# DESIGN.md: Rippling-style design system

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

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 rippling.com, measured from the live site: it should feel designed by the same team as rippling.com — the same temperament, colour, type and density — for a different product. Never use rippling.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.rippling.com/ — "www.rippling.com" (home page).
- Page frame: a top navigation bar and a footer.
- Content is grouped in cards (22 on the page, up to 11 side by side). Keep cards for grouped content only, not for every section.
- It uses 449 images, 6 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: 29 buttons on one page.
- The page runs about 12 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)
- Mostly neutral: 83% of the page is #FFFFFF and #F2EEEB and other neutrals; #4A0039 (16.9%) fills whole sections.
- #FFA81D is an accent: 0.2% of the page, as small fills such as buttons and badges. Keep it to small areas.
- #7A005D 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 (48px __basel_e55247) is medium weight, not bold (500), tracked to -0.015em.
- Open: text covers 8% of the page. Sections sit about 220px apart.
- Share of the painted page: #FFFFFF 33.3% (dominant, backgrounds); #F2EEEB 27.4% (dominant, backgrounds); #4A0039 16.9% (supporting, backgrounds); #1C1C1C 12.1% (supporting, backgrounds); #000000 9.9% (supporting, backgrounds and text); #FFA81D 0.2% (accent, backgrounds); #383838 0.1% (detail, backgrounds); #E1D8D2 0.1% (detail, backgrounds). Keep accents at these proportions; do not promote them to fills.
- Hairline dividers: 1px lines in #FFFFFF separate sections and rows (15 of them).
- Illustrations: One large illustration in filled shapes, in #FFFFFF.
- Small marks: 13 small decorative marks (dots, crosses or ticks under 16px) in #FFA81D and #000000, placed at corners and edges.
- Large images: Photographs, video or raster artwork cover about 21% of the page.
- Type as set (size, weight and tracking measured together; use these pairs): 48px weight 500 tracking -0.015em; 42px weight 500 tracking -0.036em; 30px weight 500; 24px weight 500 tracking 0.01em; 18px weight 400 tracking 0.014em; 16px weight 500.

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 — 33.3% · backgrounds (var(--color-text))
- #F2EEEB — 27.4% · backgrounds (var(--color-f2eeeb))
- #4A0039 — 16.9% · backgrounds (var(--color-background))
- #1C1C1C — 12.1% · backgrounds (var(--color-1c1c1c))
- #000000 — 9.9% · backgrounds, text (var(--color-surface))
- #FFA81D — 0.2% · backgrounds (var(--color-border))
- #383838 — 0.1% · backgrounds
- #E1D8D2 — 0.1% · backgrounds
- #CEC1B8 — hairlines and grid lines
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&display=swap");
```
Font: rippling.com uses __basel_e55247 (body) and Basel (interface) — its own licensed faces, not available to download. This kit uses Figtree 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: #4A0039; /* Background */
  --color-surface: #000000; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #FFFFFF; /* Text */
  --color-border: #FFA81D; /* Border */
  --color-action: #FFA81D; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #000000; /* On action */
  --color-f2eeeb: #F2EEEB; /* 27.4% of the page, as fills */
  --color-1c1c1c: #1C1C1C; /* 12.1% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "__basel_e55247", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* __basel_e55247 on the site; Figtree renders */
  --font-interface: "Basel", "Figtree", sans-serif; /* Basel on the site; Figtree renders */
  --type-display-large: 48px; /* Display Large, weight 500 */
  --type-display-large-leading: 51.9998px;
  --type-display-large-tracking: -0.015em;
  --type-display-small: 42px; /* Display Small, weight 500 */
  --type-display-small-leading: 48px;
  --type-display-small-tracking: -0.036em;
  --type-headline-large: 30px; /* Headline Large, weight 500 */
  --type-headline-large-leading: 36px;
  --type-headline-small: 24px; /* Headline Small, weight 500 */
  --type-headline-small-leading: 29.9997px;
  --type-headline-small-tracking: 0.01em;
  --type-title: 18px; /* Title, weight 400 */
  --type-title-leading: 25.999px;
  --type-title-tracking: 0.014em;
  --type-body-large: 16px; /* Body Large, weight 500 */
  --type-body-large-leading: 32px;
  --type-body-small: 15px; /* Body Small, weight 400 */
  --type-body-small-leading: 21.999px;
  --type-body-small-tracking: 0.017em;
  --type-label: 12px; /* Label, weight 400 */
  --type-label-leading: 16px;
  --type-label-tracking: 0.021em;
  --space-1: 4px;
  --space-2: 8px;
  --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px;
  --space-5: 20px;
  --space-6: 24px;
  --space-8: 32px;
  --space-9: 36px;
  --space-12: 48px;
  --space-13: 52px;
  --space-15: 60px;
  --space-16: 64px;
  --space-20: 80px;
  --space-24: 96px;
  --space-30: 120px;
  --space-33: 132px;
  --space-34: 136px;
