Brand
Guidelines

You are producing work for iceConnect, a UK managed IT provider.
Follow these brand rules exactly. Full rules and files: https://brand.iceconnect.com

AUDIENCE  Owners and managers of UK businesses, mostly 30 to 200 staff. Not IT specialists.
VOICE     Plain UK English. Confident, warm, specific. Benefit before technology.
          No jargon, no hype, no "solutions". No em dashes. No exclamation marks.
          One call to action, verb first.
NAME      Always "iceConnect": one word, lowercase i, capital C.
FORMATS   Dates ISO 8601: 2026-09-27. Times 24-hour: 09:00. Money: £45 per user per month.
          Numbers one to nine in words, 10 and above in numerals.
FACTS     Never invent statistics, client names, certifications or quotes.
          Use a clearly marked placeholder, such as [client count], instead.

COLOUR    Slate #0F172A leads: text, dark grounds, covers.
          Warm neutrals: white #FFFFFF, off-white #FAF8F4, tint #F3F1EC, border #E6E2DA,
          muted text #6B6862.
          Brass #C8A35B is the single accent, about 10% of the design: buttons and one
          key figure. Always slate text on brass. Never brass text on a light ground.
          Functional colours, one job each, never decorative:
          steel #4E7CA1 for charts; Steel 600 #456E8E for secondary buttons and links;
          green #16A34A, amber #D97706, red #DC2626 for status only, always with words.
          Chart order: #4E7CA1 #C8A35B #4F9D8C #8C6A93 #C0795B #64748B

TYPE      Headings and big numbers: Bricolage Grotesque 700 or 800.
          Everything else: DM Sans 400 to 700. No other fonts.
          Left-aligned, sentence case headings, generous whitespace, 8px spacing grid.

LOGO      Use the real file. Never draw, recreate or generate it.
          Light grounds: https://brand.iceconnect.com/assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-light-bg.svg
          Dark grounds:  https://brand.iceconnect.com/assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-dark-bg.svg
          Only on slate, off-white or white. At least 120px wide.

ICONS     Lucide line icons, 1.75 stroke, slate. Never emoji.
IMAGES    Real, calm, natural light, slightly warm. AI images only for abstract backgrounds, never people.

CHECK before you finish: slate text on every brass fill, two fonts only, real logo,
no emoji, no em dashes, plain English, one call to action.

---
brand: iceConnect
system: Slate & Brass
style: Minimal, calm, confident
version: "3.4"
updated: "2026-09-29"
colors:
  slate: "#0F172A"        # dark grounds, body text
  brass: "#C8A35B"        # the single accent: buttons, key figures (use sparingly)
  brasstint: "#F2EBD9"    # callout / highlight panels
  offwhite: "#FAF8F4"     # page background (warm)
  tint: "#F3F1EC"         # subtle fills (warm)
  border: "#E6E2DA"       # hairlines & dividers (warm)
  borderStrong: "#D4CEC4" # emphasised dividers, ghost-button border (warm)
  muted: "#6B6862"        # secondary text, AA on every light ground (warm)
  warm600: "#4E4B46"      # stronger secondary text (warm)
  steel: "#4E7CA1"        # charts & information graphics only
  steel600: "#456E8E"     # secondary buttons & links (5.4:1 with white)
  steel700: "#3B5F7D"     # secondary hover
  success: { bg: "#DCFCE7", base: "#16A34A", text: "#15803D" }
  warning: { bg: "#FEF3C7", base: "#D97706", text: "#B45309" }
  error:   { bg: "#FEE2E2", base: "#DC2626", text: "#B91C1C" }
  info:    { bg: "#E8EFF5", base: "#4E7CA1", text: "#3B5F7D" }
typography:
  heading: { fontFamily: "Bricolage Grotesque", weight: 700, use: "titles, headlines, big numbers, hero" }
  body:    { fontFamily: "DM Sans", weight: 400, use: "paragraphs, labels, UI, buttons" }
  scale:   { cover: "40–80 fluid", display: 56, title: 32, heading: 22, subheading: 18, bodyLarge: 18, body: 16, small: 14, label: 13, pill: 12, caption: 11 }
spacing: { base: 8, half: 4, steps: [4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64] }
radius: { sm: 6, md: 8, lg: 12, xl: 20, full: 9999 }
breakpoint: { sm: 375, md: 768, lg: 1024, xl: 1440 }
zIndex: { base: 0, dropdown: 1000, sticky: 1100, overlay: 1200, modal: 1300, popover: 1400, toast: 1500 }
components:
  button-primary:   { backgroundColor: "#C8A35B", textColor: "#0F172A", rounded: 8, label: "verb, e.g. Set up monitoring" }
  button-secondary: { backgroundColor: "#456E8E", textColor: "#FFFFFF", rounded: 8 }
  card:             { backgroundColor: "#FFFFFF", border: "1px solid #E6E2DA", rounded: 12, shadow: "elevation.sm" }
  callout:          { backgroundColor: "#F2EBD9", borderLeft: "3px solid #C8A35B", rounded: 8 }
  input:            { border: "1px solid #E6E2DA", rounded: 8, focusBorder: "#C8A35B", focusRing: "#F2EBD9" }
---

# iceConnect DESIGN.md: complete brand and build system

Version 3.4, updated 2026-09-29. The full set of rules for anything made for iceConnect: marketing (decks, documents, web pages, adverts, emails) and product (screens, components, apps). Apply every rule below to all output.

## Which file do I need?

| You are… | Use | How |
|---|---|---|
| Writing or designing **one piece** in a chat: an email, post, slide, advert or short document (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) | **PROMPT.md**, the quick prompt (about 40 lines) | Open https://brand.iceconnect.com/dist/PROMPT.md, copy the prompt, paste it as your first message, then describe what you need. Or press **Copy AI quick prompt** at the top of https://brand.iceconnect.com |
| **Building** a website, app, tool or long document in **Claude Code** or **Codex** | **DESIGN.md**, this file | See the three steps below |
| A person checking a rule or downloading a logo | The guidelines page | https://brand.iceconnect.com |

**Using this file in Claude Code or Codex (three steps):**

1. Download https://brand.iceconnect.com/dist/DESIGN.md and save it in the root folder of your project as `DESIGN.md`.
2. Tell your AI tool to read it:
   - **Claude Code:** add this line to the project's `CLAUDE.md` (create the file if it doesn't exist): `Follow the iceConnect brand rules in DESIGN.md for all design, code and copy.`
   - **Codex:** add the same line to the project's `AGENTS.md`.
3. Start your session and describe what you want to build. Download the file again when the brand changes (check the version at the top).

