Jess Li — Design System v1.0

The system behind the work.

One cohesive language for every page, component, and interaction. Monochrome, typographic-first, and quietly precise. This document is the single source of truth for tokens, type, color, spacing, components, and motion.

01Brand

Calm, premium, and unmistakably deliberate.

01
Typography is the interface
Hierarchy is built with weight, scale, and space — not decoration.
02
Monochrome discipline
One ink, one paper, graded greys. Color is reserved, never decorative.
03
Space is a material
Whitespace does the work most borders and boxes try to do.
04
Motion with a reason
Every animation reveals content, gives feedback, or shows state.
05
Detail earns trust
Alignment, optical spacing, and consistency are the whole point.
06
One playful signature
The cursor-tracking eyes are the single moment of warmth. Just one.
Personality

Editorial and considered, like a well-set magazine. Confident without shouting. Precise without being cold. A designer who sweats the small type.

Tone of voice

Plain, specific, and honest. Short sentences. Real numbers over adjectives. Says the caveat out loud. Never uses filler verbs or hype.

Motion philosophy

Slow in, settle gently. Reveals over reactions. Nothing loops for attention. Everything respects reduced-motion and collapses to still.

02Typography
Aa
Archivo Expanded
Display accents · 600–800
Aa
Work Sans
Body · secondary · 400–700
李欣
Noto Sans SC
Chinese · 400–700
A1
Space Mono
Headings / labels / numerals · 100–700
Display
Space Mono 100 · 45px · lh .94 · -.02em
Heading 1
Space Mono 100 · 45px · lh .94
Heading 2
Space Mono 100 · 45px · lh 1.02
Heading 3
Space Mono 100 · 45px · lh 1.08
Body Large — used for ledes and intros. Comfortable measure, generous leading.
Work Sans 400 · 18px · lh 1.7
Body — the workhorse for paragraphs and case-study prose. Max measure 60–65ch for readability.
Work Sans 400 · 15px · lh 1.75
Body Small — meta rows, secondary detail, captions in prose.
Work Sans 400 · 13px · lh 1.7
Label / Eyebrow
Space Mono · 11px · .16–.22em · uppercase
Caption — Fig. 01
Work Sans · 10.5px · .14em · uppercase

Responsive scaling uses clamp(min, vw, max) so type fluidly interpolates between mobile and desktop with no breakpoint jumps. Display and headings scale most; body scales the least to protect readability.

03Color
Ink / Primary
#141416 · text, accent
Ink 2 / Body
#3a3a3f · paragraphs
Muted
#54545b · secondary
Muted 2 / Labels
#86868d · tertiary
Surface
#f4f4f6 · footer, cards
Paper
#fbfbfc · page bg
Border
rgba(20,20,22,.13)
Selection
#bcdafc / #1b7af7
Success
#2f6b4f
Warning
#8a6d2f
Error
#8a3a3a

Hover uses Ink for links and labels. Selection blue mimics native iOS text selection and is the only chromatic color in the product — reserved for the About "Quote of the day" moment. Status colors are desaturated to sit inside the monochrome palette and used sparingly.

04Spacing — 8px base
space-1 · 4
space-2 · 8
space-3 · 12
space-4 · 16
space-6 · 24
space-8 · 32
space-10 · 40
space-12 · 48
space-16 · 64
space-20 · 80
space-30 · 120

All padding, gaps, and margins are multiples of 8 (with 4 as the single half-step). Section rhythm uses the large end of the scale via clamp(48px, 8vw, 104px).

05Grid & layout
Desktop
12 columns · gutter 24–80px
Tablet ≤ 960
8 columns · stacks to 1-col rows
Mobile ≤ 620
4 columns · full-width single column
Max width
1340 index · 1180 reading · 1000 about
Gutters
clamp(24px, 6vw, 80px)
Vertical rhythm
section clamp(48px, 8vw, 104px)
06Components
Navigation
Jess Li
WorkAboutContact
Buttons
Links & Tags
Inline link Figma Research
Section header
02Research
The observations
Pull quote
Good design disappears. You only notice when it's missing.
Project index row
Copperhill Done P.03
Image + caption
Fig. 01 — In contextCover plate
Form field
Label above, helper below, focus ring in Ink.
Sticky TOC
01Research
02Ideation
03Impact
Footer
Let's make something.
jxl@umich.edu
07Motion
Fast
200ms
hover, taps
Base
300ms
state changes
Slow
600ms
scroll reveals
Reveal
1050ms
hero box grow
Easing
standard · cubic-bezier(.2,.7,.2,1)
in-out · cubic-bezier(.62,0,.24,1)
out · cubic-bezier(.16,1,.3,1)
Behaviors
  • Hover: color to Ink, or lift 1px
  • Scroll reveal: fade + rise, once
  • Image: blur-up focus pull
  • Page: shared-element cover veil
Loading & reduced-motion

Loading uses skeleton fades, never spinners. Everything above 300ms collapses to instant under prefers-reduced-motion.

08Imagery
16:9 · covers
4:3 · index cards
3:2 · portrait
Radius
12px images · 999px pills
Shadow
None by default · elevated 0 24 60 / 14%
Cropping
object-fit cover · centered focal
Captions
Above a hairline · uppercase · muted
Galleries
auto-fit minmax grid · equal gutters
Compare
Sketch to final drag slider
Jess Li — Design System v1.0 Set in Archivo & Archivo Expanded