Primary dark field and primary ink.
#05050501 / System
Foundations.
Monumental type, monochrome fields, one semantic signal, and enough negative space to let the argument become visible.
- Root
- 14px
- Canvas
- 1440px maximum
- Grid
- 12 → 1 columns
- Geometry
- 1px rule · 0 radius
01.1 / Color
Monochrome establishes the field. Green carries information.
Ontology’s four canonical colors preserve their exact source values. Briefing Paper is an application token: useful for extended reading, never a replacement for Field White.
Primary light field and negative type.
#FFFFFFSecondary surface and quiet interface field.
#F9F9F9Current, verified, active, terminal, or live.
#00C38BDerived reading surface for editorial packets.
#F7F7F4Use green for
Active state
The current route, selected node, verified record, live status, or terminal step.
Use black for
System fields
Operating models, thresholds, protected surfaces, and decisive synthesis.
Use paper for
Extended reading
Recipient-facing documents where warmth and sustained attention matter.
Never use
Ambient accent
No green washes, ornamental glows, decorative progress, or multicolor category systems.
01.2 / Typography
One family for meaning. One mono voice for the ledger.
Inter carries every editorial and interface role. IBM Plex Mono is restricted to metadata, labels, indices, specifications, and system communication.
Future.
Systems.
The work becomes legible before it becomes impressive.
Narrative text should feel calm, direct, and physically easy to read. It is given a generous measure and enough leading to make complex ideas feel orderly without making them simplistic.
Verification sequence active
Ontology bundles a licensed Inter variable font and IBM Plex Mono 400/500 locally. The reference site follows the 400/500 reading hierarchy, reserves Inter 300 for oversized editorial ledes, and exposes the 900 monument role without synthesized weights.
01.3 / Modes
Dark is the default. Light is an equal rendering, not a different personality.
Theme changes invert semantic surfaces and rules. Fixed application fields—Briefing Paper and Carbon—remain exact so a specimen never loses its intended reading condition.
Dark / default
High contrast.
Low noise.
Studio Black / Field White / Signal Green
Light / verified
Same system.
Opposite field.
Field White / Studio Black / Signal Green
01.4 / Grid
A 12-column field creates editorial asymmetry.
The grid is a relationship system, not a row of boxes. Claims and proof can occupy unequal spans while sharing one frame and one set of alignment edges.
The claim occupies the field it earns.
Proof aligns to the same system without pretending it deserves equal visual weight.
Desktop
80px gutter
1440px maximum field, 12 columns, broad asymmetry.
Tablet
48px gutter
Reduced span complexity, preserved reading measures.
Mobile
24px gutter
One column, recomposed order, no miniature desktop.
01.5 / Space + geometry
Air is a structural element.
Use the scale consistently, then choose the larger interval when the hierarchy is uncertain. Divisions happen with space or one hairline—not nested containers.
04
4px08
8px16
16px24
24px48
48px80
80px128
128px160
160px- 01
Square by default
Radius is zero. A 2px radius is permitted only when a utility control genuinely requires it.
- 02
Rules are quiet
Use one-pixel current-color rules at roughly 3–10% opacity; strengthen only for a true boundary.
- 03
No surface shadows
Hierarchy comes from field contrast, type, position, and spacing—not elevation effects.
- 04
Insets are measurable
Framed ledgers and diagram nodes preserve 24–28px inner gutters at production scale.