ADR 0001: Family-lane design system
Status
Accepted
Context
Clip needs a coherent design system documented for humans and AI agents, aligned with product tone (agent orchestration, trust, long sessions).
Benji Taylor’s published philosophy spans multiple products:
- Family-lane: restrained palette, tonal elevation, fluid transitions, gradual revelation (Family Values).
- Honk-lane: high-playfulness, presence-forward UI, sound-first moments (Honkish).
Clip is primarily a productivity / ops surface; excessive play risks undermining trust.
Decision
Adopt Family-lane as the default system:
- Warm limestone foundation, deep ink type, one earnest accent (Boston Clay /
#B8422Eclass). - Motion that explains navigation and state — directional continuity, avoid teleporting layouts.
- Delight concentrated on infrequent or emotionally loaded flows (empty states, completion), not dense repeating chrome.
Authoritative artifact: root DESIGN.md (machine tokens + prose). Implementation tokens live in src/app/globals.css; motion constants in src/lib/motion.ts.
Consequences
- Positive: Consistent “premium studio” feel; easier agent alignment via
DESIGN.md; fewer competing accent colors. - Negative: Does not maximize whimsical delight; users wanting Honk-level experimentation need explicit opt-in features later.
- Rejected alternatives: Honk-lane (too noisy for default ops UI); principles-only without tokens (harder for agents to reproduce); blend without a dominant lane (muddled).