# IBM design system

> IBM design system measured from ibm.com: IBM Plex Sans font, #0F62FE primary on #FFFFFF, 8 color hex codes, type scale, spacing and a free DESIGN.md.

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

IBM’s website (ibm.com) uses the IBM Plex Sans font and #0F62FE as its main color on a white background. Measured by Sitepeel on November 4, 2026.

## What font does IBM use?

IBM uses IBM Plex Sans (weights 300, 400 and 600) on ibm.com. Page titles are 53.5px at weight 300 (33px on phones) and body text is 16px. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- IBM Plex Sans (weights 300, 400, 600)

## IBM colors: palette and hex codes

IBM’s main colors are #FFFFFF (white) for the background, #161616 (charcoal) for text and #0F62FE (vivid blue) as the main accent. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- #FFFFFF: white
- #161616: charcoal
- #525252: slate
- #F4F4F4: snow
- #C6C6C6: silver
- #E0E0E0: silver
- #0F62FE: vivid blue

## What is IBM built with?

IBM’s website (ibm.com) is built with Adobe Experience Manager, jQuery, Lit, React and Preact. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- JavaScript framework: jQuery 1.12.4-aem, Lit 3.3.3, React 19.2.3, Preact
- Site builder & CMS: Adobe Experience Manager
- Analytics: Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Clarity 0.8.75, Reddit Pixel
- Marketing & support: Marketo, TrustArc
- UI & CSS: Emotion, MUI
- Hosting & CDN: Akamai

## Questions and answers

### What font does IBM use?

IBM’s website uses IBM Plex Sans (weights 300, 400 and 600). Page titles are 53.5px at weight 300 (33px on phones) and body text is 16px. Measured on November 4, 2026.

### What are the IBM colors and hex codes?

On ibm.com: #FFFFFF (white) for the background, #161616 (charcoal) for text and #0F62FE (vivid blue) as the main accent. The color palette above lists all 8 colors with their hex codes and where each one is used.

### What is the IBM design system?

The design system on this page is ibm.com’s, as measured on November 4, 2026: IBM Plex Sans type, #0F62FE as the main color, 4px corners and a 4px spacing grid, written down as a DESIGN.md. It is not IBM’s own documentation.

### What is IBM built with?

IBM’s website (ibm.com) is built with Adobe Experience Manager, jQuery, Lit, React and Preact. The full tech stack Sitepeel found: jQuery, Lit, React, Adobe Experience Manager, Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Clarity, Reddit Pixel, Marketo and TrustArc. Measured on November 4, 2026.

### What is the IBM DESIGN.md?

A plain-text file with IBM’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 IBM’s official design system?

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

### Can I use IBM’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 IBM’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/ibm.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 IBM.

