Merlkeep

A light, serif-led, print-inspired visual system for a creative studio. Its look rests on 400-weight display type up to 100px, serif headlines over a sans-serif body and a sparing vermilion accent on a warm off-white canvas. Every value needed to rebuild the look is recorded, from color roles and type steps to spacing, radii and component specs.

Build in this styleRead the build prompt

In the builder, open Gallery under the message and search for Merlkeep.

What makes it

• 400-weight display type up to 100px
• serif headlines over a sans-serif body
• monospace used for labels, metadata or code
• short uppercase labels with open tracking
• pill-shaped buttons
• large 16px card corners
• no shadows; depth comes from surface tone steps
• one vermilion accent used sparingly

Colors

Calm, literate, considered. Restraint in the palette lets 400-weight display type up to 100px do the talking.

• canvas#fbfaf6
• surface / primary action label#ffffff
• text#000000
• muted text#52525b
• divider (decorative), never behind text#dadbdd
• input border#8e9197
• accent / primary action fill / link text / focus ring#813413

Every checked pair, measured again

Typefaces

monospace accents in Roboto Mono; uppercase only for short labels, with at least 0.05em tracking; no text below 12px; weights of 300 or lighter only at 24px and above; fonts are open Google Fonts chosen to match the observed letterforms

• Cormorant GaramondHeadings
• Roboto MonoBody
• Roboto MonoFigures and code

Type scale

Corners and shadows

• cards: 16px
• links: 6px
• pills: 9999px
• badges: 16px
• images: 24px
• inputs: 0px
• buttons: 9999px
• utility-buttons: 9999px

No shadows: depth comes from surfaces and lines.

Spacing and imagery

compact density on a 4px base unit; container 1200px; section gap 24px; card padding 16px; element gap 10px; radii cards 16px, links 6px, pills 9999px, badges 16px, images 24px, inputs 0px; no shadows

Photography, product screenshots, line icons, data graphics. Use placeholder or generated imagery only; partner marks are neutral placeholders in the muted text color. Product views sit in framed panels with the card radius. Photography is shown under a scrim wherever text overlaps it. Icons are outline style at 20-24px in the text or muted color.

Layout

1. top navigation: wordmark left, 4-6 text links, primary action right; collapses to a menu sheet under 768px
2. centered hero: headline, one-line lede and a primary plus secondary action, visual below
3. article or story cards with image, kicker, title and date
4. large framed product view on a tinted surface
5. feature grid of icon, title and two-line description cells (3-4 columns desktop, 1 column mobile)
6. alternating two-column text-and-visual blocks
7. testimonial cards with quote, name and role
8. footer with grouped link columns, legal line and social icons
9. content sits in a 1200px centered container with 24px side padding (16px on mobile)
10. sections are separated by 24px of vertical space on desktop, roughly half that on mobile

Patterns

• hero
• article or story cards with image, kicker, title and date
• large framed product view on a tinted surface
• feature grid of icon, title and two-line description cells (3-4 columns desktop, 1 column mobile)
• alternating two-column text-and-visual blocks
• testimonial cards with quote, name and role

Components

• primary button: fill #813413, label #ffffff; 9999px radius
• hero block: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; pill radius; padding 16px 40px; 1px border; type 28px
• hero block (variant 2): colors: canvas #fbfaf6
• feature card: colors: accent #813413, canvas #fbfaf6; 16px radius; no shadow
• content card: colors: surface #ffffff; 16px radius; no shadow
• pill badge: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; pill radius; padding 16px 40px; 1px border; type 14px
• text link: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; type 14px
• top navigation bar: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; type 14px; uppercase with at least 0.05em tracking
• secondary button: transparent fill; 0px radius; 1px border
• text input: colors: divider (decorative) #dadbdd, canvas #fbfaf6, surface #ffffff; 0px radius; type 20px
• secondary button (variant 2): transparent fill; 7px radius; padding 8px 20px; type 14px; uppercase with at least 0.05em tracking
• product frame: colors: canvas #fbfaf6, text #000000
• top navigation bar (variant 2): colors: text #000000, canvas #fbfaf6

