§ WORKSHOP — DESIGN PRINCIPLES HOW WE BUILD SIX PRINCIPLES

Workshop. How we build.

Not every decision has to be loud. Some get to be. Six principles, one accent, three typefaces, four motion primitives — the workbench behind every project.

06 PRINCIPLES·05 COLOUR TOKENS· 03 TYPEFACES·04 MOTION PRIMITIVES
§ MANIFESTO — 06 PRINCIPLES BUILDING RULES SIX BEATS

Six rules. No compromises.

These principles aren't all for all cases. They're boundary stakes — when we cross one, there's a reason. When we can't find one, we hold the line.

  1. 01 / 06

    Story first.
    Pixels follow.

    A page without a clear story is furniture design without an apartment. We start with the question of who's looking for what and why — then layout, type, and motion serve that answer, not the other way round.

  2. 02 / 06

    One colour is enough.
    When it's the right one.

    Brand accents lose their charge the moment they multiply. #FF3C00 gets every stage; everything else lives in warm neutrals. One hit per screen, that's the bar.

  3. 03 / 06

    Type is information,
    not decoration.

    Type makes decisions before the eye starts reading. Bricolage Grotesque for statements, DM Sans for argument, JetBrains Mono for the machine layer. Three voices — no fourth, no flourishes.

  4. 04 / 06

    Motion explains
    what static can't.

    We don't animate buttons because it looks slick. We animate when a movement explains an idea faster than a sentence — transition, hierarchy, status. Otherwise: silence.

  5. 05 / 06

    No pattern without reason.
    No reason without pattern.

    Repetition builds trust. When the §-chapters, REC dots, and shutter lines always appear the same way, the eye learns the page's grammar. Breaking the pattern has to mean something — and only then.

  6. 06 / 06

    Fast pages win.
    Slow pages lose.

    Load speed isn't "also important". It's the first decision a visitor makes. Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds on mobile — otherwise the rest of the work was wasted.

§ COLOUR — TOKENS ONE ACCENT · WARM-DARK 05 TOKENS

One colour. When it's the right one.

Warm-dark as the stage. Warm-light for statements. A single accent — #FF3C00 — and no tints. UI states use neutrals, not lightened accent variants.

--bg-deep
#0F0B08
Stage

Warm black. Never #000.

--dark-800
#1A120B
Elevated surfaces

Cards, alternating sections.

--dark-700
#2A1D12
Lines & borders

Structural rhythm, kept quiet.

--light-100
#FAF7F2
Statements

Warm off-white. Never #FFF.

--accent
#FF3C00
Accent

A single accent — no second, no tints.

§ TYPE — STACK BRICOLAGE · DM SANS · JETBRAINS MONO 03 VOICES

Three typefaces. Three jobs.

Display states it. Body argues it. Mono registers it. No fourth typeface, no mix-and-match, no decorative variant.

Display700 / 800
Bricolage Grotesque
Speed up. Stand out.

Statement type. Headlines, hero scale — wherever an idea is allowed to be loud.

Body400 / 500
DM Sans
We build platforms that land data where decisions actually get made.

Argument type. Body copy, sub-copy, anything the reader actually reads.

Chrome400 / 500
JetBrains Mono
§ 04 — PROJECTS · LIVE WITH DACH · 02 / 05

Machine type. Labels, REC markers, coordinates. 10–12px, letter-spacing 0.18em, always UPPERCASE.

§ MOTION — PRIMITIVES FOUR MOVEMENTS · NO FIFTH 04 / 04

Motion explains what static can't.

We don't move things to impress. We move when a gesture explains an idea faster than a sentence — and never longer than necessary.

01 / 04
Shutter

A black blade opens vertically — section transition, hard "cut" feel.

Used in Between cinematic sections (§01 → §08).
02 / 04
Slam

Element flies hard into final position, one settle-yoyo, then silence.

Used in Hero headlines, accent words — never twice in a row.
03 / 04
Scrub

Movement coupled to scroll position; Lenis + GSAP ScrollTrigger with low lag (0.4).

Used in Horizontal pin (§04 carousel), data diagrams.
04 / 04
Fade

Opacity + slight Y offset, expo.out — the default reveal for anything carrying data-reveal.

Used in Cards, lists, list items, default content.

Every movement respects prefers-reduced-motion. With animations off you see the static version — same content, no flicker, no cut.

§ CLOSE — CONTACT BUILD CONVERSATION 30 MIN · FREE

We build like this. Want yours built like this too?

First call, 30 minutes, free. Brief → Storyboard → Launch — same process, same accent, same workbench.