## The DESIGN.md file

```markdown
---
version: alpha
name: IBM
description: "Light interface measured from ibm.com: IBM Plex Sans type, vivid blue accents, tonal surfaces and 4px corners."
colors:
  background: "#FFFFFF"
  surface: "#FFFFFF"
  on-surface: "#161616"
  on-background: "#161616"
  on-surface-variant: "#525252"
  surface-container-low: "#F4F4F4"
  outline: "#C6C6C6"
  outline-variant: "#E0E0E0"
  primary: "#0F62FE"
  on-primary: "#FFFFFF"
typography:
  headline-display:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 53.5px
    fontWeight: 300
    lineHeight: 1.17
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 32px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.25
  headline-md:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 28px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.29
  headline-sm:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 20px
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.4
  body-md:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 16px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1
  body-sm:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 12px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.33
    letterSpacing: 0.027em
  label-md:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 14px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.29
    letterSpacing: 0.011em
  headline-display-mobile:
    fontFamily: IBM Plex Sans
    fontSize: 33px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.25
rounded:
  sm: 4px
  md: 16px
spacing:
  base: 4px
  xs: 4px
  sm: 8px
  md: 16px
  lg: 24px
  xl: 64px
  gutter: 8px
  margin: 32px
  container: 1584px
components:
  button-ghost:
    textColor: "{colors.on-surface}"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    rounded: 0px
    padding: 1px 4px
---

# IBM Design System

## Overview

IBM describes itself as: “For more than a century, IBM has been a global technology innovator, leading advances in AI, automation and hybrid cloud solutions that help businesses grow.” The interface is light, built on **White (#FFFFFF)** with **Charcoal (#161616)** text, and **Vivid Blue (#0F62FE)** as the main accent.

Type is set in **IBM Plex Sans**. Headlines run large; body text is 16px. Depth comes from hairline borders and inset highlights rather than drop shadows. Corners are mostly 4px.

Measured from [ibm.com/us-en](https://www.ibm.com/us-en) (the site sent our reader to its /us-en version; ibm.com was asked for) on November 4, 2026 at 1440×900 and 390×844 from 201 rendered elements. Values are computed styles from the live page, not the original source files.

## Colors

The palette has 8 roles, plus gradient stops #0F62FE, #8A3FFC.

- **White (#FFFFFF):** Page background, seen 9 times. Token `background`, CSS `--tc-bg-color`.
- **Charcoal (#161616):** Primary text and headings, seen 33 times. Token `on-surface`, CSS `--tc-text-color`.
- **Slate (#525252):** Secondary text, seen 10 times. Token `on-surface-variant`.
- **Snow (#F4F4F4):** Raised areas one step from the page, seen 9 times. Token `surface-container-low`, CSS `--cds-field`.
- **Silver (#C6C6C6):** Borders and dividers, seen 7 times. Token `outline`, CSS `--cds-border-subtle-selected`.
- **Silver (#E0E0E0):** Secondary dividers, seen 6 times. Token `outline-variant`, CSS `--cds-border-subtle`.
- **Vivid Blue (#0F62FE):** Most used accent color, seen 17 times. Token `primary`, CSS `--tc-gradient-hover-color`.
- **White (#FFFFFF):** Text and icons on primary. Token `on-primary`.

## Typography

**IBM Plex Sans** carries the whole interface. Fallback stack: `IBM Plex Sans, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif`. Other loaded fonts: ibm_icons, Lato.

- **headline-display:** IBM Plex Sans 53.5px at weight 300, line height 1.17 (33px on mobile). Page title (h1).
- **headline-lg:** IBM Plex Sans 32px at weight 400, line height 1.25. Section headings (h2).
- **headline-md:** IBM Plex Sans 28px at weight 400, line height 1.29. Sub-section headings.
- **headline-sm:** IBM Plex Sans 20px at weight 600, line height 1.4. Card and feature titles.
- **body-md:** IBM Plex Sans 16px at weight 400, line height 1. Body text.
- **body-sm:** IBM Plex Sans 12px at weight 400, line height 1.33, tracking 0.027em. Secondary and small text.
- **label-md:** IBM Plex Sans 14px at weight 400, line height 1.29, tracking 0.011em. Buttons, navigation and labels.

## Layout

Spacing follows a 4px grid: 93% of measured gaps and paddings are multiples of 4px.

- **Scale:** xs 4px, sm 8px, md 16px, lg 24px, xl 64px.
- **Gaps:** 8px is the most common gap in flex and grid layouts.
- **Container:** content is capped at 1584px.
- **Page margin:** 32px on each side of full-width sections.
- **Breakpoints:** 1056px.

## Elevation & Depth

The design avoids drop shadows. Layers are separated by tonal surface steps (#F4F4F4) and hairline rings:

- `rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0px 0px 1440px`

## Shapes

Most elements use 4px corners. Measured radii, most used first:

- **sm (4px):** 28 elements.
- **md (16px):** 12 elements.

## Components

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

- **button-ghost (“1”):** transparent fill, #161616 text, 14px/600, padding 1px 4px.

## Do's and Don'ts

- Do use #FFFFFF for the page and lift surfaces in small steps: #F4F4F4.
- Do keep text in 2 levels: #161616, #525252.
- Do reserve #0F62FE for primary actions and key highlights.
- Do keep spacing on the 4px grid.
- Do use 4px corners on most elements; larger surfaces also use 16px.
- Don't add drop shadows for depth; use hairline rings and tonal surfaces.
- Don't introduce new font families beyond IBM Plex Sans.
- Don't use #0F62FE for large backgrounds or body text.
- Don't make interface transitions slower than 0.24s.

## Motion

Interface transitions are quick: 0.15s, 0.24s, 0.07s.

- **Easing:** `cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0.38, 0.9)`.
- **Reduced motion:** the page responds to `prefers-reduced-motion`.

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

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