Are.na — Design System

Name: Are.na design system
Creator: Mozaika
Keywords: design system, design tokens, Are.na, light, custom

light · minimalist · low · custom · confidence 45%

Are.na is the anti-design north star: a self-hosted cut of Arial ('Areal') at a flat 16px everywhere, 3px-radius grey buttons, black on white, no imagery the community didn't upload. The refusal is the brand — a connected-knowledge commons typeset like a 1998 default so the ideas stay the interface.

Open in Mozaika →

This is a static, crawlable rendering for search & AI engines. The interactive version — filters, live decode console, copy & export — is at https://mozaika.design/ds/are-na.

Tokens

Are.na's decoded design system: background #FFFFFF, text #000000, accent #00075F, link #00075F, primary #000000; type scale h1 16px / h2 16px / body 16px; 8px spacing base; 0px base radius. The single interactive/action color is #00075F — used only on interactive or must-notice elements (buttons, links, key highlights), never on large fills.

Color roles

Role	Value
bg	`#FFFFFF`
surface	`#EFEFEF`
border	`#D8D8D8`
text	`#000000`
text_muted	`#606060`
primary	`#000000`
accent	`#00075F`
link	`#00075F`

Using these colors

Action color #00075F — the single interactive color; only on things you click or must notice, never large fills.
accent, link are all #00075F — one role, not several (the action color).
accent #00075F — THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed.
primary #000000 — ≈ the text color — a foreground/text color, not an action color (action = #00075F).

Typography

Heading: Arial
Body: Arial
h1: 16px
h2: 16px
body: 16px

Spacing

base unit: 8px
scale: 4px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 24px, 32px, 48px, 64px

Radii

base: 0px
button: 0px

Per-section tokens (7)

Export: DESIGN.md

# Are.na — Design System

> light, minimalist, low, custom

Are.na is the anti-design north star: a self-hosted cut of Arial ('Areal') at a flat 16px everywhere, 3px-radius grey buttons, black on white, no imagery the community didn't upload. The refusal is the brand — a connected-knowledge commons typeset like a 1998 default so the ideas stay the interface.

## Colors

| Role | Value |
|------|-------|
| bg | `#FFFFFF` |
| surface | `#EFEFEF` |
| border | `#D8D8D8` |
| text | `#000000` |
| text_muted | `#606060` |
| primary | `#000000` |
| accent | `#00075F` |
| link | `#00075F` |

**Using these colors**

- **Action color** `#00075F` — the single interactive color; it appears only on things you click or must notice (buttons, key highlights), never on large fills or backgrounds.
- `accent`, `link` are all `#00075F` — one role, not several (your action color).
- **accent** `#00075F` — THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed.
- **primary** `#000000` — ≈ the text color — a foreground/text color, not an action color (action = #00075F).

## Typography

- Heading: **Arial**
- Body: **Arial**
- h1: 16px
- h2: 16px
- body: 16px

> **Fonts —** Arial — system font, no web load needed.

## Spacing
- base unit: 8px
- scale: 4px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 24px, 32px, 48px, 64px

## Radius
- base: 0px
- button: 0px

## Primary button
- bg `None` · text `None` · radius None

## How to apply
Paste the Tailwind `@theme` (or CSS variables) as your base, then build each
section to its spec — verify every color, radius, and font against these tokens.

Export: Tailwind v4 (@theme)

@theme {
  /* action color #00075F — the one interactive color; buttons/links/emphasis only, never large fills. */
  --color-bg: #FFFFFF;
  --color-surface: #EFEFEF;
  --color-border: #D8D8D8;
  --color-text: #000000;
  --color-text-muted: #606060;
  --color-primary: #000000;  /* ≈ the text color — a foreground/text color, not an action color (action = #00075F). */
  --color-accent: #00075F;  /* THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed. */
  --color-link: #00075F;  /* inline text links — shares the action color. */
  /* fonts: Arial — system font, no web load needed. */
  --font-heading: "Arial", system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
  --font-body: "Arial", system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
  --text-h1: 16px;
  --text-h2: 16px;
  --text-body: 16px;
  --radius-base: 0px;
  --radius-button: 0px;
  --spacing-1: 4px;
  --spacing-2: 8px;
  --spacing-3: 12px;
  --spacing-4: 16px;
  --spacing-5: 24px;
  --spacing-6: 32px;
  --spacing-7: 48px;
  --spacing-8: 64px;
}

Export: CSS variables

:root {
  /* action color #00075F — the one interactive color; buttons/links/emphasis only, never large fills. */
  --bg: #FFFFFF;
  --surface: #EFEFEF;
  --border: #D8D8D8;
  --text: #000000;
  --text-muted: #606060;
  --primary: #000000;  /* ≈ the text color — a foreground/text color, not an action color (action = #00075F). */
  --accent: #00075F;  /* THE accent / action color — interactive & must-notice only (buttons, links, focus, one key highlight); never large fills or backgrounds. Scarcity is what makes it read as designed. */
  --link: #00075F;  /* inline text links — shares the action color. */
  --font-heading: "Arial", system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
  --font-body: "Arial", system-ui, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
  --radius: 0px;
  --radius-button: 0px;
}
/* fonts: Arial — system font, no web load needed. */