Canvas
Application background
Driftline system · Living · Contract 1.0.0
Design system
A portable method expressed as a precise ocean-research instrument.
Design principles
Calm enough to scan. Explicit enough to act.
- 01Make flow visible
Movement and blockage appear before secondary metrics.
- 02Explain the prompt
Every intervention shows its rule, evidence, age, and owner.
- 03Preserve human judgment
The system routes attention; people still decide, delegate, and support.
- 04Earn the density
Compact information stays readable, structured, and resilient.
Foundation 01
Semantic color
System light System dark
Surface
Cards and controls
Ink
Primary content
Muted
Supporting content
Flow
Healthy movement
Watch
Threshold approaching
Critical
Intervention required
Foundation 02
Type with instrument precision
12px floor · 15px body · rem scaling
Where is work losing momentum?
Waiting on you
Specific decisions surfaced by visible operating rules.
OPERATION.BLOCKER.NO_RESPONSE · 06 DAYS
System inventory
Components and states
Native semantics · 44px targets
Actions
One primary commitment; quiet controls preserve hierarchy.
Status
Text, icon, and color carry the meaning together.
Moving normally 11d waiting 14d blocked
Selection
Pressed state is visible and exposed to assistive technology.
Input
Labels remain visible; supporting text describes the expected value.
Foundation 03
Snappy, purposeful motion
Visibility · continuity · feedback
Metrics resolve when they become visible.
Meters and values move as one state change.
- Signal captured
- Evidence routed
- Decision ready
Product pattern
Explainable attention routing
Reason · evidence · owner · action
Decision · EVL-204 · Evaluation
Deep-reef acoustic observatory
Review complete—choose an outcome.
Accessibility and resilience
The constraints are part of the visual language.
- WCAG 2.2 AA contrast target
- Keyboard focus and modal containment
- System themes and forced colors
- Reduced motion and 200% reflow