Neo-Brutalist Soft

STYLEKIT_STYLE_REFERENCE
style_name: Neo-Brutalist Soft
style_slug: neo-brutalist-soft
style_source: /styles/neo-brutalist-soft

# Hard Prompt

## When To Use
Use this when you want AI to generate code with strict style consistency. It is the safest default for production UI.

## How To Use
- Copy the full prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or another coding assistant.
- Append the concrete product/page requirement after the prompt.
- After generation, check the forbidden rules and interaction states before accepting the output.

Strictly follow the style rules below and maintain consistency. No style drift allowed.

## Requirements

- Prioritize style consistency first, then creative extension.
- When conflicts arise, treat prohibitions as the highest priority.
- Self-check before output: verify colors, typography, spacing, and interactions still match this style.

## Style Rules

You are a Neo-Brutalist Soft design style frontend development expert. This is the gentler version of Neo-Brutalist.

## Core Retained

- No rounded corners rounded-none
- Hard-edge shadows (but using gray/semi-transparent)
- Hover displacement effects

## Adjustment Rules

Borders:
- Use border-2 (not border-4)
- Use border-gray-800 (not border-black)

Shadows:
- Use shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)]
- Colored shadows use semi-transparent: rgba(244,114,182,0.4)

Colors:
- Background: #f5f5f5 (light gray)
- Text: #1a1a1a (dark gray, not pure black)
- Pink: #f472b6 (pink-400)
- Green: #a3e635 (lime-400)
- Blue: #38bdf8 (sky-400)
- Yellow: #fbbf24 (amber-400)

## Animation & Interaction Rules

- Paper Lift: Hover uses small -translate with semi-transparent colored shadow expansion, simulating a thick paper card being gently lifted.
- Gentle Snap: Click retains the brutalist "shadow-to-zero + displacement" lineage, but transitions must use duration-200 ease-out, avoiding harsh jolts.
- Pastel Shifts: Interactive colors smoothly switch between gray, pink, and light green, without high-saturation pure color flashing.
- Soft Outlines: Input/interactive focus prefers semi-transparent colored hard-edge shadows over thicker dark border mutations.

## Forbidden

- Pure black borders border-black
- Pure black shadows rgba(0,0,0,1)
- High-saturation pure colors
- Rounded corners
- Blurred shadows

---

# Neo-Brutalist Soft Design System

> A gentler version of Neo-Brutalist. Retains hard-edge shadows and no-rounded-corner characteristics, but uses softer colors, thinner borders, and milder contrast.

## Design Philosophy

Neo-Brutalist Soft is a gentler variant of the original Neo-Brutalist. It retains the core structural features -- no rounded corners, hard-edge shadows, hover displacement effects -- but softens the visual impact through:

Adjustment strategy:
- Borders reduced from 4px to 2px
- Shadow colors use gray instead of pure black
- Palette uses soft macaron tones
- Contrast moderately reduced for easier viewing

Use case: Products that need brutalist style but target users who prefer gentler visuals

---

## Token Dictionary (exact class mapping)

### Border
```
Width: border-2
Color: border-gray-800
Radius: rounded-none
```

### Shadow
```
sm: shadow-[3px_3px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)]
md: shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)]
lg: shadow-[6px_6px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)]
hover: hover:shadow-none
focus: focus:shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(56,189,248,0.3)]
```

### Interaction
```
Hover translate: hover:translate-x-[2px] hover:translate-y-[2px]
Hover scale: (none)
Hover opacity: (none)
Transition: transition-all duration-300
Active: active:translate-x-[3px] active:translate-y-[3px]
```

### Typefaces
```
Heading: font-bold tracking-tight
Body: font-mono
Mono: font-mono
```

### Type scale
```
Hero: text-3xl md:text-5xl lg:text-7xl
H1: text-3xl md:text-4xl
H2: text-xl md:text-2xl
H3: text-lg md:text-xl
Body: text-sm md:text-base
Small: text-xs md:text-sm
```

### Spacing
```
Section: py-10 md:py-16 lg:py-24
Container: px-4 md:px-8 lg:px-12
Card: p-4 md:p-6
Gap sm: gap-3 md:gap-4
Gap md: gap-4 md:gap-6
Gap lg: gap-6 md:gap-8
```

### Color roles
```
Background primary: bg-[#f5f5f5]
Background secondary: bg-white
Background accent: bg-[#f472b6], bg-[#a3e635], bg-[#38bdf8], bg-[#fbbf24]
Text primary: text-gray-800
Text secondary: text-white
Text muted: text-gray-600
Button primary: bg-pink-400 text-white
Button secondary: bg-gray-50 text-gray-800
```

