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<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025-2026 Marcus Quinn -->

# Design System: Startup Minimal — Visual Theme & Atmosphere

Startup Minimal is a clean, focused design system that strips away everything non-essential. It is the design equivalent of a well-written function: no dead code, no unnecessary abstractions, just the work. Inspired by developer tools, productivity software, and platforms that let content speak, this system earns trust through restraint rather than decoration.

The palette is almost monochromatic — near-white backgrounds, charcoal text, and a single blue accent that does all the heavy lifting for interactive states. There are no gradients, no coloured shadows, no decorative elements. Hierarchy comes from typography weight and size, spacing rhythm, and the deliberate placement of the accent colour. When something is blue, it's important. Everything else steps back.

Layout follows a strict 4px base grid with razor-thin borders (1px, light grey) as the primary structural element. Components are tight, spacing is precise, and every pixel is accountable to the grid. The result is a system that feels fast, reliable, and engineered — the kind of interface where users trust that nothing is wasted.

**Key characteristics:**
- **Mood:** Clean, focused, precise, trustworthy, engineered
- **Background:** Near-white `#fafafa` with `#ffffff` card surfaces
- **Signature colour:** Single blue accent `#2563eb` — the only colour that matters
- **Typography feel:** System-first, clean sans-serif, no ornamentation
- **Corner treatment:** Minimal — 6px default, 8px for containers
- **Border style:** Razor-thin 1px `#e5e7eb`, structural, everywhere
- **Shadow approach:** Almost none — borders and background shifts do the work
- **Density:** Medium-high — efficient use of space, never wasteful
- **Motion:** Functional — 150ms ease, state transitions only, no entrance animations
