# Cultured Code design system

> Cultured Code design system measured from culturedcode.com: 11 color hex codes, type scale, spacing and a free DESIGN.md. Light theme with 6px corners.

Canonical page: https://sitepeel.dev/design-md/culturedcode.com/

Cultured Code’s website (culturedcode.com) uses the visitor’s system fonts on a #F2F5F7 background. Measured by Sitepeel on November 4, 2026.

## What font does Cultured Code use?

Cultured Code uses the visitor’s system fonts on culturedcode.com: no web font was measured. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- system-ui (weights 400, 600, 700)

## Cultured Code colors: palette and hex codes

Cultured Code’s main colors are #F2F5F7 (snow) for the background and #303336 (cool graphite) for text, with #5C9CF5 (blue) as another accent. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- #F2F5F7: snow
- #303336: cool graphite
- #44474B: cool graphite
- #8E9196: cool gray
- #8792A1: blue
- #ECEEF0: mist
- #FFFFFF: white
- #DFE3E8: cool mist

## What is Cultured Code built with?

Cultured Code’s website (culturedcode.com) is built with jQuery and Amazon CloudFront. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- JavaScript framework: jQuery 3.2.1
- Hosting & CDN: Amazon CloudFront
- Analytics: Matomo

## Questions and answers

### What font does Cultured Code use?

No web font was measured on culturedcode.com: it uses the visitor’s system fonts.

### What are the Cultured Code colors and hex codes?

On culturedcode.com: #F2F5F7 (snow) for the background and #303336 (cool graphite) for text, with #5C9CF5 (blue) as another accent. The color palette above lists all 11 colors with their hex codes and where each one is used.

### What is the Cultured Code design system?

The design system on this page is culturedcode.com’s, as measured on November 4, 2026: 6px corners, written down as a DESIGN.md. It is not Cultured Code’s own documentation.

### What is Cultured Code built with?

Cultured Code’s website (culturedcode.com) is built with jQuery and Amazon CloudFront. The full tech stack Sitepeel found: jQuery, Amazon CloudFront and Matomo. Measured on November 4, 2026.

### What is the Cultured Code DESIGN.md?

A plain-text file with Cultured Code’s measured colors, type, spacing, corners and components as tokens, plus short rules, in the DESIGN.md format Google published with Stitch. Your AI coding agent reads it and builds in this style. More about DESIGN.md.

### How do I use it with Claude Code or Cursor?

Download the file and put it in your project’s root folder, then ask your agent to follow DESIGN.md. Step-by-step guides: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, GitHub Copilot.

### Is this Cultured Code’s official design system?

No. Sitepeel measured it from culturedcode.com’s public page on November 4, 2026. It is an independent analysis, not made or approved by Cultured Code.

### Can I use Cultured Code’s style in my own product?

Use it to learn, prototype and compare. For a real product, make the style your own, and never copy Cultured Code’s logo, name, pictures or text.

### How accurate are the values?

Each value was measured on the rendered page after it fully loaded, on desktop and mobile: colors where they appear, type with tracking, spacing, corners, shadows and hover states. Sites change, so check the date at the top.

## Files

- [DESIGN.md](https://sitepeel.dev/design-md/culturedcode.com/DESIGN.md): the plain file to put in your project.
- [All brand DESIGN.md files](https://sitepeel.dev/design-md/examples/index.md)

Independent analysis by Sitepeel (sitepeel.dev), not affiliated with Cultured Code.