Other sources: tokens at https://brand.iceconnect.com/dist/tokens.json · CSS variables at https://brand.iceconnect.com/dist/theme.css · logo files at https://brand.iceconnect.com/#logo-downloads

How this file is organised: the six main sections (Overview · Colors · Typography · Elevation · Components · Do's and Don'ts) are the core specification. The appendices hold writing style and approved messaging, task recipes, responsive and performance rules, navigation and forms, logo and asset rules, and accessibility. The `tokens.json` block at the end is generated from the live token file; never edit it by hand.

## Rules at a glance

If you remember nothing else, follow these.

1. **Colour:** slate `#0F172A` leads, softened by warm neutrals (off-white `#FAF8F4`). Brass `#C8A35B` is the only accent, about 10% of any design: buttons and one key figure.
2. **Text on brass is always slate,** never white. Never use brass or steel as a text colour on a light ground.
3. **Two fonts only:** Bricolage Grotesque for headings and big numbers, DM Sans for everything else.
4. **Real logo only:** use the supplied files. Never draw, redraw, recolour or generate the logo.
5. **Icons:** Lucide line icons at a 1.75 stroke. Never emoji.
6. **Status colours** (green, amber, red) mean status only, and always come with words or an icon.
7. **Plain UK English** for busy business owners who are not IT specialists. Benefit before technology.
8. **Writing:** always "iceConnect"; ISO 8601 dates and times (2026-09-27, 09:00); no em dashes; no exclamation marks in client copy.
9. **One call to action** per piece, verb first.
10. **Accessible:** WCAG 2.2 AA contrast, a visible focus state on every control, alt text on every image.

---

## Overview

iceConnect is a UK Managed Service Provider (MSP). We deliver IT support, cyber security, cloud, communications and AI services to small and mid-sized UK businesses.

- Heritage line: "Twenty years of innovation." Strapline: "Reliable. Scalable. Secure."
- Offices: London HQ (Finchley), Chelmsford, Johannesburg.
- Web www.iceconnect.com · Email hello@iceconnect.com · Tel 020 3358 0000 · Support portal support.iceconnect.com

**Who we write for:** owners and managers of UK businesses, mostly with 30 to 200 staff, in financial services, dental, manufacturing and logistics. They are experts in their own business, not in IT. They buy outcomes (uptime, security, a predictable monthly cost), never technology for its own sake.

**House style: minimal, calm, confident.** Slate-led, brass used sparingly, generous whitespace, restrained motion, plain language. We look like a trusted adviser, not a loud vendor.

**Working rules:** reference design tokens by role (Appendix F), never raw hex in components. Ship light and dark themes for product work. Every piece gets one clear call to action. Full writing rules are in Appendix A.

### Services: 10 pillars

Use these names exactly, with the paired Lucide icon (Appendix E). Every piece of marketing speaks to at least one.

1. **IT Support** (headset): day-to-day support that keeps people productive. Service desk and remote support, onsite support, onboarding and offboarding, device deployment, hardware procurement, asset management, proactive monitoring (RMM), patch management, vendor management.
2. **Cyber Security** (shield-half): protection for people, devices and data. EDR/XDR, managed detection and response, 24/7 SOC, email security and anti-phishing, DNS and web filtering, MFA and conditional access, identity and privileged access, awareness training, dark-web monitoring.
3. **Governance, Risk & Compliance** (scale): proving and maintaining security posture. Vulnerability management, penetration testing, data loss prevention, Cyber Essentials and Plus, GDPR and data protection, data governance, risk assessments, technology audits, policy support.
4. **Microsoft 365 & Productivity** (app-window): helping teams work better together. Licensing and optimisation, tenant management, Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, email migration, productivity training.
5. **Cloud & Infrastructure** (cloud): the platforms everything runs on. Azure and AWS, private and hybrid cloud, hosting and co-location, virtualisation, server and storage, infrastructure design, monitoring, migration, capacity planning.
6. **Network & On-Premise Infrastructure** (network): the on-site backbone. Switching and LAN/WAN, Wi-Fi and guest networks, managed routers and firewalls, structured cabling, network design and monitoring, site surveys.
7. **Communications & Connectivity** (phone): voice and connectivity. Business internet and leased lines, SD-WAN, VoIP and hosted telephony, Teams Calling, contact centre, call recording, auto attendants, business mobiles, continuity telephony.
8. **Backup & Business Continuity** (database): confidence you can recover from anything. Microsoft 365 backup, server and endpoint backup, cloud backup, disaster recovery, continuity planning, recovery testing, ransomware recovery, high availability.
9. **AI & Automation** (bot): emerging technology put to work. Copilot adoption, AI readiness assessments, AI governance and security, process automation, Power Automate, chatbots, knowledge management, custom AI.
10. **Strategy & Projects** (target): guidance and delivery for what comes next. vCIO/CIO services, IT roadmaps, technology and budget planning, digital transformation, project delivery and migrations, office moves, M&A support, due diligence.

---

## Colors

Reference colours by role, never raw hex in components (Appendix F). The palette is slate-led with warm neutrals; brass is the single accent. The warm neutrals keep the navy from feeling cold and sit comfortably with brass.

### Core palette (HEX · RGB · CMYK · Pantone)

| Token | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| slate | `#0F172A` | 15,23,42 | 64,45,0,84 | 5255 C | dark grounds, body text |
| brass | `#C8A35B` | 200,163,91 | 0,18,55,22 | 4006 C | the single accent: buttons, highlights, key figures. Use sparingly |
| brasstint | `#F2EBD9` | 242,235,217 | 0,3,10,5 | n/a | callout and highlight panel fills |
| offwhite | `#FAF8F4` | 250,248,244 | 0,1,2,2 | n/a | page background (warm) |
| tint | `#F3F1EC` | 243,241,236 | 0,1,3,5 | n/a | subtle fills, alternating bands (warm) |
| border | `#E6E2DA` | 230,226,218 | 0,2,5,10 | n/a | hairlines and dividers |
| border-strong | `#D4CEC4` | 212,206,196 | 0,3,8,17 | n/a | emphasised dividers, ghost-button border |
| muted | `#6B6862` | 107,104,98 | 0,3,8,58 | n/a | secondary text; passes AA on every light ground |
| warm-600 | `#4E4B46` | 78,75,70 | 0,4,10,69 | n/a | stronger secondary text |

