Neubrutalism Design Spec

Core Principles

1. Thick Borders — Bold 3–5px solid black outlines on all elements
2. Offset Solid Shadows — Hard-edge box-shadow with zero blur (e.g. 5px 5px 0 #000)
3. High Saturation Colors — Vivid, punchy fills: pinks, yellows, blues, greens
4. Minimal Radius — 0–8px border-radius; sharp or barely rounded corners
5. Flat Aesthetic — No gradients, no blur, no transparency

CSS Tokens

Reference: references/tokens.css

@import 'references/tokens.css';

.nb-card {
  background: var(--nb-yellow);
  border: var(--nb-border-thick);
  border-radius: var(--nb-radius);
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow);
}

Component Examples

Card

.nb-card {
  background: var(--nb-white);
  border: var(--nb-border-thick);
  border-radius: var(--nb-radius);
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow);
  padding: 1.5rem;
}

Button

.nb-btn {
  background: var(--nb-yellow);
  border: var(--nb-border);
  border-radius: var(--nb-radius);
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow-sm);
  padding: 0.6rem 1.4rem;
  font-family: var(--nb-font);
  font-weight: var(--nb-font-weight);
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: transform 0.1s, box-shadow 0.1s;
}
.nb-btn:hover {
  transform: translate(-2px, -2px);
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow);
}
.nb-btn:active {
  transform: translate(3px, 3px);
  box-shadow: none;
}

Navbar

.nb-nav {
  background: var(--nb-bg);
  border-bottom: var(--nb-border-thick);
  padding: 1rem 2rem;
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  z-index: 100;
}

Input

.nb-input {
  background: var(--nb-white);
  border: var(--nb-border);
  border-radius: var(--nb-radius);
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow-sm);
  padding: 0.6rem 1rem;
  font-family: var(--nb-font);
  font-weight: var(--nb-font-weight-body);
}
.nb-input:focus {
  outline: none;
  box-shadow: var(--nb-shadow);
}

Badge

.nb-badge {
  background: var(--nb-pink);
  border: var(--nb-border);
  border-radius: var(--nb-radius);
  padding: 0.2rem 0.8rem;
  font-family: var(--nb-font);
  font-weight: var(--nb-font-weight);
  font-size: 0.85rem;
}

Typography

• Use bold, geometric sans-serif fonts (Space Grotesk, Inter, etc.)
• Headings: font-weight: 700, letter-spacing: -0.02em
• Body: font-weight: 500
• Uppercase sparingly for labels/badges

h1, h2, h3 {
  font-family: var(--nb-font-heading);
  font-weight: var(--nb-font-weight);
  letter-spacing: var(--nb-letter-spacing);
}
body {
  font-family: var(--nb-font);
  font-weight: var(--nb-font-weight-body);
}

Accessibility Notes

• Thick borders provide strong visual boundaries — good for low-vision users
• Ensure color contrast ≥ 4.5:1 for text on colored backgrounds
• Active/hover states use transform shifts — provide prefers-reduced-motion fallback

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .nb-btn:hover, .nb-btn:active {
    transform: none;
  }
}