Penpot DESIGN.md

Open-source design and prototyping tool with a dark canvas-first aesthetic — obsidian surfaces, violet-indigo accents, and precision design-tool UI patterns.

1. Visual Theme & Atmosphere

Penpot is an open-source alternative to Figma built on web standards. The design language mirrors a professional design tool: a dark surrounding canvas with white artboards, precise panel controls, and a clean hierarchical layers panel. Violet-indigo accents mark selection states and interactive handles. The UI is dense but organized, built to support hours of focused design work.

2. Color Palette & Roles

3. Typography Rules

css--font-sans: 'Work Sans', 'Inter', -apple-system, sans-serif;
--font-mono: 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira Code', monospace;
--font-size-xs: 10px;
--font-size-sm: 11px;
--font-size-base: 12px;
--font-size-md: 14px;
--font-size-lg: 16px;
--font-size-xl: 20px;
--font-weight-regular: 400;
--font-weight-medium: 500;
--font-weight-semibold: 600;
--line-height-tight: 1.2;
--line-height-base: 1.4;

4. Component Stylings

css/* Panel Section Header */
.panel-section-header {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
  padding: 10px 16px 6px;
  font-size: 11px;
  font-weight: 600;
  color: #9C9C9C;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  letter-spacing: 0.06em;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #2E2E2E;
}

/* Numeric Input (design values) */
.design-input {
  background: #1A1A1A;
  border: 1px solid #3D3D3D;
  border-radius: 4px;
  padding: 5px 8px;
  font-size: 12px;
  font-family: var(--font-mono);
  color: #F0F0F0;
  text-align: center;
  width: 64px;
  transition: border-color 0.1s;
}
.design-input:focus {
  outline: none;
  border-color: #7C3AED;
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(124,58,237,0.2);
}

/* Layer Row */
.layer-row {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 8px;
  padding: 5px 12px;
  border-radius: 4px;
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: background 0.08s;
}
.layer-row:hover { background: #2E2E2E; }
.layer-row--selected { background: rgba(124,58,237,0.15); }
.layer-row__icon { color: #9C9C9C; flex-shrink: 0; }
.layer-row__name {
  font-size: 12px;
  color: #F0F0F0;
  flex: 1;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

/* Selection Handle */
.selection-handle {
  width: 8px;
  height: 8px;
  border-radius: 2px;
  background: #FFFFFF;
  border: 1.5px solid #7C3AED;
  position: absolute;
}

/* Toolbar Button */
.toolbar-icon-btn {
  width: 32px;
  height: 32px;
  border-radius: 6px;
  border: none;
  background: transparent;
  color: #9C9C9C;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: background 0.08s, color 0.08s;
}
.toolbar-icon-btn:hover { background: #2E2E2E; color: #F0F0F0; }
.toolbar-icon-btn--active { background: rgba(124,58,237,0.15); color: #7C3AED; }

5. Layout Principles

6. Depth & Elevation

css.shadow-panel { box-shadow: 2px 0 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); }
.shadow-dropdown { box-shadow: 0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.6); }
.shadow-selection { box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px #7C3AED; }

7. Do's and Don'ts

Do:

• Use 10–12px font sizes in panels — design tools are information-dense
• Keep numeric inputs monospace and center-aligned with fixed widths
• Show bounding box + handles in violet on any selection
• Group panel sections with uppercase muted headers

Don't:

• Don't use large padding in panels — every pixel counts in a design tool
• Don't use rounded corners larger than 6px in panel UI
• Don't make the artboard compete with the canvas background — it must always be white
• Don't use icon labels — tooltips on hover are sufficient

8. Responsive Behavior

9. Agent Prompt Guide

You are designing for Penpot — an open-source design and prototyping tool.
UI panels are extremely dense: 11–12px text, tight padding, dark surfaces (#272727).
Left panel shows layers hierarchy; right panel shows design properties in small monospace inputs.
Canvas background is dark (#2C2C2C); artboards are always white.
Selections use violet (#7C3AED) bounding boxes with white resize handles.
Toolbar icons are 32px, icon-only with tooltips on hover.
Tone is precision-first, design-tool-native, and open-source professional.