164 lines
9.6 KiB
Markdown
164 lines
9.6 KiB
Markdown
# Reference: Visual Design System
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> The SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH for colors, typography, spacing, surfaces, and motion throughout the Clinical Record PMR. Aligned with the **Clinical Luxury** direction defined in CLAUDE.md.
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---
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## Design Philosophy
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This is a **premium portfolio** that uses the structure and metaphor of a GP clinical system — not a faithful NHS software clone. Real clinical systems (EMIS Web, SystmOne) are dense, border-heavy, and purely functional. We keep their *structure* (patient banner, sidebar navigation, record sections, tables, status indicators) but elevate the *execution* with refined typography, atmospheric depth, and considered whitespace.
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The goal is contrast: clinical precision married to luxury refinement. The "wow" comes from recognizing the clinical metaphor while being surprised by how good it looks.
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---
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## Color Palette
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**Light-mode only.** The metaphor demands it — clinical systems operate under bright consulting room lights. No dark mode.
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**Backgrounds:**
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- Main content area: `#F5F7FA` — cool light gray base. Add atmospheric depth: a very faint noise/grain texture overlay, or a subtle warm tint, so it feels like quality paper rather than a flat spreadsheet. The content surface should have *presence*.
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- Card/panel surfaces: `#FFFFFF` — clean white. Cards float above the content surface via layered shadows (see Surfaces section).
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- Sidebar: `#1E293B` — dark blue-gray. The gravitas anchor. This dark chrome is what makes it feel like "serious software."
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- Patient banner: `#334155` — lighter blue-gray with white text. Subtle drop shadow below to separate from content.
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- Login screen background: `#1E293B` — same as sidebar. Carries through to PMR entrance seamlessly.
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**Text:**
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- Primary: `#111827` (gray-900) — near-black for maximum readability
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- Secondary: `#6B7280` (gray-500) — labels, metadata, supporting text
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- Muted: `#94A3B8` (slate-400) — timestamps, tertiary info
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- On dark surfaces: `#FFFFFF` (white primary), `#94A3B8` (slate-400 secondary)
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**Accent and status colors:**
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- **NHS Blue `#005EB8`** — THE accent color. Buttons, active nav states, links, interactive elements. This is the actual NHS brand blue — it will be instantly recognized and is the strongest signal of the clinical metaphor. Use it confidently but not everywhere.
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- Green `#22C55E` — active/resolved/current states. Status dots, current role indicators.
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- Amber `#F59E0B` — alerts, in-progress items. The clinical alert banner background.
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- Red `#EF4444` — urgent/critical. Used very sparingly — only genuinely important items.
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- Gray `#6B7280` — inactive/historical items.
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**Traffic light system (used throughout):**
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- Green dot: Active / Resolved / Current
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- Amber dot: In progress / Alert / Notable
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- Red dot: Urgent / Critical (rare)
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- Gray dot: Inactive / Historical
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- **Always paired with text labels.** Color is never the sole signifier (WCAG compliance).
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---
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## Typography
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Typography is the primary vehicle for the premium feel. The font choice must feel *designed* — intentional and distinctive — while still reading cleanly at small clinical-system sizes (11-14px).
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**Font selection:**
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- **UI / Body font**: Choose a distinctive geometric or humanist sans-serif with character. **Do not use** Inter, Roboto, Arial, or system-ui defaults — these read as generic/AI-generated. Candidates: **Satoshi**, **General Sans**, **Outfit**, **DM Sans**, or similar. The chosen font should have personality at 13px. Whichever is selected, configure it as the primary `font-family` across all UI elements.
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- **Monospace / Data font**: **Geist Mono** — for timestamps, coded entries, registration numbers, NHS numbers, tabular data values. This monospace texture is what sells the "clinical software" feel. Falls back to Fira Code.
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- **Terminal phase**: **Fira Code** — locked, do not change.
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**Type scale (tight, clinical):**
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- Patient banner name: [UI font] 600, 20px
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- Patient banner details: [UI font] 400, 14px
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- Sidebar navigation labels: [UI font] 500, 14px, white
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- Section headings (main area): [UI font] 600, 15-18px
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- Consultation entry titles: [UI font] 600, 15-16px
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- Body text / descriptions: [UI font] 400, 13-14px, line-height 1.6
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- Table headers: [UI font] 600, 12-13px, uppercase, letter-spacing 0.03-0.05em
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- Table data cells: [UI font] 400, 13-14px
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- Labels / metadata: [UI font] 500, 11-12px
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- Coded entries / data values: Geist Mono 400, 12-13px
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- Clinical codes (SNOMED-style): Geist Mono 400, 11-12px, gray-400
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- Timestamps: Geist Mono 400, 11-12px
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- Alert banner text: [UI font] 500, 14px
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**Hierarchy through weight, not size.** Use 400/500/600/700 weight variations within a narrow size range. Bold section headers, medium labels, regular body. This keeps the clinical density while creating clear scannable hierarchy.