Interactions and states

• links underline on hover; images fade in on load
• every interactive element shows a 2px #813413 focus ring with 2px offset
• primary action darkens or lightens by one step on hover and keeps its label color
• fields show the focus ring on focus and inline validation on blur
• navigation collapses to a full-height menu sheet under 768px, trapping focus while open
• all motion is disabled under prefers-reduced-motion
• images show a surface-colored placeholder until loaded, with alt text if they fail
• forms: inline validation, disabled submit while sending, success message and retryable error
• mobile menu open and closed states
• hover, focus-visible, active and disabled states for every button style
• reduced-motion variant with no transitions beyond opacity

Guardrails

Experience

• Keep one primary action style (#813413 fill, #ffffff label) and use it once per view; secondary actions stay outlined or text-only.
• Use the vermilion accent for small marks only (links, active states, icons), at most two or three times per screen.
• Buttons and chips are pills; cards keep their own radius so the two read differently.
• Limit headline sizes to the type scale; the 100px display size appears once per page, in the hero.
• Separate layers with surface tone and hairlines, not shadows.
• Keep copy short and concrete: one idea per section, with a heading that states the benefit.

Accessibility

• Text, links, focus rings and input borders use only the verified pairs listed in contrast checks.
• Focus ring: 2px solid #813413 with 2px offset on every interactive element.
• Body text is 16px or larger at 1.5 line height; nothing is smaller than 12px.
• Decorative colors (dividers and supporting accents) never carry text or the only signal of state.
• Uppercase labels stay short, use at least 0.05em tracking and keep sentence-case text in the HTML source.
• Text over photos or gradients sits on a scrim that keeps it at 4.5:1 against the lightest area.
• Respect prefers-reduced-motion; no parallax or autoplay video without a pause control.

Security

• Validate every form with a shared zod schema on the client and again in the edge function; reject unknown fields.
• Rate-limit form endpoints per IP and add a honeypot field; store leads in a Supabase table with RLS allowing insert only for anonymous users and select only for staff.
• Set a strict Content-Security-Policy, self-host fonts and icons, and avoid third-party scripts beyond privacy-friendly analytics.
• Open external links with rel="noopener noreferrer" and never put secrets or API keys in client code.

Build prompt

The rules every style in the gallery assumes, then this style’s own ten sections, from goal to guardrails. A build in the style also gets its tokens as a file, so the colors and type above are exact.

Copy the rules and build prompt

### How to use these prompts
Paste an entry's build prompt into your coding agent as the first message. Each prompt names its own stack, tokens and acceptance criteria; the rules below apply to all of them and can be prepended once per project.

### Engineering baseline
- TypeScript strict mode, no `any`, small typed components, feature folders, and one source of truth for design tokens (CSS variables consumed by Tailwind).
- Validate every input with a shared zod schema on the client and again on the server or edge function. Never trust client-side checks alone.
- Show loading, empty and error states for every async view. Surface errors in plain language with a retry, and log details to the console in development only.
- Keep secrets out of the bundle. Only publishable keys (for example a Supabase anon key) belong in client code; service-role keys, API keys and webhooks live in server or edge-function environment variables.

### Data and auth baseline
- Enable Row Level Security on every table before inserting data. Default-deny, then add the narrowest policies the feature needs (for a lead form: insert-only for anonymous users, select for a staff role).
- Store roles in a separate table checked by a security-definer function, never in a user-editable profile field.
- Rate-limit public endpoints (forms, auth, AI calls) and add a honeypot field or captcha to anonymous forms.
- Take payments through a hosted checkout and verify webhooks by signature. Never handle raw card data.

### Accessibility and UX baseline
- Target WCAG 2.2 AA: 4.5:1 contrast for normal text and 3:1 for large text, input borders, focus rings and meaningful icons or chart lines. Every palette in this catalog lists its verified pairs; re-check with a contrast tool after any color change.
- Keep body text at 16px or larger with 1.5 line height, nothing below 12px, no light weights under 24px, and uppercase only for short labels.
- Give every interactive element a visible focus ring, full keyboard support, semantic landmarks, labeled form fields, and alt text on meaningful images.
- Respect `prefers-reduced-motion` for every animation. Give carousels and drag interactions keyboard and button alternatives, and never auto-advance them.
- Build mobile-first and test at 375px, 768px and 1280px.

### Content guardrails
- Use original copy, fictional sample data and placeholder or generated imagery. Do not reuse another product's name, logo, screenshots or marketing text.
- Partner and customer logo rows use neutral placeholder marks. Label demo testimonials and metrics as samples. Collect the minimum personal data a form needs.