### Functional colours (one job each)

These sit outside the brand proportions and are never decorative.

| Token | HEX | RGB | CMYK | Pantone | Job |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| steel | `#4E7CA1` | 78,124,161 | 52,23,0,37 | 5415 C | charts, data graphics and info messages. Never with text on it |
| steel-600 | `#456E8E` | 69,110,142 | 51,23,0,44 | screen only | secondary buttons and links (5.4:1 with white) |
| steel-700 | `#3B5F7D` | 59,95,125 | 53,24,0,51 | screen only | secondary button hover and pressed; info text |
| success | `#16A34A` | 22,163,74 | 86,0,55,36 | n/a | success status only |
| warning | `#D97706` | 217,119,6 | 0,45,97,15 | n/a | warning status only |
| error | `#DC2626` | 220,38,38 | 0,83,83,14 | n/a | error status only |

#### Status sets (UI states only)

Never decorative, never in headings, buttons, illustrations or backgrounds. Each status is a set: a tint background, a base colour for icons and fills, and a darker text shade that passes AA on white. Never set words in the base colour.

| Status | Background | Base (icon, fill) | Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| success | `#DCFCE7` | `#16A34A` | `#15803D` |
| warning | `#FEF3C7` | `#D97706` | `#B45309` (deeper than brass so the two never get confused) |
| error | `#FEE2E2` | `#DC2626` | `#B91C1C` |
| info | `#E8EFF5` | `#4E7CA1` | `#3B5F7D` |

### Colour rules

- **Proportion, dark-led** (covers, heroes, slide dividers, social posts, footers): 60% slate, 30% neutrals, 10% brass.
- **Proportion, light-led** (documents, reports, web pages, apps): 60% neutrals, 30% slate, 10% brass.
- Neutrals are the warm off-white, white and warm tint. Steel and the status colours sit outside both proportions.
- Light surfaces use the warm neutrals; dark mode keeps its slate greys.
- Approved text pairings: white on slate (17.9:1) · slate on brass (7.5:1) · slate on off-white (16.8:1) · white on Steel 600 (5.4:1).
- White on steel `#4E7CA1` is 4.45:1 and fails AA. Use Steel 600 for anything with text on it.
- Secondary text is muted `#6B6862` on every light ground: white (5.6:1), off-white (5.2:1), tint (4.9:1) and brass tint (4.7:1). Use warm-600 `#4E4B46` when it needs more weight.
- **Never white text on brass** (2.4:1). Brass is light, so always use slate text on a brass fill, including buttons.
- For print, give the printer the CMYK and Pantone values. Never let software convert from RGB automatically, and ask for a physical proof on brochures.

### Data visualisation (charts, dashboards, reports; decks and product)

Keep series muted to match the brand, and apply them through your charting library's theme.

- **Categorical** (use in this order; steel and brass lead): `#4E7CA1` steel · `#C8A35B` brass · `#4F9D8C` teal · `#8C6A93` plum · `#C0795B` clay · `#64748B` slate. Past six series, group the rest into "Other" or rethink the chart.
- **Sequential** (one measure, low to high, single-hue steel): `#ECF2F7` · `#C2D5E3` · `#8FB1CB` · `#5E8BAC` · `#3B5F7D`
- **Diverging** (around a target; red and green ends): `#B91C1C` · `#F2B8B8` · `#F3F1EC` (neutral midpoint) · `#A7E3BE` · `#15803D`
- **Status in a chart:** success `#16A34A` · warning `#D97706` · error `#DC2626`.
- Always pair colour with a second cue (a label, value or pattern) so charts work for colour-blind readers and in greyscale. In dark mode, re-theme the gridlines, axes and background, and keep the series colours. Use tabular figures for numbers.

---

## Typography

Both fonts are free on Google Fonts: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Bricolage+Grotesque and https://fonts.google.com/specimen/DM+Sans

- **Headings:** Bricolage Grotesque 700 or 800. Titles, headlines, big numbers and hero text only.
- **Body:** DM Sans 400, 500, 600 or 700. Paragraphs, labels, captions, interface text and buttons.
- Install the static weights: Bricolage Grotesque 700 and 800; DM Sans 400, 500, 600 and 700.
- Use the plain family names. Never the optical-size variants such as "DM Sans 14pt", which break font matching between Mac and Windows.
- Never set body copy in Bricolage Grotesque, and never use it below 18px on screen or 14pt in print. Below that, use DM Sans Bold.
- Line height: headings tight (1.0 to 1.1); body 1.25 to 1.3 in slides and print, 1.5 on screen.
- Left-align everything except covers and section titles. Never centre body copy.
- When a deck or document leaves iceConnect, embed the fonts (PowerPoint and Word: File › Options › Save › Embed fonts) or send a PDF. Arial is the fallback.

**Slides and print (points):**

| Role | Font | Slides | Print |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Bricolage 800 | 72–80pt (title slide) | 54–60pt (covers) |
| Display | Bricolage 800 | 54–60pt | 40pt (section openers) |
| Title · H1 | Bricolage 700 | 36–40pt | 26pt |
| Heading · H2 | Bricolage 700 | 24–28pt | 16pt |
| Subheading · H3 | Bricolage 700 (DM Sans 700 in print) | 20pt | 11.5pt |
| Body | DM Sans 400 | 18–20pt | 10.5–11pt |
| Small | DM Sans 400 | 14pt | 9pt |
| Caption | DM Sans 600, tracked uppercase | 12pt | 8pt |

**Screen (rem on a 16px base; iOS points and Android sp use the same numbers):**

| Style | Font · weight | Size | Line height | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Bricolage 800 | 40–80px fluid: `clamp(2.5rem, 5.5vw, 5rem)` | 1.0 | -0.02em; one per piece, covers only |
| Display / Hero | Bricolage 800 | 56px / 3.5rem | 1.0 | -0.02em |
| Title · H1 | Bricolage 700 | 32px / 2rem | 1.05 | -0.01em |
| Heading · H2 | Bricolage 700 | 22px / 1.375rem | 1.1 | |
| Subheading · H3 | Bricolage 700 | 18px / 1.125rem | 1.25 | |
| Body Large | DM Sans 400 | 18px | 1.55 | |
| Body | DM Sans 400 | 16px | 1.5 | base |
| Body Small | DM Sans 400 | 14px | 1.45 | helper text |
| Label | DM Sans 600 | 13px | 1.3 | |
| Caption | DM Sans 600 | 11px | n/a | 0.12em, uppercase |
| Pill / Badge | DM Sans 500 | 12px | 1.0 | status and metadata labels |

Cover is the only fluid size: 40px on phones, growing to 80px at 1440px and wider. Use it once per piece, only on covers: the brand site hero, report and brochure covers, a deck's title slide and event screens. Landing page and web page heroes use Display. On phones, bring Display down to about 40px too.

