feat: overhaul style guide to define a 'Digital Architect' aesthetic with detailed design principles and UI/UX guidelines.

docs/STYLEGUIDE.md

@@ -1,94 +1,74 @@
-# Style Guide
+# Style Guide: Digital Architect
 
-This document outlines the coding standards, design patterns, and UI guidelines for the mintel.me project.
+This document defines the visual language and design rules for the Mintel ecosystem. The goal is to maintain a "Digital Architect" aesthetic: technical, reductionist, and high-fidelity.
 
-## 1. General Principles
+## 1. Core Philosophy: Reduction to Essentials
 
-- **Simplicity**: Keep components small and focused on a single responsibility.
-- **Consistency**: Use established patterns for naming, styling, and structure.
-- **Accessibility**: Ensure high contrast, proper heading levels, and focus states.
-- **Performance**: Optimize images and use efficient React patterns.
+The design should feel "Websites ohne Overhead." Every element must serve a purpose. If it doesn't add value, remove it.
 
-## 2. Technology Stack
+- **Technical Precision**: Use grids, mono-spaced labels, and clear hierarchies to signal technical competence.
+- **Tactile Digital Objects**: UI elements should feel like physical objects (buttons that depress, tags that pop in, glass that blurs).
+- **High Contrast**: Bold black/slate on clean white backgrounds, with vibrant highlighter accents.
 
-- **Framework**: [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) (App Router)
-- **Language**: [TypeScript](https://www.typescript.org/)
-- **Styling**: [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com/)
-- **Icons**: [Lucide React](https://lucide.dev/)
+## 2. Color Palette
 
-## 3. Component Guidelines
+The project uses a monochrome base with curated highlighter accents.
 
-### 3.1 Structure
-- Use functional components with `React.FC`.
-- Define props using an `interface`.
-- Export components as named exports.
+- **Primary Base**: 
+    - **Backgrounds**: Pure White (`#ffffff`) for clarity.
+    - **Surfaces**: Slate-50 for subtle depth, White with 90% opacity + 10px blur for glassmorphism.
+- **Grays (Slate)**: 
+    - **Text**: Slate-800 for body, Slate-900 for headings.
+    - **UI Borders**: Slate-100 or Slate-200.
+    - **Muted text**: Slate-400 or Slate-500.
+- **Highlighter Accents**: Used exclusively for tags, markers, and selective emphasis.
+    - **Yellow**: Warm, high-visibility (`rgba(255, 235, 59, 0.95)`).
+    - **Pink**: Vibrant, energetic (`rgba(255, 167, 209, 0.95)`).
+    - **Green**: Success, technical health (`rgba(129, 199, 132, 0.95)`).
+    - **Blue**: Neutral, structural (`rgba(226, 232, 240, 0.95)`).
 
-```tsx
-import React from 'react';
+## 3. Typography
 
-interface MyComponentProps {
-  title: string;
-  children?: React.ReactNode;
-}
+A high-contrast mix of fonts that balances modern tech with editorial readability.
 
-export const MyComponent: React.FC<MyComponentProps> = ({ title, children }) => {
-  return (
-    <div>
-      <h2>{title}</h2>
-      {children}
-    </div>
-  );
-};
-```
+- **Headings (Sans-serif)**: Use **Inter**.
+    - Tracking: `-0.025em` to `-0.05em` (tracking-tighter).
+    - Weight: Bold (`700`).
+    - Color: Slate-900.
+- **Body (Serif)**: Use **Newsreader** or Georgia.
+    - Style: Defaults to serif for long-form content to provide a "notebook" feel.
+    - Line-height: Relaxed (`1.6` to `1.75`).
+- **Technical (Monospace)**: Use **JetBrains Mono**.
+    - Usage: Small labels, tags, code snippets, and "Mono-Labels" (e.g., section numbers).
+    - Feature: Uppercase with wide tracking (`0.3em` to `0.4em`).
 
