shadow-e1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 2px 24px 0px;
  --ease-1: cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 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)", "action": "var(--color-action)", "on-action": "var(--color-on-action)" },
  fontFamily: { "body": ["var(--font-body)"] },
  borderRadius: { "3xl": "var(--radius-3xl)" },
  boxShadow: { "e1": "var(--elevation-1)" },
}
```

2. BASE STYLES
```css
html { background: var(--color-background); }
body { margin: 0; font-family: var(--font-body); 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
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 350;
  line-height: 14.85px;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
.link-3 { /* Inline 3 */
  background: transparent;
  min-height: 75px;
  color: var(--color-text-muted);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 22.5px;
}
.card { /* Default */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border-radius: var(--radius-3xl);
  padding: 53px 30px 75px 30px;
  min-height: 424px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 22.5px;
}
.button { /* Primary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border: 1px solid #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-3xl);
  padding: 15px 21px 15px 21px;
  min-height: 47px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 350;
  line-height: 13.5px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible */
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary */
  background: #000000;
  border-radius: 50%;
  padding: 14px 14px 14px 14px;
  min-height: 59px;
  color: var(--color-text-muted);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 350;
  line-height: 14.85px;
  /* recorded states: hover, focus-visible, disabled */
}
.button-3 { /* Tertiary */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-3xl);
  padding: 11px 18px 11px 18px;
  min-height: 47px;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 20.25px;
}
.input { /* Default */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-45);
  min-height: 45px;
  color: var(--color-text-muted);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-label);
  font-weight: 350;
  line-height: 14.85px;
}
```
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 #71A0FF. 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.
- #FFFFFF is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #FFFFFF-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Figtree (standing in for Oracle) for body. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Corner radii are 30px — nothing else.
- Body text uses Oracle at around 15px, weights 250, 300, 350, 400, 500.
- Headings use the same family as body text; the largest heading is 187.5px.
- Primary buttons are #FFFFFF, 30px radius, weight 350.
- Cards use 30px corners.
- Corner radii in use: 30px, 37.5px, 50px, 45px.

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 — 900px tall, split 3 / 9, 23px gap, left-aligned 187.5px heading (weight 250) set mid-band, image behind the content, on #90867A.
2. Grid — 938px tall, 7 items in 6 columns with 111px gaps, left-aligned 127.5px heading (weight 250), image on the right, on #95ADCB.
3. Full-bleed image — 921px tall, right-aligned 54px heading (weight 250) set low in the band, image behind the content.
4. Statement — 1275px tall, centred 127.5px heading (weight 250), image on the left, on #94BBFF.
5. Text — 972px tall, left-aligned 127.5px heading (weight 250), image on the right, on #71A0FF.
6. Split — 1176px tall, 2 equal columns, 75px gap, left-aligned 127.5px heading (weight 250), image on the left, on #71A0FF.
7. Full-bleed image — 742px tall, centred 25.5px heading (weight 400) set mid-band, image behind the content.
8. Footer — 507px tall, split 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 2, 35px gap, left-aligned 13.5px heading (weight 350), on #000000.
- Content runs 1375px wide with 128px side margins at 1440px; there is no narrower centred container.
- A 96px header stays fixed at the top, transparent over the first section.
- The hero is 900px (exactly one screen): split 3 / 9, 23px gap, left-aligned 187.5px heading (weight 250) set mid-band, image behind the content, on #90867A.
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: 3/9, 2/2/2/2/3/1, halves, 3/3/2/2/2; gaps of 75px.
- Headings align left (5 of 7 sections); centre only the occasional statement.
- Sections change background 6 times, between #90867A, #95ADCB, #94BBFF: colour comes in full-width bands, not in boxes.
- A typical section is about 972px 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 sentence case (only the first word capitalised).
- The page describes itself in about 19 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 1140px wide, centred, with var(--space-20) (20px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(54px, 13vw, 187.5px). 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 (6.8:1), Text on Surface (4.9:1) and On action on Action (21:1).
- Only for text 24px and up, or 18.66px bold: Text muted on Surface (3.6:1) and Action on Surface (3.6:1).
- 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)
- Only the one shadow in the tokens, on the components that use them. (1 shadow value was 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, #71A0FF, #000000, #94BBFF, #95ADCB, #90867A, #1A1A1A. 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.)
- #002A57 only as small fills (buttons, badges) — never a section background or a large panel. (It covers under 0.1% of the page.)
- Only the fonts in the tokens: Figtree for body. No other typeface, and no Inter, Roboto or system UI font unless it is one of these. (The page is set in Oracle; 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.)
- Large headlines tracked tight (letter-spacing -0.06em), not at the browser default. (The 187.5px headline is set at -0.06em.)
- 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.)
- The hero is left-aligned. Do not centre it. (The captured hero sets its heading on the left.)
- Build the sections your product needs, not the original's list. Give each one this system's look: its kinds of section (hero, grid, image, statement, text, 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 patreon.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.
- #002A57 covers about 0.1% of the page or less, as on the original.
- No text 24px or larger has a font-weight above 400.
- The largest headline uses letter-spacing -0.06em.
- 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.