Use tabular figures for data columns, prices and timers. On Android use sp, never dp; on iOS map to Dynamic Type styles.

---

## Elevation

Spacing, radius, shadows, layering and motion: the scales that give every screen the same rhythm. All built on an 8px base.

### Spacing

8px base with a 4px half-step: `4 · 8 · 12 · 16 · 24 · 32 · 48 · 64`. Page margins: 24px on the web, 0.85in on slides. Keep generous whitespace and a consistent left edge.

### Radius

sm 6 (chips, small controls) · md 8 (buttons, inputs) · lg 12 (cards) · xl 20 (panels) · full 9999 (pills, avatars).

### Shadows

Soft slate shadows on a fixed scale; never invent values.

- `elevation.sm` `0 1px 2px rgba(15,23,42,0.06)`: inputs, chips
- `elevation.md` `0 2px 8px rgba(15,23,42,0.08)`: cards, popovers
- `elevation.lg` `0 8px 24px rgba(15,23,42,0.12)`: modals, sheets

In dark mode, shadows mostly disappear. Separate surfaces with a `border.default` hairline instead.

### Layering (z-index)

One scale with seven named tiers. Stay on it; never use ad-hoc values such as `z-index: 9999`.

| Tier | z | Use |
|---|---|---|
| base | 0 | page content, normal flow |
| dropdown | 1000 | menus, selects, comboboxes |
| sticky | 1100 | sticky headers and toolbars |
| overlay | 1200 | modal scrim or backdrop |
| modal | 1300 | dialogs and sheets |
| popover | 1400 | popovers and tooltips |
| toast | 1500 | short-lived alerts, above everything |

### Motion

- **Duration:** fast 120ms (hovers, toggles) · base 180ms (most transitions) · slow 280ms (modals, drawers).
- **Easing:** `cubic-bezier(0.2,0,0,1)` for entrances and moves; linear only for spinners. Exits take about 60 to 70% of the entrance time.
- Animate transform and opacity only, and always honour `prefers-reduced-motion` by dropping non-essential animation.
- **Pulse:** the one looping animation (2.4s, ease-out, infinite). A ring expands from a live status dot and fades by 70% of the loop, then rests. The colour comes from the status. Pure CSS; it stops under reduced motion.

---

## Components

Build each component once, with every state, and reuse it everywhere. Reference tokens by role.

Exact values are in the `component.*` group of `tokens.json` and ship as `.ic-*` classes in `theme.css`. The live demos on the guidelines page use the same values.

### Buttons

**Primary** (`.ic-btn .ic-btn--primary` · `component.button`): brass fill, slate label.

| Property | Default | Hover | Active | Focus | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | brass `#C8A35B` | `#BC9550` | `#B89149` | brass | brass at 40% |
| Text | slate | slate | slate | slate | slate at 40% |
| Ring | none | none | none | 2px muted `#6B6862` (brass on dark), 2px gap | none |

On dark surfaces, hover lightens instead: `#D4B373`.

**Geometry (all buttons):** radius 8px · DM Sans 700 · padding 11 × 20px (medium), 8 × 14px (`.ic-btn--sm`), 14 × 26px (`.ic-btn--lg`) · font 14px, 12.5px, 15px · disabled at 40% opacity.

**Secondary** (`.ic-btn--secondary`): Steel 600 `#456E8E` fill, white label; hover Steel 700 `#3B5F7D`.

**Ghost** (`.ic-btn--ghost`): transparent, slate text, 1px `#D4CEC4` border; hover tint `#F3F1EC`.

**Loading:** keep the button's width, show a small spinner beside a present-tense label ("Saving"), and block repeat clicks.

### Cards and callouts

**Card** (`.ic-card` · `component.card`): white fill, 1px `#E6E2DA` border, `elevation.sm`, radius 12, padding 24. The core content container.

**Callout** (`.ic-callout` · `component.callout`): brass-tint fill with a 3px brass rule on the left, radius 8, padding 16 × 20px. For the one thing a reader must not miss.

### Form fields

**Input** (`.ic-field` · `component.input`): white fill, 1px `#E6E2DA` border, radius 8, padding 10 × 13px, at least 44px tall on mobile.

- **Focus:** brass border with a 3px brass-tint ring.
- **Error:** red border with a 3px red-tint ring `rgba(220,38,38,0.12)`, and a message beside the field with an icon and words.
- **Disabled:** tint fill, muted text.

Always a visible label, never a placeholder alone. Mark required fields, put helper text below the field, and validate when the reader leaves the field, not on every keystroke. Write errors as the problem and the fix ("Choose a band so we can tailor your quote", not "Invalid input"). Use the right input type (email, tel, number) so phones show the right keyboard.

### Status: pills, banners and live dots

Built from the status colour sets. Always pair colour with an icon or words.

- **Status pill:** a rounded pill with a 1px border, a short sentence-case label and a status dot (`.ic-pill`, `.ic-dot`). Live states (uptime, recording, monitoring) use the pulse. Light surfaces: white fill, hairline border, muted text. Dark surfaces: translucent white fill and border, light text.
- **Status banner:** a message in the status tint with a matching icon, a bold title and one line of detail in the status text shade (`.ic-banner--success | --warning | --error | --info`). One state per banner.

### Reports and dashboards

- **Key figures:** large Bricolage 800 numbers with a short label below. Give only the most important figure in a row a brass underline.
- **Data tables:** slate header row with white text, hairline row dividers, numbers right-aligned in tabular figures, status shown as a small tinted chip with words.
- One chart per page or slide at most; use the chart palette in order.