### Style preset baseline
- Treat the entry's palette, type scale, radii, spacing and shadows as the complete token set. Do not introduce new colors; derive hover and pressed states by moving one step lighter or darker within the same hue, then re-check contrast.
- Colors marked decorative (dividers, supporting accents) never sit behind text and never carry meaning on their own.
- Fonts are open Google Fonts chosen to match the observed letterforms. Self-host them with `font-display: swap` and keep to the listed weights.
- Keep the signature moves listed for the entry, and keep everything else quiet so they stay recognizable.
- One primary action style per view. Secondary actions are outlined or text-only, and links are distinguishable by more than color (underline or weight).

### Goal
Build a responsive light-theme marketing site for a fictional creative studio in the "Merlkeep" style: serif-led, print-inspired, with 400-weight display type up to 100px, serif headlines over a sans-serif body, monospace used for labels, metadata or code. Use invented copy and placeholder imagery throughout.

### Stack
Astro, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, React islands with Radix primitives (tabs, accordion, dialog), Lucide icons, zod, Supabase (form submissions only). Design tokens live as CSS variables and are mapped into the Tailwind theme.

### Pages & layout
Home page sections, in order:
- top navigation: wordmark left, 4-6 text links, primary action right; collapses to a menu sheet under 768px
- centered hero: headline, one-line lede and a primary plus secondary action, visual below
- article or story cards with image, kicker, title and date
- large framed product view on a tinted surface
- feature grid of icon, title and two-line description cells (3-4 columns desktop, 1 column mobile)
- alternating two-column text-and-visual blocks
- testimonial cards with quote, name and role
- footer with grouped link columns, legal line and social icons
- content sits in a 1200px centered container with 24px side padding (16px on mobile)
- sections are separated by 24px of vertical space on desktop, roughly half that on mobile
Also build a simple contact page with a lead form and a 404 page in the same style. Test at 375px, 768px and 1280px.

### Design system
```css
:root {
  --color-canvas: #fbfaf6;
  --color-surface: #ffffff;
  --color-text: #000000;
  --color-muted-text: #52525b;
  --color-divider: #dadbdd;
  --color-input-border: #8e9197;
  --color-accent: #813413;
  --text-14: 14px;
  --text-16: 16px;
  --text-20: 20px;
  --text-28: 28px;
  --text-72: 72px;
  --text-78: 78px;
  --text-100: 100px;
  --radius-cards: 16px;
  --radius-links: 6px;
  --radius-pills: 9999px;
  --radius-badges: 16px;
  --radius-images: 24px;
  --radius-inputs: 0px;
  --radius-buttons: 9999px;
  --radius-utility-buttons: 9999px;
  --space-unit: 4px;
}
```
Display Cormorant Garamond, body Roboto Mono, mono Roboto Mono (Google Fonts, self-hosted, font-display: swap).
Type scale (size/weight/line-height tracking): 14px/400/1.2 0.030em, 16px/400/1.5, 20px/400/1.5, 28px/400/1.1, 72px/400/1.0, 78px/400/1.5, 100px/400/1.11.
Spacing: compact density on a 4px base unit; container 1200px; section gap 24px; card padding 16px; element gap 10px; radii cards 16px, links 6px, pills 9999px, badges 16px, images 24px, inputs 0px; no shadows.
Signature moves: 400-weight display type up to 100px; serif headlines over a sans-serif body; monospace used for labels, metadata or code; short uppercase labels with open tracking; pill-shaped buttons; large 16px card corners; no shadows; depth comes from surface tone steps; one vermilion accent used sparingly.