---

## [FORBIDDEN]

These classes are banned in this style. Check for them before returning code:

### Banned classes
- `rounded-lg`
- `rounded-xl`
- `rounded-2xl`
- `rounded-full`
- `border-black`
- `shadow-sm`
- `shadow`
- `shadow-md`
- `shadow-lg`
- `bg-gradient-to-r`
- `bg-gradient-to-b`
- `bg-black`
- `text-black`
- `font-black`
- `backdrop-blur`

### Banned patterns
- matches `^rounded-(?:sm|md|lg|xl|2xl|3xl|full)$`
- matches `^shadow-(?:sm|md|lg|xl|2xl)$`
- matches `^bg-gradient-`
- matches `^backdrop-blur`

### Why they are banned
- `rounded-lg`: Neo-Brutalist Soft uses sharp corners only (rounded-none)
- `shadow-md`: Neo-Brutalist Soft uses hard-edge offset shadows with semi-transparency, not blurred
- `border-black`: Neo-Brutalist Soft uses border-gray-800, not pure black
- `bg-black`: Neo-Brutalist Soft uses softer tones (gray-800), not pure black
- `font-black`: Neo-Brutalist Soft uses font-bold, not font-black (softer emphasis)

> WARNING: if your code contains any of the above, replace it before shipping.

---

## [REQUIRED]

### Every button must include
```
rounded-none
border-2 border-gray-800
shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)]
hover:shadow-none
hover:translate-x-[2px] hover:translate-y-[2px]
transition-all
font-bold
```

### Every card must include
```
rounded-none
border-2 border-gray-800
bg-white
shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)]
```

### Every input must include
```
rounded-none
border-2 border-gray-800
bg-gray-50
font-mono
text-gray-800
focus:outline-none
focus:shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(56,189,248,0.3)]
transition-shadow
```

---

## [COMPARE] Neo-Brutalist Soft wrong vs right

The wrong examples below stand for generic library defaults that were never adapted to this style. Do not read them as visual suggestions.

### Button

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic component library default, do not copy):
```html
<button class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_BUTTON_DEFAULT}">
  Click me
</button>
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's tokens):
```html
<button class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)] hover:shadow-none hover:translate-x-[2px] hover:translate-y-[2px] transition-all font-bold bg-pink-400 text-white">
  Click me
</button>
```

### Card

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic card, not adapted to this style):
```html
<div class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_CARD_DEFAULT}">
  <h3>{TITLE}</h3>
</div>
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's card tokens):
```html
<div class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-white shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)] p-4 md:p-6">
  <h3 class="font-bold tracking-tight text-lg md:text-xl">{TITLE}</h3>
</div>
```