### Empty and loading states

- **Empty state:** never a blank panel. An icon, a short title, one line of context and one next action ("No tickets yet. Raise your first ticket").
- **Loading:** for waits over about 300ms, show a skeleton that reserves the final layout so nothing shifts (CLS under 0.1), not a blocking spinner. For longer jobs, add a progress bar and say what is happening.

### Navigation (full patterns in Appendix D)

The current location is always marked with a brass indicator and slate weight; everything else stays muted until hovered. Top-bar links and tabs use a brass underline (2px links, 3px tabs). Sidebar rows and mega-menu items use a brass-tint fill with a 2px brass line on the left edge. One primary action per bar. Icons always carry a text label.

### Microcopy

Buttons are verbs ("Set up monitoring", "Download report"). Errors say what happened and the fix. Empty states give one next action. Labels are plain ("Work email"). Never vague buttons ("Submit", "OK", "Click here"), raw codes ("Error 0x80004005") or shouting ("INVALID INPUT").

---

## Do's and Don'ts

### Voice

Our readers run businesses; they are not IT specialists.

We sound: plain enough for a busy owner to understand at a glance · confident and reassuring · clear about the benefit, not the technology · warm and human, like a trusted adviser · specific and honest.

We never sound: full of acronyms and jargon · boastful or hyped · cold, corporate or robotic · patronising · vague ("solutions", "synergy", "best-in-class").

**Say this, not that:**

| Say | Not |
|---|---|
| keep your systems running | maximise uptime, high availability |
| protect your business | endpoint threat mitigation |
| back up your data | immutable backup architecture |
| we'll set it up for you | seamless deployment and onboarding |
| help when you need it | 24/7 SLA-backed support tiers |
| a second check when you sign in | MFA, conditional access policies |
| we watch for attacks day and night | 24/7 SOC with SIEM correlation |
| move you to the cloud | cloud transformation journey |
| a fixed monthly cost | OpEx-aligned consumption model |
| we'll fix it | we'll remediate the issue |

**Before and after:**

- Before (too technical): "Our proactive RMM platform leverages enterprise-grade SIEM and EDR to deliver best-in-class threat remediation across your entire estate."
- After (plain and confident): "We watch over your computers around the clock and stop most problems before you'd ever notice them, so your team can get on with work."

### Do

- Let slate and neutrals carry the design, with brass as the single accent and slate text on every brass fill.
- Use Bricolage Grotesque for headings and DM Sans for everything else.
- Keep generous whitespace and a consistent left edge.
- Use the supplied logo files and Lucide line icons.
- Write in plain UK English, following the writing style in Appendix A.
- Give every piece one clear call to action.
- For product work: reference tokens by role, ship light and dark, and give every control a visible focus state and a 44px (iOS) or 48dp (Android) tap target.

### Don't

- Don't set white text on brass, or use status colours as decoration.
- Don't use emoji as icons, filled icons, or a second icon set.
- Don't generate, redraw or recolour the logo.
- Don't centre body copy, invent off-scale spacing or z-index values, or remove focus states without replacing them.
- Don't publish a figure or claim we can't back up.

### Checklist before you finish

- [ ] UK English; "iceConnect" spelled correctly; ISO 8601 dates and times; no em dashes; no exclamation marks in client copy
- [ ] Slate leads, brass is sparing, slate text on every brass fill
- [ ] Bricolage Grotesque headings and DM Sans body, nothing else
- [ ] Lucide line icons only; the real logo file, at least 120px wide
- [ ] Status colours only for status, with words or an icon
- [ ] Charts use the palette in order, with labels, and read in greyscale
- [ ] One clear call to action
- [ ] Every sentence makes sense to a non-technical business owner
- [ ] Images have alt text; documents use real heading styles
- [ ] Product: tokens by role, light and dark handled, focus states and tap targets on every control, works at 375, 768, 1024 and 1440px

---

## Appendix A: Writing style and approved messaging

### House writing rules

| Topic | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Our name | One word, lowercase i, capital C, even at the start of a sentence | iceConnect, never ICEconnect, Ice Connect or IceConnect |
| Spelling | UK English | organise, colour, licence (noun), programme |
| Headings | Sentence case; service names keep their capitals | How we protect your data · Cyber Security |
| Dates | ISO 8601 everywhere: year, month, day | 2026-09-27 · 2026-09 |
| Times | ISO 8601, 24-hour clock; a space between date and time | 09:00 · 2026-09-27 14:30 · 09:00–17:30 |
| Numbers | One to nine in words, 10 and above in numerals; always numerals for money, statistics and percentages | three offices · 20 years · 40% |
| Money | Pound sign, no pence unless they matter, units spelled out | £45 per user per month |
| Punctuation | No em dashes: use a full stop, comma or colon. No exclamation marks in client copy. "and" in sentences; "&" only in names and tight labels | We set it up. You get on with work. |
| Acronyms | Avoid them; if you must use one, explain it in plain words the first time | multi-factor authentication (a second check when you sign in) |
| Calls to action | One per piece, verb first, with a specific outcome | Book a 20-minute IT health check, never "Learn more" |
| Phone | Spaced UK format | 020 3358 0000 |
| File names | Client, document and ISO date, no spaces | ClientName-IT-Review-2026-09-27.pdf |

### Positioning

"iceConnect keeps UK businesses running, secure and ready for what's next. We look after the technology so owners and managers can get on with running the business."

### Boilerplate (use these rather than writing a new "about us")

**Short (27 words):** iceConnect is a UK managed IT provider. For 20 years we have kept businesses running and secure, from everyday IT support to cyber security, cloud and AI.

**Medium (55 words):** iceConnect is a UK managed IT provider with offices in London, Chelmsford and Johannesburg. For 20 years we have looked after the technology behind growing businesses, so their people can get on with work. We cover IT support, cyber security, compliance, Microsoft 365, cloud, networks, communications, backup, AI and IT strategy, all from one team.

**Long (112 words):** iceConnect is a UK managed IT provider with offices in London, Chelmsford and Johannesburg. For 20 years we have looked after the technology behind businesses of 30 to 200 people, with particular depth in financial services, dental, manufacturing and logistics. Our clients get a UK service desk that picks up, security that watches around the clock, and a named team that knows their business. We cover 10 areas, from everyday IT support and cyber security to cloud, communications, backup and AI, so there is one partner to call and one monthly cost to plan around. We explain things in plain English and measure ourselves on one thing: whether your business keeps running.

