Visual design
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Color Palette & Typography System Builder

Production-oriented foundations: primitive scales, semantic tokens, contrast tables, dark mode mapping, modular type scale, and token naming for tools like Style Dictionary.

Use Case

Before component work: establish or extend color and type foundations with semantic structure and contrast checks.

Prompt

Act as a Lead Visual Designer specializing in design systems and visual foundations with deep expertise in color theory, typographic hierarchy, and accessibility standards.

I need to build a comprehensive color and typography system for the following product:

Product Context:
Product Name: [name]
Product Type: [e.g., SaaS dashboard, e-commerce app, mobile banking, consumer social app]
Brand Personality: [3-5 adjectives]
Starting Color (if any): [paste hex or describe the hero brand color - e.g., "a deep teal, approximately #0D9488"]
Starting Font (if any): [name any locked typeface - or say "none, recommend from scratch"]
Key UI Surfaces: [e.g., light mode only / dark mode only / both / high-density data tables / marketing pages]
Accessibility Level Required: [WCAG AA / WCAG AAA]
Platform: [Web / iOS / Android / All]

SECTION A: COLOR SYSTEM

Please generate a complete color system that includes:

Primitive Color Palette (Raw Scale)
For the brand's hero color, generate a full 10-step scale (50-900) with:
- Hex value for each step
- Approximate HSL values
- Suggested use case for each step (e.g., "500 = primary interactive, 700 = hover state, 100 = subtle background")

Semantic Color Tokens
Map the primitive scale to semantic tokens:
- Interactive: color.interactive.default / hover / active / disabled
- Background: color.bg.page / surface / overlay / inverse
- Text: color.text.primary / secondary / disabled / inverse / link
- Border: color.border.default / strong / subtle
- Status: color.status.success / warning / error / info (each with default + background variants)

Contrast Compliance Table
Create a table showing:
| Text Color Token | Background Token | Contrast Ratio | WCAG AA Pass? | WCAG AAA Pass? |
(List the 8 most common text/bg pairings)

Dark Mode Adaptation
If dark mode is required: map each semantic token to its dark mode equivalent
Flag any colors that need a completely different value vs. a simple inversion

SECTION B: TYPOGRAPHY SYSTEM

Type Scale
Generate a modular type scale with:
Scale name | Font size | Line height | Letter spacing | Font weight | Usage
(Include: display, h1, h2, h3, h4, body-lg, body-md, body-sm, label, caption, overline)

Font Pairing Recommendation
- Primary typeface (headings): name + rationale + fallback stack
- Secondary typeface (body): name + rationale + fallback stack
- Monospace (code/data, if needed): name + rationale
- Licensing: flag free vs. paid for each recommendation

Typographic Hierarchy Rules
- When to use each scale level
- Weight usage guidelines (when to use regular vs. medium vs. bold)
- Line length guidelines (optimal character count per line for body text)
- When to use caps, italics, or underline - and when never to

Design Token Naming Convention
Provide the full token naming schema in a format ready for Style Dictionary or Figma Tokens plugin

How to use

  1. 1Fill Product Context, especially Key UI Surfaces and Accessibility Level Required.
  2. 2After generating, ask: "Check my semantic token mapping for gaps - any common UI states or surfaces missing?"
  3. 3For data-heavy UIs, add: "Also generate a data visualization palette of 8 categorically distinct colors that keep 3:1 contrast on light and dark backgrounds."
  4. 4Optional: "Reformat the semantic token section as valid Figma Tokens JSON."

Pro Tips

  • Run hex values through a contrast checker before shipping; AI scales are approximations.
  • Dark mode needs human testing for eye strain and vibration - do not rely on simple inversion.
  • Verify commercial licensing for paid typefaces at your traffic and app distribution scale.

Tags

visual-designdesign-systemcolortypographytokensaccessibilitydark-mode

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