Logo

Orbit

Design Language System for JshMllr.com

01 — Foundations

Colors

All UI color derives from the custom 12-step sage scale. Emerald is the site's only accent — used sparingly because it is rare.

Sage Scale

sage-100

#101211

App background

sage-200

#171918

Subtle / card inner background

sage-300

#202221

UI element background, code bg

sage-400

#272a29

Hovered UI element background

sage-500

#2e3130

Active / selected background

sage-600

#373b39

Subtle borders and separators

Sage Scale (cont.)

sage-700

#444947

UI element border, focus rings

sage-800

#5b625f

Hovered borders, image borders

sage-900

#63706b

Solid backgrounds

sage-1000

#717d79

Hovered solid backgrounds

sage-1100

#adb5b2

Low-contrast / secondary text

sage-1200

#eceeed

High-contrast / primary text

Accent — Emerald

emerald-400

#34D399

Primary accent, links, hover

emerald-500

#10B981

Blockquote borders, link text

emerald-400/20

rgba(52,211,153,0.2)

Tinted glow / nav button fill

Typography

Fonts

TASAOrbiterDisplay

Headings

TASAOrbiterText

Body text

Miller Display

Pull quotes

font-miller-display italic text-sage-1200 text-2xl leading-[110%]

Headings

h1

text-4xl md:text-6xl font-display

h2

text-3xl font-display

h3

text-xl font-bold font-display

Body

Default

text-base font-text text-sage-1200

Small

text-sm font-text text-sage-1100

Elevation & Surfaces

Shadow stacking simulates lift on dark backgrounds. Surface types compose elevation tokens with optional GPU refraction for dark glass.

Surface types

Flat

0 – 1

Flush with the page. A hairline ring is the only depth cue. Use for inline panels, code blocks, and subtle separators.

ring

Hover the card

Standard

2 – 3

The default card. A top-edge highlight and a single drop at rest; gains a second drop and an outer edge on hover.

highlightringdrop ×1–2

Hover the card

Glass

5 – 6 + deep drop

The hero card. Full stacking penumbra plus a 40px ambient drop. GlareEffect gradient lines sit on top. Hover adds emerald glow.

highlightringedgedrop ×5ambientglare

Hover the card

Dark Glass

6 + refraction

GPU-rendered refraction replaces backdrop-blur. The stacking system still handles elevation; liquidglass handles optics — edge highlight, fresnel, chromatic aberration.

refractionfresnelringedgedrop ×5ambientglare

Shadow explorer

Shadow Explorer

Scrub through elevation levels. Hover a layer to isolate it on the preview.

elevation-2

Default card at rest. Soft top-edge highlight with a single 1px drop.

Why this works

01

Fake the light, not the dark

On a dark surface a black drop shadow is almost invisible. The perceived lift comes from the inset top highlight — a sliver of sage-1200 that reads as light hitting the top edge.

02

Stack, don't blur

Each step adds a new drop layer with double the offset and blur of the previous one, clipped by a negative spread. That produces a natural penumbra instead of one muddy blur.

03

Ring before shadow

A 1px inset ring defines the silhouette first. Without it, low-elevation cards dissolve into the background. The ring alpha ramps with elevation to keep edges legible as the surface rises.

2
3 layers
  • highlight

    inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.02)

  • ring

    inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.02)

  • drop

    0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)

CSS output
box-shadow:
  inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.02),
  inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.02),
  0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18);

Elevation samples

Live · Dark Glass card

Resting card

Default card at rest. Soft top-edge highlight with a single 1px drop.

inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.02), inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.02), 0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)

Menu

Floating menus, command palettes. Four drops; the surface feels airborne.

inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.08), inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.04), 0 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.16), 0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 3px 3px -1.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 6px 6px -3px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 12px 12px -6px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)

Glass card

Hero cards with full penumbra stack and ambient drop.

inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.05), inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.04), 0 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.14), 0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 3px 3px -1.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 6px 6px -3px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 12px 12px -6px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 24px 24px -12px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 40px 80px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)

Dark Glass card

GPU refraction with elevation stacking. edgeHighlight and fresnel replace the inset highlight.

inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.06), inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.04), 0 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.16), 0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 3px 3px -1.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 6px 6px -3px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 12px 12px -6px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 24px 24px -12px rgba(0,0,0,0.18), 0 40px 80px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)

Standard card

Default resting card with a single drop.

inset 0 1px 0 0 rgba(236,238,237,0.02), inset 0 0 0 1px rgba(236,238,237,0.02), 0 1px 1px -0.5px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)

Components

Button

Default

<Button >Example</Button>

Glass

<Button >Example</Button>

Dark Glass

<Button >Example</Button>

With Icon

<Button >Example</Button>

Large

<Button >Example</Button>

Rich Text Components

Blockquote

Default

A well-designed system is not simply a collection of these components. It is more than the sum of its parts.

<BlockQuote >Example</BlockQuote>

Pull Quote

Default

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
- Steve Jobs
<PullQuote >Example</PullQuote>

Audio Player

Default

Listen to Example Audio
<AudioPlayer >Example</AudioPlayer>

Dark Glass

Listen to Example Audio
<AudioPlayer >Example</AudioPlayer>

Project Card

Dark Glass

Example Project

GPU refraction with CSS elevation stacking — opt-in per instance.

<GlassCard >Example</GlassCard>