Never invent statistics, client names, certifications or quotes. If a figure is needed and not supplied, leave a clearly marked placeholder such as [client count].

---

## Appendix B: Task recipes

Use this file first, then add one recipe as your request. Swap the service, sector and call to action to suit. Bigger builds (a full landing page, a product dashboard) deserve their own considered brief.

**Email sequence:** "Write a three-email onboarding sequence for a newly signed managed IT client. Reader: the operations lead at a firm of 30 to 200 staff, busy and non-technical. Emails: (1) welcome and what happens next, (2) meet your service desk and how to raise a ticket, (3) your first 30-day review. One call to action per email, with a subject line and preview line for each. Warm, plain English. Deliver plain text, then HTML at 600px wide in DM Sans with Arial fallback, slate text on white and one brass button per email."

**Review deck:** "Build a five-slide quarterly business review for a client: where we started, what we did, the result (one hero number), risks handled, what's next. One idea per slide and one chart at most. Slate cover, light content slides, brass only on the key figure, charts in the palette with labels. Output self-contained HTML slides that import theme.css, with keyboard navigation and a progress bar."

**Social ad:** "Produce three concepts for a LinkedIn single-image ad (1200 × 1200) for Backup & Business Continuity, aimed at finance-sector operations leaders worried about ransomware. Each: a headline under seven words about the outcome, a one-line subhead and a layout note. Keep text under 20% of the image and inside the central 80%. Slate background, one brass accent, the real logo on slate, one Lucide icon, no emoji and no stock clichés. Call to action: Test your recovery plan. Output HTML and CSS at exactly 1200 × 1200."

**Case study:** "Write a one-page case study (challenge, solution, results) about a wealth-management firm we moved off ageing on-premise IT, for similar growing finance firms. Three results as large Bricolage figures in brass, one client quote, and a list of services used from the 10 pillars. Use placeholders for any figure or quote not supplied. Call to action: Book a 20-minute IT health check. Output a responsive HTML page using theme.css, light and dark, print-friendly."

**Brand check:** "Check the attached work against these rules. List every issue as must fix, should fix or nice to have, with where it is and the exact fix. Check: brass use and slate text on brass, fonts, logo file and placement, icons, contrast, jargon, UK spelling, our name, dates and numbers, em dashes, and one call to action. Finish with pass or fail and the three changes that would help most."

---

## Appendix C: Responsive and performance

### Breakpoints (mobile-first minimum widths)

`sm 375` (phone) · `md 768` (tablet) · `lg 1024` (laptop) · `xl 1440` (desktop). Design for the narrowest screen first, then add enhancements at each width. No horizontal scroll and no fixed-width containers. Screens 1024px and wider suit a sidebar; smaller screens use a top bar and bottom navigation.

### Performance

- **Fonts:** `font-display: swap` on every face so text never disappears while loading; load only the weights you use.
- **Photos:** WebP or AVIF with `srcset`, and `loading="lazy"` below the fold. Logos and icons stay SVG; never rasterise the mark.
- **Layout stability:** set `width` and `height` or `aspect-ratio`, and reserve space for content that loads later (CLS under 0.1).
- **Perceived speed:** skeletons for waits over about 300ms; defer non-critical scripts; respond to taps within 100ms.

---

## Appendix D: Navigation and forms (detail)

### Navigation patterns

- **Top bar:** logo left, links left-aligned (the current one with a 2px brass underline), one brass call-to-action button on the right.
- **Mega-menu:** a multi-column dropdown for deep catalogues such as Services. White panel, soft shadow, radius 14, column headings in muted capitals. Active item: brass-tint fill with a 2px brass left edge. Click to open, click outside to close.
- **Tabs:** switch views within one page; the active tab has a 3px brass underline on a hairline baseline.
- **Breadcrumb:** for hierarchies three or more levels deep; the last item is the current page, in slate, not a link.
- **Sidebar:** app shells on screens 1024px and wider. Icon-and-label rows; the active row gets a brass-tint fill, a brass icon and a 2px brass left edge. Groups collapse, with headings in muted capitals.
- **Mobile:** a top bar with the logo and a menu button that opens a full-height overlay, plus a bottom tab bar of five items at most. Never nest sub-navigation in the bottom bar.

Keep navigation in the same place on every page; don't mix tabs, sidebar and bottom navigation at one level; always highlight the current location; make every key screen reachable by its own link; keep destructive actions apart from normal navigation.

### Forms and feedback

A visible label on every input; mark required fields; helper text below complex inputs; validate when the reader leaves a field; errors below the field with an icon, words and a way to fix it. Group related fields. Show read-only differently from disabled. Multi-step forms show progress and allow going back. Long forms save drafts. Toasts disappear after 3 to 5 seconds and don't take focus. Confirm before anything destructive, and offer undo where possible.

---

## Appendix E: Logo, icons and photography

### Logo: use the supplied files only

A four-colour circular "C" mark (blue, orange and lime, with a magenta centre) beside the lowercase "iceconnect" wordmark: grey wordmark on light grounds, white on dark. Never draw, redraw, re-export or generate it.

The `/assets/logo/` folder can't be browsed, so never guess a filename. Exact paths under `https://brand.iceconnect.com/` (SVG is the main web format):

- Full logo, light ground: `assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-light-bg.svg`
- Full logo, dark ground: `assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-dark-bg.svg`
- Full logo, one colour: `assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-mono-black.svg` (on light) or `assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-logo-mono-white.svg` (on dark)
- Icon only, the "C" mark: `assets/logo/svg/iceconnect-icon.svg`, plus `iceconnect-icon-mono-black.svg` and `iceconnect-icon-mono-white.svg` in the same folder
- Favicon and app icons: `assets/logo/favicon/iceconnect-favicon.svg` (plus `-32.png` and `-64.png`), `assets/logo/png/apple-touch-icon.png`, `web-app-icon-192.png`, `web-app-icon-512.png`, `maskable-icon-512.png`
- Other formats use the same base names: `png/<name>-<size>.png` (full logo 300, 600 or 1200; icon 128, 256, 512 or 1024), `pdf/<name>.pdf` and `eps/<name>.eps` for print. Previews: `https://brand.iceconnect.com/#logo-downloads`

Place the logo only on slate, off-white or white. Never on brass, steel, any other colour, or a busy photo without a slate scrim. Clear space equals the height of the "i" on all sides. Minimum width 120px on screen or 25mm in print; smaller than that, use the icon-only mark. Never stretch, recolour, rotate, add effects or retype it. Use PNG only where SVG isn't supported, such as email and Office.