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---
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## Spacing and Layout
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More generous than real clinical software. The clinical metaphor provides structure; the extra breathing room provides luxury.
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- **Sidebar width:** 220px (fixed, desktop). Collapses to 56px (icon-only) on tablet.
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- **Patient banner height:** 80px (full), 48px (condensed/sticky)
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- **Main content max-width:** None — fills available space between sidebar and viewport edge.
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- **Main content padding:** 24px (desktop), 16px (mobile)
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- **Card padding:** 16-24px — more generous than real clinical systems. Content should breathe inside cards.
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- **Border radius:** 4px default for cards, inputs, buttons (clinical precision). 12px exception for the login card only.
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- **Table row height:** 40px
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- **Section spacing:** 24px between content blocks
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- **Base unit:** 4px grid — but use it with more generosity than a real clinical system would
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---
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## Surfaces & Depth
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This is where we diverge most from real clinical software. Real systems are flat and border-heavy. This project uses **shadows and layering** to create premium depth — while keeping borders where they're authentically clinical (tables, input fields).
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**Cards:**
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- Border: `1px solid #E5E7EB` (keep the clinical border — it's authentic)
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- Shadow: Multi-layered — `0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.04), 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.03)`. Gentle float, not Material Design dramatic.
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- Border-radius: `4px`
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- Hover: Cards may lift very slightly — 1-2px translateY + shadow deepens to `0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.06), 0 8px 16px rgba(0,0,0,0.04)`. Restrained, not bouncy.
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- Card headers: Light gray `#F9FAFB` background with `1px solid #E5E7EB` bottom border. Uppercase title in [UI font] 600, 12-13px. This is the most "clinical" element — keep it precise.
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**Tables:**
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- Full `<table>` markup with styled headers — this is where clinical authenticity lives.
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- Table headers: `#F9FAFB` background, `1px solid #E5E7EB` borders.
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- Alternating rows: `#FFFFFF` / `#F9FAFB` — subtle but scannable.
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- Row hover: `#EFF6FF` background (blue tint).
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- Cell borders: `1px solid #E5E7EB` — keep full borders on tables. This is authentic.
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**Sidebar:**
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- Background: `#1E293B`
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- Right edge: `1px solid #334155` + optional very subtle glow/shadow where it meets the content area.
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- The sidebar should feel solid and authoritative against the lighter content.
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**Patient banner:**
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- Background: `#334155`
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- Bottom: Subtle drop shadow `0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.12)` to separate from content below.
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- Bottom border: `1px solid #475569`
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**Input fields:**
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- Border: `1px solid #D1D5DB`, `4px` radius, `#FFFFFF` background, `8px 12px` padding
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- Focus: NHS blue border + `box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(0,94,184,0.15)` — refined focus ring.
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---
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## Motion
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Motion should feel **considered and premium** — never flashy, never gratuitous. Every animation has a purpose: to orient the user, to reward interaction, or to create a moment of polish.
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**PMR entrance sequence (login → PMR transition):**
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- Patient banner slides down: 200ms, ease-out
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- Sidebar slides from left: 250ms, ease-out, 50ms delay
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- Content fades in: 300ms, 100ms delay after sidebar
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- This staggered materialization is the single most impactful animation moment.
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**Navigation switches:** Instant content swap. No crossfade, no slide. This preserves the "software application" feel — clinical systems switch tabs instantly.
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**Expandable content:** Height-only animation, 200ms, `ease-out`. Content grows/shrinks — no opacity fade.
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**Clinical alert entrance:** Spring animation (Framer Motion `type: "spring"`, moderate damping). This is the one element that *demands attention* — the spring overshoot is earned here.
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**Alert acknowledge:** Warning icon cross-fades to green checkmark (200ms) → hold 200ms → alert height collapses (200ms ease-out).
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**Hover states:** Subtle and immediate. Background-color transitions at 100ms. Card lifts are 1-2px max with shadow deepening. Think: OS-level responsiveness, not playful bouncing.
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**Login typing:** Character-by-character reveal: 30ms/char for username, 20ms/dot for password. Cursor blink at 530ms.
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**Patient banner condensation:** Smooth height transition (200ms) from 80px → 48px as user scrolls past 100px. Buttery smooth, no jank.
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**`prefers-reduced-motion`:** All animations skip to final state instantly. Typing completes immediately. Alert appears without slide. Expand/collapse is instant. No exceptions.
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---
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## What Makes This Design Distinctive
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The memorability comes from **contrasts**:
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- Dark, serious sidebar next to warm, airy content
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- Small, precise monospace data in generous whitespace fields
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- NHS blue punching through an otherwise muted, restrained palette
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- Clinical structure (tables, status dots, coded entries) executed with luxury refinement (shadows, spacing, typography)
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- The boot → ECG → login theatrical sequence, then suddenly: a premium application
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If any component could be dropped into a generic SaaS dashboard without looking out of place, it needs more character.
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