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Maister

Your design dictionary.

If you’re not a UI/UX designer and you found yourself starting to build products and websites with AI, it can be hard to describe exactly what you have in mind. You know what it looks like in your head, but you don’t have the vocabulary to verbalize it to your AI assistant. So we made it easier for you and put everything you need to know in a dictionary, so you can build the design of your dreams.

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Color

Color sets the mood fastest. A good brief gives each color a job, rather than listing a palette.

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paperalmondoxbloodorangeinkFive colors, and no sixth.Everything on the site is one of these. A palette is a short list you refuse to add to.

In a prompt“Palette: off-white, charcoal, one orange accent”

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primaryneutralinkThe color people remember you by.It carries the brand: the logo, the buttons, the one band per page.

In a prompt“Primary: deep green”

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Used in one place at a time.The accent is not a background. It is the thing you want clicked.IdentityWebsitesFilmInquireSee the work
The only accent on the page

In a prompt“Orange accent for buttons and highlights only”

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#fffpaperlinemutedinkThe colors that do the work.Nine tenths of a good site is neutral. The brand color is the tenth.

In a prompt“Mostly neutrals”

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BackgroundThe paper everything sits onTextBody and headingsActionButtons and links, nothing elseLineHairlines and card bordersSuccessOnly when something workedErrorOnly when something failed

In a prompt“Orange is only for actions”

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#6B1C23Six characters: how much red, how much green, how much blue. The same six give the same color everywhere.

In a prompt“Use #FF5712 for the accent”

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One hue, five levels.Calm, cohesive and very hard to get wrong. Contrast does the work color usually does.

In a prompt“Monochrome blue palette”

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Neighbors on the color wheel.Red to orange to amber. Harmonious, warm, and never jarring.

In a prompt“Analogous warm palette”

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Opposites, used unequally.Mostly one, a little of the other. Equal amounts of two opposites fight.

In a prompt“Complementary accent”

WarmCloser, softer, more human
CoolCalmer, cleaner, more distant

In a prompt“Warm palette, nothing icy”

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100%75%50%25%10%How much color is in the color.The same hue, drained step by step. Full saturation is rare on a page people read.

In a prompt“Low saturation, slightly muted”

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Dialled back on purpose.Grown-up, restrained and easy to live with. Almost every expensive-looking site is here.

In a prompt“Muted earth tones”

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Turned all the way up.Energetic, young and loud. Hard to read long text on, easy to remember.

In a prompt“One vibrant color against neutrals”

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Pale and soft.Gentle and friendly. Watch the contrast: pastel text on pastel fails every accessibility check.

In a prompt“Pastel section backgrounds”

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claysandoliveochrebarkTaken from the ground.Clay, sand, olive, ochre. Warm, natural and permanently in fashion.

In a prompt“Earth-tone palette”

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Ink on paper — 15.8:1, passes everythingBeige on paper — 1.9:1, failsPaper on oxblood — 9.4:1, passes

In a prompt“High contrast between text and background”

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+ whitebase+ blackOne color, five useful versions.Tints for backgrounds, shades for text. This is how a one-color brand gets a whole palette.

In a prompt“Use tints of the brand blue for backgrounds”

#FFFFFFPure white glares a little.
#FBF8F3Paper is kinder to read on, and looks printed.

In a prompt“Off-white background, not pure white”

LightA chair you will keepHand-built in Rotterdam.Buy
DarkA chair you will keepHand-built in Rotterdam.Buy

In a prompt“Light mode only”

Made slowly
Sold rarely
Kept forever

In a prompt“Color-blocked sections”

NovaProductPricingStart
The AI layer for your companyA soft blend, two or three stops, one direction.

In a prompt“No gradients”

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Every photograph mapped onto two colors, so a mixed set becomes one set.

In a prompt“Duotone photos in brand colors”

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60 · paper30 · almondMostly nothing.A third something. A tenth loud.Inquire

In a prompt“Follow a 60-30-10 balance”

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Body text on paper15.8:1  AAALink orange on paper4.9:1  AADecorative beige1.6:1  FAILSPaper on oxblood9.4:1  AAA4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text. Anything below is decoration, not information.

In a prompt“All text meets WCAG AA contrast”