### Icons

Lucide line icons only (https://lucide.dev): never filled, never mixed with another set, never multi-colour, never emoji. Set the stroke to 1.75 (`strokeWidth={1.75}`); Lucide defaults to 2. Slate by default, brass for one highlighted icon per layout.

- Working set: users · server · gauge · triangle-alert · headset · shield-half · scale · app-window · cloud · network · phone · database · bot · target · circle-check · chart-line · clock-4 · pound-sterling · lock · trending-up · handshake · map-pin
- Service icons: IT Support headset · Cyber Security shield-half · Governance, Risk & Compliance scale · Microsoft 365 & Productivity app-window · Cloud & Infrastructure cloud · Network & On-Premise Infrastructure network · Communications & Connectivity phone · Backup & Business Continuity database · AI & Automation bot · Strategy & Projects target
- List bullets: a small brass circle-check, not dashes or dots.
- Packages: `lucide-react` (web) and `lucide-react-native` (mobile).

### Photography

Premium, calm and real: real people in real UK workplaces, natural light, shallow depth of field, uncluttered compositions with room to breathe, and natural light with a slightly warm, soft grade that sits with slate and brass. Where a brand tone is needed, add a subtle slate overlay or a light brass highlight.

Avoid handshake and headset stock, harsh saturated colour, server-room clichés, heavy filters, busy backgrounds behind a logo, and anything staged or low resolution.

**AI-generated images:** only for abstract backgrounds, textures and illustrations. Never people, our team or clients, or anything presented as a real event, office or result. Style prompt: "Minimal, calm, premium abstract background. Deep slate navy (#0F172A) with soft natural light and subtle brass (#C8A35B) highlights, cool and slightly desaturated. Clean and uncluttered with lots of negative space. No text, no people, no logos."

---

## Appendix F: Design tokens, platform and accessibility

### Reference tokens by role, never raw hex

- Text: `text.primary` · `text.secondary` · `text.on-tint` · `text.inverse` · `text.on-accent`
- Backgrounds: `bg.page` · `bg.surface` · `bg.muted` · `bg.accent` · `bg.inverse`
- Borders: `border.default` · `border.strong`
- Actions: `action.primary` (brass, slate label) · `action.secondary` (Steel 600, white label)
- Focus: `focus.ring` (muted `#6B6862` on light grounds, brass on dark)
- Status: `status.success` · `status.warning` · `status.error` · `status.info`

Ship light and dark by swapping the semantic layer; in dark mode, separate surfaces with `border.default` rather than shadow. Values are in the `tokens.json` block below and at https://brand.iceconnect.com/dist/tokens.json; CSS variables (`var(--ic-*)`) are in `theme.css`.

### Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA, non-negotiable)

- Contrast of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and interface graphics. Test light and dark separately.
- A visible focus state on every control: buttons and links get a 2px outline with a 2px gap (muted `#6B6862` on light, brass on dark); form fields get a brass border with a tint ring.
- Tap targets at least 44 × 44px on iOS and 48 × 48dp on Android.
- Pair every status colour with an icon or words. Label every input and icon-only button.
- Headings in order with no skipped levels, a skip-to-content link, and keyboard order that matches the visual order.
- Honour `prefers-reduced-motion`. Brass and steel are accents, not text colours on light grounds.

### Decks and documents

- Alt text on every image and chart.
- Use Word's and PowerPoint's real heading styles so exported PDFs are tagged and readable by screen readers.
- Check the reading order in PowerPoint's Selection pane.
- Minimum sizes: body at least 16px on screen, 18pt on slides and 10.5pt in documents. Never set the heading font below 18px or 14pt.

### Platform

Follow native conventions (iOS Human Interface Guidelines, Android Material, the web) for layout, navigation and gestures, and apply iceConnect's colour, type, icons and voice on top.