## The DESIGN.md file

```markdown
---
version: alpha
name: Cultured Code
description: "Light monochrome interface measured from culturedcode.com: system-ui type, tonal surfaces and 6px corners."
colors:
  background: "#F2F5F7"
  surface: "#F2F5F7"
  on-surface: "#303336"
  on-background: "#303336"
  on-surface-variant: "#44474B"
  on-surface-muted: "#8E9196"
  on-surface-subtle: "#8792A1"
  surface-container-low: "#ECEEF0"
  surface-container: "#FFFFFF"
  outline: "#DFE3E8"
  primary: "#303336"
  on-primary: "#FFFFFF"
  secondary: "#5C9CF5"
typography:
  headline-display:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 36px
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 24px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.25
  body-md:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 15px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.2
  body-lg:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 18px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.2
  body-sm:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 13px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.2
  label-md:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 15px
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.6
  label-sm:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 13px
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1.2
  headline-lg-mobile:
    fontFamily: system-ui
    fontSize: 20px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.25
rounded:
  sm: 3px
  md: 6px
  lg: 12.8px
  xl: 18px
spacing:
  xs: 2px
  sm: 6.5px
  md: 12.8px
  lg: 18px
  xl: 36px
  gutter: 16px
components:
  button-ghost:
    textColor: "{colors.on-surface}"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    rounded: "{rounded.md}"
    padding: 0px
  input-field:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.surface-container}"
    textColor: "#000000"
    rounded: 6.4px
    padding: 8px
  card:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.background}"
    textColor: "{colors.on-surface}"
    typography: "{typography.body-lg}"
    rounded: "{rounded.xl}"
    padding: 18px
  link:
    textColor: "#000F2475"
---

# Cultured Code Design System

## Overview

Cultured Code describes itself as: “Things is the award-winning personal task manager that helps you plan your day, manage your projects, and make real progress toward your goals.” The interface is light, built on **Snow (#F2F5F7)** with **Cool Graphite (#303336)** text and almost no color: actions are carried by contrast, not hue.

Type is set in **system-ui**. Headlines run large; body text is 15px. Depth comes from soft drop shadows. Corners are mostly 6px.

Measured from [culturedcode.com](https://culturedcode.com/things/) on November 4, 2026 at 1440×900 and 390×844 from 247 rendered elements. Values are computed styles from the live page, not the original source files.

## Colors

The palette has 11 roles.

- **Snow (#F2F5F7):** Page background, seen 5 times. Token `background`.
- **Cool Graphite (#303336):** Primary text and headings, seen 41 times. Token `on-surface`.
- **Cool Graphite (#44474B):** Secondary text, seen 6 times. Token `on-surface-variant`.
- **Cool Gray (#8E9196):** Muted text and metadata, seen 16 times. Token `on-surface-muted`.
- **Blue (#8792A1):** Subtle text and placeholders, seen 7 times. Token `on-surface-subtle`.
- **Mist (#ECEEF0):** Raised areas one step from the page, seen 2 times. Token `surface-container-low`.
- **White (#FFFFFF):** Cards and panels, seen 9 times. Token `surface-container`.
- **Cool Mist (#DFE3E8):** Borders and dividers, seen 1 time. Token `outline`.
- **Cool Graphite (#303336):** Primary actions (the main text color; the palette is monochrome), seen 46 times. Token `primary`.
- **White (#FFFFFF):** Text and icons on primary. Token `on-primary`.
- **Blue (#5C9CF5):** Accent in text, fills and borders, seen 2 times. Token `secondary`.

## Typography

**system-ui** carries the whole interface. Fallback stack: `ui-sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto`.

- **headline-display:** system-ui 36px at weight 700, line height 1. Page title (h1).
- **headline-lg:** system-ui 24px at weight 400, line height 1.25 (20px on mobile). Section headings (h2).
- **body-md:** system-ui 15px at weight 400, line height 1.2. Body text.
- **body-lg:** system-ui 18px at weight 400, line height 1.2. Lead paragraphs.
- **body-sm:** system-ui 13px at weight 400, line height 1.2. Secondary and small text.
- **label-md:** system-ui 15px at weight 600, line height 1.6. Buttons, navigation and labels.
- **label-sm:** system-ui 13px at weight 700, line height 1.2. Small labels and badges.

## Layout

Spacing does not follow a strict grid: 4% of measured values are multiples of 4px, so match the measured steps rather than rounding to a grid.

- **Scale:** xs 2px, sm 6.5px, md 12.8px, lg 18px, xl 36px.
- **Gaps:** 16px is the most common gap in flex and grid layouts.
- **Breakpoints:** 340px, 420px, 480px, 520px, 600px, 620px, 720px, 734px, 739px, 740px, 899px, 972px, 1002px, 1106px.

## Elevation & Depth

Raised elements use soft drop shadows. The most used recipes:

- `rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 2px 8px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 0px 2px 0px`

## Shapes

Most elements use 6px corners. Measured radii, most used first:

- **md (6px):** 52 elements.
- **sm (3px):** 32 elements.
- **lg (12.8px):** 32 elements.
- **xl (18px):** 16 elements.

## Components

Measured from the rendered page. Token values reference the tokens above.

- **button-ghost (“Things”):** transparent fill, #303336 text, 15px/600, 6px radius, padding 0px.
- **input-field (“me@example.com”):** #FFFFFF fill, #000000 text, 16px/400, 6.4px radius, padding 8px, border 1px solid #DFE3E8.
- **card:** #F2F5F7 fill, #303336 text, 18px/400, 18px radius, padding 18px.
- **link:** transparent fill, #000F2475 text, padding 0px.

## Do's and Don'ts

- Do use #F2F5F7 for the page and lift surfaces in small steps: #ECEEF0, #FFFFFF.
- Do keep text in 4 levels: #303336, #44474B, #8E9196, #8792A1.
- Do let contrast carry emphasis; primary actions use #303336 on #F2F5F7.
- Do reuse the measured spacing steps (6.5px, 12.8px, 18px).
- Do use 6px corners on most elements; larger surfaces also use 3px, 12.8px and 18px.
- Don't use #8E9196 for body text; it reaches 2.89:1 on #F2F5F7. Keep it for large text or metadata.
- Don't use #8792A1 for body text; it reaches 2.88:1 on #F2F5F7. Keep it for large text or metadata.
- Don't introduce new font families beyond system-ui.
- Don't add saturated accent colors; the measured palette is almost entirely neutral.
- Don't make interface transitions slower than 0.1s.

## Motion

Interface transitions are quick: 0.1s.

- **Easing:** `ease-out`.
- **Reduced motion:** the page responds to `prefers-reduced-motion`.

Generated by [Sitepeel](https://sitepeel.dev/design-md/culturedcode.com/), the free DESIGN.md generator (engine 2026.10.29+b828a475ee10).

```