name: designing-systems description: Create and manage design systems with tokens, color palettes, typography scales, and spacing systems. Use when user asks about design tokens, theming, color schemes, or consistent styling. allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Task user-invocable: true
Designing Systems
Create consistent, scalable design systems with tokens.
APEX WORKFLOW
Phase 0: ANALYZE EXISTING (CRITICAL)
Task: explore-codebase
Prompt: "Find existing design tokens: CSS variables, Tailwind config,
color palette, typography, spacing patterns"
If design system exists: Document and extend it. If no design system: Create new following this guide.
Design Token Categories
| Category | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Colors | OKLCH | oklch(55% 0.20 260) |
| Typography | rem | --text-lg: 1.125rem |
| Spacing | rem (4px grid) | --spacing-4: 1rem |
| Radius | px/rem | --radius-lg: 0.75rem |
| Shadows | CSS | --shadow-md: ... |
Color System (OKLCH 2026)
/* Primary palette - OKLCH for P3 wide gamut */
--color-primary-500: oklch(55% 0.20 260);
--color-primary-600: oklch(48% 0.18 260);
/* Semantic mapping */
--color-background: var(--color-neutral-50);
--color-foreground: var(--color-neutral-900);
--color-muted: var(--color-neutral-100);
--color-border: var(--color-neutral-200);
/* Dark mode */
.dark {
--color-background: var(--color-neutral-900);
--color-foreground: var(--color-neutral-50);
}
Typography Scale (1.25 ratio)
/* FORBIDDEN: Inter, Roboto, Arial */
/* USE: Clash Display, Satoshi, Bricolage Grotesque */
--font-display: 'Clash Display', sans-serif;
--font-sans: 'Satoshi', sans-serif;
--font-mono: 'JetBrains Mono', monospace;
--text-sm: 0.875rem; /* 14px */
--text-base: 1rem; /* 16px */
--text-lg: 1.125rem; /* 18px */
--text-xl: 1.25rem; /* 20px */
--text-2xl: 1.5rem; /* 24px */
Spacing (4px grid)
--spacing-1: 0.25rem; /* 4px */
--spacing-2: 0.5rem; /* 8px */
--spacing-4: 1rem; /* 16px */
--spacing-6: 1.5rem; /* 24px */
--spacing-8: 2rem; /* 32px */
Tailwind v4 Config
/* app.css - CSS-first config */
@import "tailwindcss";
@theme {
--color-primary-*: oklch(55% 0.20 260);
--font-display: 'Clash Display', sans-serif;
--radius-lg: 0.75rem;
}
Validation
[ ] Existing tokens documented (Phase 0)
[ ] No forbidden fonts (Inter/Roboto/Arial)
[ ] OKLCH colors for wide gamut
[ ] Dark mode variables defined
[ ] Tailwind v4 @theme configured
References
- UI Visual Design:
../../references/ui-visual-design.md(visual hierarchy, spacing system, 2026 trends) - Color System:
../../references/color-system.md - Typography:
../../references/typography.md - Theme Presets:
../../references/theme-presets.md - Tailwind Best Practices:
../../references/tailwind-best-practices.md