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Themes

Every component works in every theme. A theme is one CSS file keyed by data-theme, and the tokens behind it are designed in Figma.

Eras

Looks that actually existed, rebuilt from memory and screenshots. The gaps down the page are the gaps in years.

  1. 1984

    The first one

    system

    The original Macintosh: 1-bit black and white, no gray anywhere. Depth comes from dither patterns, selection inverts, nothing animates.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="system"
  2. 1995

    The beveled desktop

    bevel

    Gray chrome, raised and sunken 2px borders, a gradient title strip and a dotted focus rectangle. Every edge tells you whether it is up or down.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="bevel"
  3. 1997

    Platinum

    platinum

    Mac OS 8 and 9: flat gray, 1px black outlines, raised and sunken bevels, hard drop shadows, square corners and no animation. Dark mode is graphite.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="platinum"
  4. 2001

    Aqua

    aqua

    Lickable gel buttons, pinstripes, the blue ⇅ popup button, yellow help tags and smoky notifications. Midnight dark mode included.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="aqua"
  5. 2009

    Frutiger Aero

    aero

    Glossy glass, saturated sky blues, wet highlights on every control. Vista and Windows 7 by way of a stock photo.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="aero"
  6. 2012

    Skeuomorphic

    linen

    Woven linen behind the glass, stitched edges, glossy pill controls, letterpress labels and switches that look like they were sewn on.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="linen"
  7. 2026

    Liquid glass

    liquid

    Frosted glass with a bright rim light, deep soft shadows and one Aqua style shine on the primary button.

    PrimarySecondarydata-theme="liquid"

Styles

Looks that are just looks. No nostalgia required.

Loud

brutalist

Thick black outlines, hard offset shadows, zero radius and flat color. Press a button and it slams into its own shadow.

Primarydata-theme="brutalist"

Night

urban

Streetwear: near black with a scanline grain, acid green accent, heavy uppercase type and monospace sticker tags.

Primarydata-theme="urban"

Printed

paper

Warm off-white stock, serif headings over a quiet sans, clay accent and ink hairlines. The look of a well set document.

Primarydata-theme="paper"

Phosphor

terminal

Monospace everything, bracketed buttons, inverted selection, scanlines and a blinking caret. Light mode is amber on paper.

Primarydata-theme="terminal"

City

neon

Deep violet black with magenta and cyan glow, blurred halos and lit controls. The switch actually glows when it is on.

Primarydata-theme="neon"

Ink

sumi

Japanese spatial minimalism: a space scale with a hole in it, so every gap is either hairline fine or room sized. Cut square corners and one vermilion seal per component.

Primarydata-theme="sumi"

Arcade

pixel

8 bit: hard pixel borders, no antialiasing, a four colour ramp and controls that push down by two pixels when you press them.

Primarydata-theme="pixel"

Soft

clay

Claymorphism: puffy rounded shapes, pastel ground, soft double shadows inside and out. Everything looks pressable because everything is a cushion.

Primarydata-theme="clay"

Drafted

blueprint

Technical drawing: cyan lines on navy, a millimetre grid behind everything, monospace annotations and dimension ticks on the focused control.

Primarydata-theme="blueprint"

Drawn

notebook

Hand drawn: uneven borders, a ruled page, marker highlights and controls that look sketched in pencil rather than rendered.

Primarydata-theme="notebook"