  --radius-xs: 1px;
  --radius-sm: 4px;
  --radius-md: 5px;
  --radius-lg: 8px;
  --radius-xl: 12px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --elevation-1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 4px 8px 0px;
  --elevation-2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(40, 22, 29, 0.08) 2px 8px 12px 0px;
  --elevation-3: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 2px 8px 12px -8px;
  --duration-1: 0.15s;
  --duration-2: 0.3s;
  --ease-1: 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: #4A0039;
  --color-surface: #000000;
  --color-text: #FFFFFF;
  --color-border: #FFA81D;
  --color-action: #FFA81D;
  --color-on-action: #000000;
  --color-f2eeeb: #F2EEEB;
  --color-1c1c1c: #1C1C1C;
  --font-body: "__basel_e55247", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --font-interface: "Basel", "Figtree", sans-serif;
  --text-display-large: 48px;
  --text-display-large--line-height: 51.9998px;
  --text-display-large--letter-spacing: -0.015em;
  --text-display-small: 42px;
  --text-display-small--line-height: 48px;
  --text-display-small--letter-spacing: -0.036em;
  --text-headline-large: 30px;
  --text-headline-large--line-height: 36px;
  --text-headline-small: 24px;
  --text-headline-small--line-height: 29.9997px;
  --text-headline-small--letter-spacing: 0.01em;
  --text-title: 18px;
  --text-title--line-height: 25.999px;
  --text-title--letter-spacing: 0.014em;
  --text-body-large: 16px;
  --text-body-large--line-height: 32px;
  --text-body-small: 15px;
  --text-body-small--line-height: 21.999px;
  --text-body-small--letter-spacing: 0.017em;
  --text-label: 12px;
  --text-label--line-height: 16px;
  --text-label--letter-spacing: 0.021em;
  --radius-xs: 1px;
  --radius-sm: 4px;
  --radius-md: 5px;
  --radius-lg: 8px;
  --radius-xl: 12px;
  --radius-full: 9999px;
  --shadow-e1: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 4px 8px 0px;
  --shadow-e2: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(40, 22, 29, 0.08) 2px 8px 12px 0px;
  --shadow-e3: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 0px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 2px 8px 12px -8px;
  --ease-1: 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)", "border": "var(--color-border)", "action": "var(--color-action)", "on-action": "var(--color-on-action)" },
  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)", "xl": "var(--radius-xl)", "full": "var(--radius-full)" },
  boxShadow: { "e1": "var(--elevation-1)", "e2": "var(--elevation-2)", "e3": "var(--elevation-3)" },
}
```

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: #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-lg);
  min-height: 546px;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
}
.card-2 { /* Alternative 1 */
  background: var(--color-f2eeeb);
  border-radius: var(--radius-xl);
  min-height: 276px;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
}
.card-3 { /* Alternative 2 */
  background: #FFFFFF;
  border: 1px solid #FFFFFF;
  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
  padding: 12px 16px 12px 16px;
  min-height: 62px;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
}
.link { /* Inline */
  background: transparent;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 400;
  line-height: 21.999px;
}
.link-2 { /* Inline 2 */
  background: transparent;
  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
  min-height: 24px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 21.999px;
  /* recorded states: focus-visible, active */
}
.link-3 { /* Inline 3 */
  background: transparent;
  padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;
  min-height: 40px;
  color: var(--color-text);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 22px;
  /* recorded states: hover, focus-visible */
}
.button { /* Primary */
  background: var(--color-action);
  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
  padding: 8px 24px 8px 24px;
  min-height: 38px;
  color: var(--color-on-action);
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-small);
  font-weight: 500;
  line-height: 15px;
  /* recorded states: focus */
}
.button-2 { /* Secondary */
  border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
  padding: var(--space-4);
  min-height: 48px;
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  /* recorded states: focus, focus-visible, disabled */
}
.button-3 { /* Secondary 2 */
  background: #E1D8D2;
  border-radius: var(--radius-lg);
  padding: 8px 20px 8px 8px;
  min-height: 64px;
  box-shadow: var(--elevation-2);
  color: #000000;
  font-family: var(--font-body);
  font-size: var(--type-body-large);
  font-weight: 400;
  /* recorded states: hover */
}
```
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 #4A0039. 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.
- #FFA81D is the action colour. Fill the primary action with it and little else — at most one #FFA81D-filled element per screen; other accents keep to the uses listed above.
