# Zendesk design system

> Zendesk design system measured from zendesk.com: Vanilla Sans font, #D1F470 primary on #11110D, 12 color hex codes, type scale, spacing and a free DESIGN.md.

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

Zendesk’s website (zendesk.com) uses the Vanilla Sans font and #D1F470 as its main color on a #11110D background. Measured by Sitepeel on November 4, 2026.

## What font does Zendesk use?

Zendesk uses Vanilla Sans (weights 400, 500, 600 and 700) on zendesk.com. Page titles are 42px at weight 500 (30px on phones) and body text is 16px. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- Vanilla Sans (weights 400, 500, 600, 700)

## Zendesk colors: palette and hex codes

Zendesk’s main colors are #11110D (charcoal) for the background, #F5F5F2 (mist) for text and #D1F470 (lime) as the main accent, with #775427 (dark orange) and #70A32A (lime) as other accents. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- #11110D: charcoal
- #F5F5F2: mist
- #FFFFFF: white
- #203524: deep green
- #D1F470: lime
- #775427: dark orange
- #70A32A: lime

## What is Zendesk built with?

Zendesk’s website (zendesk.com) is built with Next.js, React, styled-components, Slick and Cloudflare. Measured on November 4, 2026.

- JavaScript framework: Next.js 14.2.30, React 18.2.0
- UI & CSS: styled-components 5.3.11, Slick
- Animation & 3D: Rive 2.37.2
- Analytics: Meta Pixel 2.9.435, Segment 1.84.3, Sentry, Contentsquare
- Hosting & CDN: Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services
- Marketing & support: Marketo, OneTrust 202604.2.0

## Questions and answers

### What font does Zendesk use?

Zendesk’s website uses Vanilla Sans (weights 400, 500, 600 and 700). Page titles are 42px at weight 500 (30px on phones) and body text is 16px. Measured on November 4, 2026.

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

On zendesk.com: #11110D (charcoal) for the background, #F5F5F2 (mist) for text and #D1F470 (lime) as the main accent, with #775427 (dark orange) and #70A32A (lime) as other accents. The color palette above lists all 12 colors with their hex codes and where each one is used.

### What is the Zendesk design system?

The design system on this page is zendesk.com’s, as measured on November 4, 2026: Vanilla Sans type, #D1F470 as the main color and 4px corners, written down as a DESIGN.md. It is not Zendesk’s own documentation.

### What is Zendesk built with?

Zendesk’s website (zendesk.com) is built with Next.js, React, styled-components, Slick and Cloudflare. The full tech stack Sitepeel found: Next.js, React, styled-components, Rive, Meta Pixel, Segment, Sentry, Cloudflare, Contentsquare and Microsoft Advertising. Measured on November 4, 2026.

### What is the Zendesk DESIGN.md?

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

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

### Can I use Zendesk’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 Zendesk’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/zendesk.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 Zendesk.