-### 3.2 Client vs. Server Components
-- Default to Server Components.
-- Use `'use client'` only when necessary (interactivity, hooks, browser APIs).
-- Keep client components at the leaves of the component tree.
+## 4. Layout & Rhythm
 
-### 3.3 Naming Conventions
-- **Files**: PascalCase (e.g., `Hero.tsx`, `ArticleHeading.tsx`).
-- **Components**: PascalCase (e.g., `export const Hero`).
-- **Props**: camelCase (e.g., `showIcon`).
-- **Functions**: camelCase (e.g., `handleClick`).
+Standardized containers ensure consistency across different screen sizes.
 
-## 4. Styling & Design
+- **Standard Container**: Max-width 6xl (`72rem`). Used for most page sections.
+- **Wide Container**: Max-width 7xl (`80rem`). Used for galleries or high-impact visuals.
+- **Narrow Container**: Max-width 4xl (`56rem`). Used for focused reading and blog posts.
+- **Section Rhythm**: Sections are separated by clear `border-top` lines and numbered (e.g., "01", "02").
 
-### 4.1 Typography
-The project uses a mix of serif and sans-serif fonts:
-- **Headings**: Sans-serif (Inter), bold, slate-900.
-- **Body**: Serif (Georgia/Times New Roman) for readability in long-form content.
-- **Code**: Monospace (JetBrains Mono).
+## 5. UI Elements & Interactions
 
-### 4.2 Colors
-Defined in `tailwind.config.js`:
-- **Primary**: Blue (`primary-50` to `primary-900`).
-- **Slate**: Grays for text and backgrounds.
-- **Highlighters**: Custom classes for tags (`highlighter-yellow`, `highlighter-pink`, etc.).
+### 5.1 Buttons
+- **Shape**: Always pill-shaped (rounded-full).
+- **Style**: Thin borders (`1px`) with bold, uppercase mono-spaced text.
+- **Hover**: Should feel "expensive." Smooth translate-up (`-0.5rem`) and deep, soft shadows.
 
-### 4.3 Layout Containers
-Use the following utility classes from `global.css`:
-- `.container`: Max-width 4xl (standard content).
-- `.wide-container`: Max-width 5xl (galleries, wide sections).
-- `.narrow-container`: Max-width 2xl (focused reading).
+### 5.2 Cards & Containers
+- **Glassmorphism**: Use for search boxes and floating elements (`backdrop-filter: blur(10px)`).
+- **Cards**: Minimalist. Use `Slate-50` or thin `Slate-100` borders. Avoid heavy shadows unless on hover.
 
-### 4.4 Animations
-Use built-in Tailwind animations for subtle transitions:
-- `animate-fade-in`
-- `animate-slide-up`
-- `animate-slide-down`
+### 5.3 Highlighters & Tags
+- **Marker Effect**: Use a hand-drawn marker underline (diagonal skew, slightly erratic rotation) for key titles.
+- **Tags**: Small, bold, uppercase. They should use `tagPopIn` animations when appearing.
 
-## 5. Best Practices
+## 6. Motion & Atmosphere
 
-- **Tailwind Usage**: Prefer utility classes over custom CSS. Use `@apply` in `global.css` only for recurring base styles or complex component patterns.
-- **Images**: Use `next/image` for optimization.
-- **Links**: Use `next/link` for internal navigation.
-- **Conditional Classes**: Use template literals or a utility like `clsx`/`tailwind-merge` if needed (though currently mostly template literals are used).
+- **Reveals**: Content should never "just appear." Use slide-up and fade-in transitions (`0.5s` to `0.7s`) to create a sense of discovery.
+- **Background Grid**: A subtle, low-opacity grid pattern provides a technical "blueprint" feel to the pages.
+- **Micro-interactions**: Hovering over icons or tags should trigger subtle scales (`105%-110%`) and color shifts.
 
-## 6. Directory Structure
-
-- `app/`: Next.js pages and API routes.
-- `src/components/`: Reusable UI components.
-- `src/styles/`: Global CSS and Tailwind configuration.
-- `src/utils/`: Helper functions and shared logic.
-- `public/`: Static assets.