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Are.na

www.are.na
coolserif-heavyminimaltype-firstachromaticdenseeditorialcreative
Are.na
Agent-readable design overview — paste into any LLM.
DESIGN.md

Are.na — Design System

North Star

An 'Internet memory palace' for connected knowledge collectors — quiet, text-first, the opposite of an algorithm.

Theme: light Category: creative Tags: cool · serif-heavy · minimal · type-first · achromatic · dense · editorial · creative

Description

Are.na's marketing site is almost defiantly plain — system-style sans, near-white canvas, narrow centered single-column layout, and a deep navy footer. No imagery, no illustration, no hero animation. Pricing tiers, manifesto text, and a single product screenshot are the entire surface. The personality is post-internet quiet — the design system says 'we trust the reader' rather than 'we want your attention'.

Colors

NameHexGroupRoleTailwind
neutral-700#333333neutralneutral step 700
neutral-50-1#ffffffneutralneutral step 50zinc-50 (Δ0.015)
neutral-950#000000neutralneutral step 950
neutral-50-2#f7f7f7neutralneutral step 50neutral-100 (Δ0.006)
blue-800#00075fblueblue step 800
neutral-500#696969neutralneutral step 500
red-200#dfbeberedred step 200
violet-600#3d46c2violetviolet step 600
neutral-100-1#dededeneutralneutral step 100zinc-200 (Δ0.02)
green-500#238020greengreen step 500green-700 (Δ0.012)
neutral-100-2#ebecf7neutralneutral step 100violet-100 (Δ0.014)
green-200#b4d6b3greengreen step 200
red-500#b93d3dredred step 500

Surfaces (Elevation)

LevelNameHexPurpose
0background#ffffffPage background
1surface-1#ebecf7Cards / elevated panels
2surface-2#dededeElevation tier 2
3surface-3#696969Elevation tier 3
4surface-floor#333333Elevation tier 4

Elevation philosophy. Two tiers only — flat content body and the navy footer band. No shadows. The footer's color shift IS the elevation device.

Typography

Times New Roman — weight 400

serif

areal — weight 400

body

Type Scale

RoleSizeLine-heightTracking
body16px1
h316px1.45
h416px1.45
link16px1
ui-action12.5px

Spacing & Radius

Radius

  • none: 0
  • sm: 3px

Spacing

  • base: 100px

Layout

A narrow single-column flow centered on the page: small logo, tier cards, a screenshot, manifesto-style paragraphs, then the deep-navy footer. Vertical rhythm is unhurried.

Imagery

None on the marketing surface. A single product screenshot of the canvas is allowed mid-page; otherwise the page is text.

Do

  • Use a centered single-column reading layout with comfortable line length
  • Default to a system or near-system sans; let the words be the design
  • Anchor the page with a deep navy footer band — the only color moment
  • Keep buttons text-first with a thin border, no fills, no gradients

Don't

  • Don't add hero imagery, illustration, or color blocks above the fold
  • Don't use display-scale typography; mid-size body text is the personality
  • Don't shadow or elevate cards — flat surfaces only
  • Don't introduce a second accent — navy footer is the only color moment