### Components & interactions
- **primary button**: fill #813413, label #ffffff; 9999px radius
- **hero block**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; pill radius; padding 16px 40px; 1px border; type 28px
- **hero block (variant 2)**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6
- **feature card**: colors: accent #813413, canvas #fbfaf6; 16px radius; no shadow
- **content card**: colors: surface #ffffff; 16px radius; no shadow
- **pill badge**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; pill radius; padding 16px 40px; 1px border; type 14px
- **text link**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; type 14px
- **top navigation bar**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6; type 14px; uppercase with at least 0.05em tracking
- **secondary button**: transparent fill; 0px radius; 1px border
- **text input**: colors: divider (decorative) #dadbdd, canvas #fbfaf6, surface #ffffff; 0px radius; type 20px
- **secondary button (variant 2)**: transparent fill; 7px radius; padding 8px 20px; type 14px; uppercase with at least 0.05em tracking
- **product frame**: colors: canvas #fbfaf6, text #000000
- **top navigation bar (variant 2)**: colors: text #000000, canvas #fbfaf6
- links underline on hover; images fade in on load
- every interactive element shows a 2px #813413 focus ring with 2px offset
- primary action darkens or lightens by one step on hover and keeps its label color
- fields show the focus ring on focus and inline validation on blur
- navigation collapses to a full-height menu sheet under 768px, trapping focus while open
- all motion is disabled under prefers-reduced-motion

### Data & state
Content comes from typed local collections: Feature{icon, title, body}, Testimonial{quote, name, role, avatarUrl}, Post{slug, title, kicker, excerpt, coverUrl, publishedAt}, Lead{email, name?, message?, createdAt}. The lead form posts to a Supabase edge function. Handle these states:
- images show a surface-colored placeholder until loaded, with alt text if they fail
- forms: inline validation, disabled submit while sending, success message and retryable error
- mobile menu open and closed states
- hover, focus-visible, active and disabled states for every button style
- reduced-motion variant with no transitions beyond opacity

### Accessibility
- Text, links, focus rings and input borders use only the verified pairs listed in contrast checks.
- Focus ring: 2px solid #813413 with 2px offset on every interactive element.
- Body text is 16px or larger at 1.5 line height; nothing is smaller than 12px.
- Decorative colors (dividers and supporting accents) never carry text or the only signal of state.
- Uppercase labels stay short, use at least 0.05em tracking and keep sentence-case text in the HTML source.
- Text over photos or gradients sits on a scrim that keeps it at 4.5:1 against the lightest area.
- Respect prefers-reduced-motion; no parallax or autoplay video without a pause control.
Verified contrast: body text on canvas #000000 on #fbfaf6 = 20.11:1; body text on surface #000000 on #ffffff = 21.0:1; muted text on canvas #52525b on #fbfaf6 = 7.4:1; muted text on surface #52525b on #ffffff = 7.73:1; primary action label on fill #ffffff on #813413 = 8.63:1; link text on canvas #813413 on #fbfaf6 = 8.26:1; focus ring on canvas #813413 on #fbfaf6 = 8.26:1; focus ring on surface #813413 on #ffffff = 8.63:1; input border on canvas #8e9197 on #fbfaf6 = 3.02:1; accent icons and active marks on canvas #813413 on #fbfaf6 = 8.26:1.

### Security
- Validate every form with a shared zod schema on the client and again in the edge function; reject unknown fields.
- Rate-limit form endpoints per IP and add a honeypot field; store leads in a Supabase table with RLS allowing insert only for anonymous users and select only for staff.
- Set a strict Content-Security-Policy, self-host fonts and icons, and avoid third-party scripts beyond privacy-friendly analytics.
- Open external links with rel="noopener noreferrer" and never put secrets or API keys in client code.

### Performance & SEO
- Static generation for every content page; ship no JavaScript to sections that do not need it.
- Images in AVIF/WebP with explicit width and height, lazy-loaded below the fold; preload the hero image and the display font only.
- One h1 per page, descriptive titles and meta descriptions, Open Graph tags with a generated preview image, and a sitemap.
- Target Lighthouse 95+ for performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO.

### Guardrails
- Keep one primary action style (#813413 fill, #ffffff label) and use it once per view; secondary actions stay outlined or text-only.
- Use the vermilion accent for small marks only (links, active states, icons), at most two or three times per screen.
- Buttons and chips are pills; cards keep their own radius so the two read differently.
- Limit headline sizes to the type scale; the 100px display size appears once per page, in the hero.
- Separate layers with surface tone and hairlines, not shadows.
- Keep copy short and concrete: one idea per section, with a heading that states the benefit.
Acceptance criteria:
- Every color in the build comes from the tokens above and every text pair matches a verified contrast pair.
- The page works with keyboard only, shows a visible focus ring everywhere and passes an automated axe check with no violations.
- No real brand names, logos, product screenshots or copied marketing text appear anywhere.
- Layout holds at 375px with no horizontal scrolling.

Open the builderThe whole gallery