Design principles

Clawscale keeps Blueprint's principles and adds a few for dense software.

Density with clarity#

Show more on one screen without making it harder to read. A 13px base size, tight line heights, tabular numbers and hairline borders keep dense screens calm.

Desktop first#

Clawscale targets complex desktop applications, like Blueprint. Layouts work on small screens, but mouse, keyboard and wide screens come first.

Tokens over overrides#

Every color, shadow, radius and size is a token. Change the token, not the component. Overrides exist only where Blueprint hardcodes a value.

Layer, never fork#

Blueprint renders every component. Clawscale adds tokens, a style layer and entry points. Blueprint's fixes and features arrive with each release.

Accessible by default#

Text and intent colors meet WCAG AA in every theme and color scheme, and tests enforce it. Focus rings stay visible. Every interactive component works with the keyboard.

Color that means something#

Intents carry meaning: primary for the main action, danger for destructive ones. Chart colors follow a fixed, validated order. Status is never shown by color alone.

Server ready#

Components render on the server. The theme applies before the first paint. Icons can render synchronously.

API contract#

Clawscale keeps Blueprint's component API. It follows semantic versioning: breaking changes only in major versions, with notes in the changelog.