- Type: Figtree (standing in for __basel_e55247) for body; Figtree (standing in for Basel) for interface. Hierarchy comes from size and weight, not colour or decoration.
- Everything sits on a 4px grid.
- Corner radii are 1px, 4px, 5px, 8px, 12px, fully round (pill) — nothing else.
- Body text uses __basel_e55247 at around 16px, weights 400, 500.
- Headings use the same family as body text; the largest heading is 48px.
- Primary buttons are #FFA81D, 4px radius, weight 500.
- Cards use 4px corners.
- Spacing follows a 4px rhythm (2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 22).
- Corner radii in use: 12px, 4px, 8px, 1px, 5px.

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 — 884px tall, 3 equal columns, 12px gap, left-aligned 48px heading (weight 500), artwork behind the content, on #4A0039.
2. Grid — 1032px tall, 6 items in 3 columns with 48px gaps, centred 42px heading (weight 500), artwork on the left, on #F2EEEB.
3. Split — 552px tall, split 5 / 7, 120px gap, left-aligned 30px heading (weight 500), artwork on the right.
4. Split — 552px tall, split 7 / 5, 120px gap, left-aligned 30px heading (weight 500), artwork on the left.
5. Split — 552px tall, split 5 / 7, 120px gap, left-aligned 30px heading (weight 500), artwork on the right.
6. Statement — 1099px tall, centred 42px heading (weight 500), artwork centred, on #F2EEEB.
7. Split — 1010px tall, split 5 / 7, 120px gap, centred 42px heading (weight 500), artwork on the right, on #4A0039.
8. Cards — 820px tall, split 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 2, left-aligned 30px heading (weight 500) set low in the band, artwork on the right, on #F2EEEB.
9. Text — 878px tall, a strip of 11 small items (logos, links or icons), left-aligned 42px heading (weight 500), artwork on the left, on #FFFFFF.
10. Cards — 236px tall, 6 equal columns, 87px gap, artwork on the left, on #FFFFFF.
11. Full-bleed image — 394px tall, centred 48px heading (weight 500), artwork behind the content, on #4A0039.
12. Text — 1222px tall, a strip of 10 small items (logos, links or icons), left-aligned 24px heading (weight 500).
13. Split — 235px tall, split 5 / 7, 312px gap, left-aligned 48px heading (weight 500).
14. Footer — 177px tall, split 5 / 7, 494px gap, left-aligned 15px heading (weight 500), artwork on the right.
- Content sits in a 1128px container, 156px from the edge at 1440px wide.
- A 80px header scrolls away, transparent over the first section.
- The hero is 884px (exactly one screen): 3 equal columns, 12px gap, left-aligned 48px heading (weight 500), artwork behind the content, on #4A0039.
- Column splits on a 12-column grid: 5/7 (5×), thirds (2×), 7/5, 3/3/2/2/2; gaps of 120px.
- Headings align left (9 of 13 sections); centre only the occasional statement.
- Sections change background 8 times, between #4A0039, #F2EEEB, #FFFFFF: colour comes in full-width bands; #FFFFFF is large rounded panels inside a section instead.
- A typical section is about 820px tall.

COPY SHAPE (MATCH THE LENGTH AND CASE; WRITE YOUR OWN WORDS)
- The main heading is 7 words long.
- Section headings are long: typically 8 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 1320px wide, centred, with var(--space-4) (16px) side padding on small screens.
- The largest heading scales fluidly: font-size: clamp(24px, 3.3vw, 48px). 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 (15.6:1), Action on Background (8.1:1), Text on Surface (21:1), Action on Surface (10.9:1) and On action on Action (10.9:1).
- 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: #FFFFFF, #F2EEEB, #4A0039, #1C1C1C, #000000, #FFA81D, #383838, #E1D8D2, #CEC1B8. 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.)
- #FFA81D only as small fills (buttons, badges) — never a section background or a large panel. (It covers 0.2% of the page.)
- #7A005D 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; 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 __basel_e55247; the tokens carry what stands in for them.)
- Headings and large text never heavier than weight 500. Do not make headlines bold to add emphasis. (Every size from 24px up is set at weight 500 or lighter.)
- Large headlines tracked tight (letter-spacing -0.015em), not at the browser default. (The 48px headline is set at -0.015em.)
- 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, split, statement, cards, text, image, 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 rippling.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.
- #FFA81D covers about 0.2% of the page or less, as on the original.
- #7A005D covers about 0.1% of the page or less, as on the original.
- No text 24px or larger has a font-weight above 500.
- The largest headline uses letter-spacing -0.015em.
- Every section, including ones the original does not have, uses only this system's colours, type, shapes and spacing.
- Content sits in a 1128px container with 156px 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.