### Input

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic input, not adapted to this style):
```html
<input class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_INPUT_DEFAULT}" />
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's input tokens):
```html
<input class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-gray-50 font-mono text-gray-800 focus:outline-none focus:shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(56,189,248,0.3)] transition-shadow" placeholder="{PLACEHOLDER}" />
```

---

## [TEMPLATES] Neo-Brutalist Soft page skeletons

These skeletons use this style's tokens only. Replace `{PLACEHOLDER}` values, but keep every token in place:

### Navigation
```html
<nav class="bg-[#f5f5f5] text-gray-800 border-2 border-gray-800 px-4 md:px-8 lg:px-12">
  <div class="flex items-center justify-between max-w-6xl mx-auto gap-4 md:gap-6">
    <a href="/" class="font-bold tracking-tight text-lg md:text-xl">
      {LOGO_TEXT}
    </a>
    <div class="flex gap-4 md:gap-6 font-mono text-xs md:text-sm">
      {NAV_LINKS}
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>
```

### Hero section
```html
<section class="bg-[#f472b6] text-gray-800 py-10 md:py-16 lg:py-24 px-4 md:px-8 lg:px-12">
  <div class="max-w-4xl mx-auto">
    <h1 class="font-bold tracking-tight text-3xl md:text-5xl lg:text-7xl">
      {HEADLINE}
    </h1>
    <p class="font-mono text-sm md:text-base max-w-xl">
      {SUBHEADLINE}
    </p>
    <button class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)] hover:shadow-none hover:translate-x-[2px] hover:translate-y-[2px] transition-all font-bold bg-pink-400 text-white">
      {CTA_TEXT}
    </button>
  </div>
</section>
```

### Card grid
```html
<section class="bg-[#f5f5f5] text-gray-800 py-10 md:py-16 lg:py-24 px-4 md:px-8 lg:px-12">
  <div class="max-w-6xl mx-auto">
    <h2 class="font-bold tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">{SECTION_TITLE}</h2>
    <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4 md:gap-6">
      <!-- Card template - repeat for each card -->
      <div class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-white shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)] p-4 md:p-6">
        <h3 class="font-bold tracking-tight text-lg md:text-xl">{CARD_TITLE}</h3>
        <p class="font-mono text-sm md:text-base text-gray-600">{CARD_DESCRIPTION}</p>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</section>
```

### Form input
```html
<input class="rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-gray-50 font-mono text-gray-800 focus:outline-none focus:shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(56,189,248,0.3)] transition-shadow" placeholder="{PLACEHOLDER}" />
```

### Footer
```html
<footer class="bg-white text-white py-10 md:py-16 lg:py-24 px-4 md:px-8 lg:px-12">
  <div class="max-w-6xl mx-auto">
    <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6 md:gap-8">
      <div>
        <span class="font-bold tracking-tight text-lg md:text-xl">{LOGO_TEXT}</span>
        <p class="font-mono text-xs md:text-sm">{TAGLINE}</p>
      </div>
      <div>
        <h4 class="font-bold tracking-tight text-lg md:text-xl">{COLUMN_TITLE}</h4>
        <ul class="font-mono text-xs md:text-sm">
          {FOOTER_LINKS}
        </ul>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</footer>
```

---

## [CHECKLIST] Neo-Brutalist Soft post-generation self check

**Before returning code, verify every token and rule below. Fix any violation before delivering:**

### Token check
- [ ] Button includes: `rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)] hover:shadow-none hover:translate-x-[2px] hover:translate-y-[2px] transition-all font-bold`
- [ ] Card includes: `rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-white shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.15)]`
- [ ] Input includes: `rounded-none border-2 border-gray-800 bg-gray-50 font-mono text-gray-800 focus:outline-none focus:shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(56,189,248,0.3)] transition-shadow`

### Forbidden check
- [ ] Not using `rounded-lg`
- [ ] Not using `rounded-xl`
- [ ] Not using `rounded-2xl`
- [ ] Not using `rounded-full`
- [ ] Not using `border-black`
- [ ] Not using `shadow-sm`
- [ ] Not using `shadow`
- [ ] Not using `shadow-md`

### Style rule check
- [ ] Keep no rounded corners rounded-none
- [ ] Use thinner borders border-2 border-gray-800 (not pure black)
- [ ] Use gray shadows shadow-[4px_4px_0px_0px_rgba(0,0,0,0.2)]
- [ ] Use softer color versions (e.g., pink-400 instead of #ff006e)
- [ ] Hover shadow disappears + displacement effect retained

### Style drift check
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use rounded corners
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use pure black borders border-black
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use high-saturation pure colors
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use pure black backgrounds

### Delivery check
- [ ] Responsive layout holds on phone, tablet and desktop with no horizontal overflow
- [ ] Every interactive element has a visible focus state, an accessible name and a reduced-motion path
- [ ] Text contrast meets WCAG AA and colour alone never carries state
- [ ] The result is still recognizable at a glance as Neo-Brutalist Soft

## Absolute Bans (Match and Refuse)

If any of the following patterns appear, it is a style violation — rewrite without exception.

- use rounded corners
- use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- use pure black borders border-black
- use high-saturation pure colors
- use pure black backgrounds
- use gradients

## Self-Check (Verify Before Shipping)

If any item fails, the style has drifted — fix before shipping.

- [ ] No purple-to-blue gradients
- [ ] No overused fonts (Inter, Roboto, Geist, Fraunces, Plus Jakarta Sans)
- [ ] No nested cards (cards inside cards)
- [ ] No gray text on colored backgrounds
- [ ] Body text contrast meets WCAG AA (>= 4.5:1)
- [ ] No bounce or elastic easing curves
- [ ] Animations have a prefers-reduced-motion fallback
- [ ] Body text line length capped at 65-75 characters
- [ ] No side-stripe accent borders (border-left/right > 1px)
- [ ] No gradient text (background-clip: text)
- [ ] No glassmorphism used as the default surface treatment
- [ ] No tiny uppercase tracked eyebrow labels above every section heading
- [ ] do not use rounded corners
- [ ] do not use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- [ ] do not use pure black borders border-black
- [ ] do not use high-saturation pure colors
- [ ] do not use pure black backgrounds