## The DESIGN.md file

```markdown
---
version: alpha
name: Zendesk
description: "Dark interface measured from zendesk.com: Vanilla Sans type, lime accents, tonal surfaces and 4px corners."
colors:
  background: "#11110D"
  surface: "#11110D"
  on-surface: "#F5F5F2"
  on-background: "#F5F5F2"
  on-surface-strong: "#FFFFFF"
  surface-container-low: "#203524"
  overlay: "#11110D1C"
  overlay-strong: "#11110D0D"
  outline: "#11110D52"
  outline-variant: "#FFFFFF1A"
  primary: "#D1F470"
  on-primary: "#11110D"
  secondary: "#775427"
  tertiary: "#70A32A"
typography:
  headline-display:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 42px
    fontWeight: 500
    lineHeight: 1.15
  headline-lg:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 40px
    fontWeight: 500
    lineHeight: 1
  headline-md:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 26px
    fontWeight: 500
    lineHeight: 1.25
  body-md:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 16px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.45
  body-lg:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 18px
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.56
  body-sm:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 14px
    fontWeight: 400
    lineHeight: 1.5
  label-md:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 16px
    fontWeight: 600
    lineHeight: 1.45
  label-sm:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 14px
    fontWeight: 700
    lineHeight: 1.3
    letterSpacing: 0.054em
  headline-display-mobile:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 30px
    fontWeight: 500
    lineHeight: 1.15
  headline-md-mobile:
    fontFamily: Vanilla Sans
    fontSize: 22px
    fontWeight: 500
    lineHeight: 1.25
rounded:
  sm: 4px
  md: 8px
  lg: 16px
spacing:
  xs: 2.4px
  sm: 8px
  md: 16px
  lg: 20px
  xl: 48px
  gutter: 8px
  section: 88px
components:
  button-primary:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.primary}"
    textColor: "{colors.on-primary}"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    rounded: "{rounded.lg}"
    padding: 10px 16px
    height: 43px
  button-outline:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.background}"
    textColor: "{colors.on-surface-strong}"
    padding: 0px
    height: 64px
  button-secondary:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.on-surface-strong}"
    textColor: "{colors.on-primary}"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    padding: 9px
    height: 42px
  button-ghost:
    textColor: "{colors.on-primary}"
    typography: "{typography.label-md}"
    rounded: 0px
    padding: 20px 0px
  input-field:
    backgroundColor: "{colors.on-surface-strong}"
    textColor: "{colors.on-primary}"
    rounded: 12px
    padding: 12px
  link:
    textColor: "{colors.on-surface-strong}"
---

# Zendesk Design System

## Overview

Zendesk describes itself as: “Move beyond deflection with AI agents that resolve issues end-to-end. Improve service quality, speed, and scale. Start your free trial.” The interface is dark, built on **Charcoal (#11110D)** with **Mist (#F5F5F2)** text, and **Lime (#D1F470)** as the main accent.

Type is set in **Vanilla 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 [zendesk.com](https://www.zendesk.com/) on November 4, 2026 at 1440×900 and 390×844 from 412 rendered elements. Values are computed styles from the live page, not the original source files.

## Colors

The palette has 12 roles, plus gradient stops #2D4C33, #355E34.

- **Charcoal (#11110D):** Page background, seen 1 time. Token `background`.
- **Mist (#F5F5F2):** Primary text and headings, seen 23 times. Token `on-surface`.
- **White (#FFFFFF):** Headings and emphasis, seen 7 times. Token `on-surface-strong`.
- **Deep Green (#203524):** Raised areas one step from the page, seen 3 times. Token `surface-container-low`.
- **Charcoal 11% (#11110D1C):** Translucent fill for cards and controls, seen 4 times. Token `overlay`.
- **Charcoal 5% (#11110D0D):** Stronger translucent fill, seen 2 times. Token `overlay-strong`.
- **Charcoal 32% (#11110D52):** Borders and dividers, seen 5 times. Token `outline`.
- **White 10% (#FFFFFF1A):** Secondary dividers, seen 4 times. Token `outline-variant`.
- **Lime (#D1F470):** Primary buttons and calls to action, seen 15 times. Token `primary`.
- **Charcoal (#11110D):** Text and icons on primary. Token `on-primary`.
- **Dark Orange (#775427):** Accent in logos and imagery. Token `secondary`.
- **Lime (#70A32A):** Accent in text, fills and borders, seen 55 times. Token `tertiary`.

## Typography

**Vanilla Sans** carries the whole interface. Fallback stack: `Vanilla Sans, Arial, sans-serif`.

- **headline-display:** Vanilla Sans 42px at weight 500, line height 1.15 (30px on mobile). Page title (h1).
- **headline-lg:** Vanilla Sans 40px at weight 500, line height 1. Section headings (h2).
- **headline-md:** Vanilla Sans 26px at weight 500, line height 1.25 (22px on mobile). Sub-section headings.
- **body-md:** Vanilla Sans 16px at weight 400, line height 1.45. Body text.
- **body-lg:** Vanilla Sans 18px at weight 600, line height 1.56. Lead paragraphs.
- **body-sm:** Vanilla Sans 14px at weight 400, line height 1.5. Secondary and small text.
- **label-md:** Vanilla Sans 16px at weight 600, line height 1.45. Buttons, navigation and labels.
- **label-sm:** Vanilla Sans 14px at weight 700, line height 1.3, tracking 0.054em, uppercase. Small labels and badges.

## Layout

Spacing is mostly on a 4px grid (83% of measured values), with some off-grid steps. Match the measured scale rather than rounding everything.

- **Scale:** xs 2.4px, sm 8px, md 16px, lg 20px, xl 48px.
- **Sections:** 88px vertical padding between major sections.
- **Gaps:** 8px is the most common gap in flex and grid layouts.
- **Breakpoints:** 0px, 480px, 480.98px, 481px, 767.98px, 768px, 969px, 970px, 1149px, 1149.98px, 1150px, 1165px, 1599.98px, 1600px.

## Elevation & Depth

The design avoids drop shadows. Layers are separated by tonal surface steps (#203524) and hairline rings:

- `rgb(213, 213, 210) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset`

## Shapes

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

- **sm (4px):** 240 elements.
- **lg (16px):** 124 elements.
- **md (8px):** 12 elements.

## Components

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

- **button-primary (“Try for free”):** #D1F470 fill, #11110D text, 16px/600, 16px radius, padding 10px 16px.
- **button-outline (“Open chat”):** #11110D fill, #FFFFFF text, 13.3333px/400, 50% radius, padding 0px, shadow `rgba(23, 73, 77, 0.15) 0px 20px 30px 0px`.
- **button-secondary (“Pause animation”):** #FFFFFF fill, #11110D text, 16px/600, 100% radius, padding 9px.
- **button-ghost (“What is Zendesk?”):** transparent fill, #11110D text, 16px/600, padding 20px 0px.
- **input-field (“Enter work email”):** #FFFFFF fill, #11110D text, 15px/400, 12px radius, padding 12px, shadow `rgb(213, 213, 210) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset`.
- **link:** transparent fill, #FFFFFF text, padding 0px.

## Do's and Don'ts

- Do use #11110D for the page and lift surfaces in small steps: #203524.
- Do keep text in 2 levels: #F5F5F2, #FFFFFF.
- Do reserve #D1F470 for primary actions and key highlights.
- Do reuse the measured spacing steps (8px, 16px, 20px).
- Do use 4px corners on most elements; larger surfaces also use 16px and 8px.
- Don't add drop shadows for depth; use hairline rings and tonal surfaces.
- Don't introduce new font families beyond Vanilla Sans.
- Don't use #D1F470 for large backgrounds or body text.
- Don't make interface transitions slower than 0.6s.

## Motion

Interface transitions are quick: 0.1s, 0.6s, 0.3s, 0.25s.

- **Easing:** `linear`, `cubic-bezier(0.7, 0, 0.3, 1)`, `ease`.

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

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