---

## tokens.json (machine-readable, W3C / Style Dictionary format)

<!-- GENERATED from dist/tokens.json by tools/build-tokens.py. Do NOT edit the JSON block below by hand.
     Edit dist/tokens.json, then run: python3 tools/build-tokens.py  (see tools/BUILD.md) -->

```json
{
  "color": {
    "primitive": {
      "slate":        { "value": "#0F172A" },
      "slate-800":    { "value": "#1E293B" },
      "slate-700":    { "value": "#334155" },
      "slate-600":    { "value": "#475569" },
      "slate-500":    { "value": "#64748B" },
      "slate-300":    { "value": "#CBD5E1" },
      "slate-200":    { "value": "#E2E8F0" },
      "slate-100":    { "value": "#F1F5F9" },
      "offwhite":     { "value": "#FAF8F4" },
      "warm-100":     { "value": "#F3F1EC", "comment": "tint: fills, alternating bands" },
      "warm-200":     { "value": "#E6E2DA", "comment": "hairlines, dividers, card borders" },
      "warm-300":     { "value": "#D4CEC4", "comment": "emphasised dividers, ghost-button border" },
      "warm-500":     { "value": "#6B6862", "comment": "secondary text: AA on every light ground" },
      "warm-600":     { "value": "#4E4B46", "comment": "stronger secondary text" },
      "white":        { "value": "#FFFFFF" },
      "brass":        { "value": "#C8A35B" },
      "brass-hover":  { "value": "#BC9550" },
      "brass-hover-dark": { "value": "#D4B373", "comment": "hover on dark surfaces LIGHTENS brass (light surfaces darken it)" },
      "brass-active": { "value": "#B89149" },
      "brass-tint":   { "value": "#F2EBD9" },
      "steel":        { "value": "#4E7CA1", "comment": "charts and information graphics only" },
      "steel-600":    { "value": "#456E8E", "comment": "secondary buttons and links (5.4:1 with white)" },
      "steel-700":    { "value": "#3B5F7D", "comment": "secondary hover" },
      "success":      { "value": "#16A34A" },
      "warning":      { "value": "#D97706" },
      "error":        { "value": "#DC2626" }
    },
    "semantic": {
      "light": {
        "text-primary":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "text-secondary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-500}" },
        "text-on-tint":           { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-600}", "comment": "stronger secondary text on tint and brass-tint fills" },
        "text-inverse":           { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "text-on-accent":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-page":                { "value": "{color.primitive.offwhite}" },
        "bg-surface":             { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "bg-muted":               { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" },
        "bg-accent":              { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
        "bg-inverse":             { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "border-default":         { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-200}" },
        "border-strong":          { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-300}" },
        "action-primary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
        "action-primary-hover":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover}" },
        "action-primary-active":  { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" },
        "action-primary-text":    { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "action-secondary":       { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" },
        "action-secondary-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" },
        "action-secondary-text":  { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "focus-ring":             { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-500}", "comment": "muted, buttons and links on light grounds (4.7:1 or better); form fields use a brass border and brass-tint ring (component.input)" }
      },
      "dark": {
        "text-primary":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-100}" },
        "text-secondary":         { "value": "#94A3B8" },
        "text-on-tint":           { "value": "#94A3B8" },
        "text-inverse":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "text-on-accent":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-page":                { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-surface":             { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-800}" },
        "bg-muted":               { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "bg-accent":              { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "bg-inverse":             { "value": "{color.primitive.offwhite}" },
        "border-default":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "border-strong":          { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-600}" },
        "action-primary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
        "action-primary-hover":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover-dark}" },
        "action-primary-active":  { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" },
        "action-primary-text":    { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "action-secondary":       { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" },
        "action-secondary-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" },
        "action-secondary-text":  { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "focus-ring":             { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}", "comment": "brass on dark grounds (7.5:1 on slate)" }
      }
    },
    "status": {
      "success": { "bg": { "value": "#DCFCE7" }, "base": { "value": "#16A34A" }, "text": { "value": "#15803D" } },
      "warning": { "bg": { "value": "#FEF3C7" }, "base": { "value": "#D97706" }, "text": { "value": "#B45309" } },
      "error":   { "bg": { "value": "#FEE2E2" }, "base": { "value": "#DC2626" }, "text": { "value": "#B91C1C" } },
      "info":    { "bg": { "value": "#E8EFF5" }, "base": { "value": "#4E7CA1" }, "text": { "value": "#3B5F7D" } }
    },
    "chart": {
      "categorical": { "value": ["#4E7CA1", "#C8A35B", "#4F9D8C", "#8C6A93", "#C0795B", "#64748B"] },
      "sequential":  { "value": ["#ECF2F7", "#C2D5E3", "#8FB1CB", "#5E8BAC", "#3B5F7D"] },
      "diverging":   { "value": ["#B91C1C", "#F2B8B8", "#F3F1EC", "#A7E3BE", "#15803D"] }
    }
  },
  "font": {
    "family":     { "heading": { "value": "Bricolage Grotesque" }, "body": { "value": "DM Sans" } },
    "weight":     { "regular": { "value": "400" }, "medium": { "value": "500" }, "semibold": { "value": "600" }, "bold": { "value": "700" }, "extrabold": { "value": "800" } },
    "size":       { "cover": { "value": "clamp(40px, 5.5vw, 80px)", "comment": "fluid: 40px on phones, 80px at 1440px and wider; one per piece, covers only" }, "display": { "value": "56px" }, "title": { "value": "32px" }, "heading": { "value": "22px" }, "subheading": { "value": "18px" }, "body-lg": { "value": "18px" }, "body": { "value": "16px" }, "small": { "value": "14px" }, "label": { "value": "13px" }, "pill": { "value": "12px" }, "caption": { "value": "11px" } },
    "lineHeight": { "display": { "value": "1.0" }, "heading": { "value": "1.1" }, "body": { "value": "1.5", "comment": "screen" }, "body-print": { "value": "1.3", "comment": "slides and print" } }
  },
  "space":  { "2xs": { "value": "4px" }, "xs": { "value": "8px" }, "sm": { "value": "12px" }, "md": { "value": "16px" }, "lg": { "value": "24px" }, "xl": { "value": "32px" }, "2xl": { "value": "48px" }, "3xl": { "value": "64px" } },
  "radius": { "sm": { "value": "6px" }, "md": { "value": "8px" }, "lg": { "value": "12px" }, "xl": { "value": "20px" }, "full": { "value": "9999px" } },
  "breakpoint": { "sm": { "value": "375px" }, "md": { "value": "768px" }, "lg": { "value": "1024px" }, "xl": { "value": "1440px" } },
  "zIndex": { "base": { "value": "0" }, "dropdown": { "value": "1000" }, "sticky": { "value": "1100" }, "overlay": { "value": "1200" }, "modal": { "value": "1300" }, "popover": { "value": "1400" }, "toast": { "value": "1500" } },
  "elevation": {
    "sm": { "value": "0 1px 2px rgba(15,23,42,0.06)" },
    "md": { "value": "0 2px 8px rgba(15,23,42,0.08)" },
    "lg": { "value": "0 8px 24px rgba(15,23,42,0.12)" }
  },
  "motion": {
    "duration": { "fast": { "value": "120ms" }, "base": { "value": "180ms" }, "slow": { "value": "280ms" } },
    "easing":   { "value": "cubic-bezier(0.2,0,0,1)" },
    "pulse": {
      "duration":   { "value": "2.4s" },
      "easing":     { "value": "ease-out" },
      "iteration":  { "value": "infinite" },
      "ring": {
        "start": { "spread": { "value": "0 0 0 0" },   "alpha": { "value": "0.7" } },
        "end":   { "spread": { "value": "0 0 0 8px" }, "alpha": { "value": "0" } },
        "fadeBy":{ "value": "70%", "comment": "ring fully expanded & faded by 70% of the loop; remaining 30% is a rest beat" }
      },
      "comment": { "value": "Expanding box-shadow ring that radiates from a live/active status dot and fades, then rests before repeating. Colour inherits from the status the element carries. Pure CSS; honour prefers-reduced-motion." }
    }
  },
  "component": {
    "_comment": "Exact specs for the reusable brand components: the single source of truth that index.html, theme.css (.ic-* classes) and DESIGN.md spec tables all derive from. Colours reference primitives/semantics; dimensions are literal and checked against index.html by build-tokens.py.",
    "button": {
      "radius":        { "value": "8px" },
      "font-size":     { "value": "14px" },
      "font-weight":   { "value": "700" },
      "padding":       { "value": "11px 20px" },
      "padding-sm":    { "value": "8px 14px" },
      "font-size-sm":  { "value": "12.5px" },
      "padding-lg":    { "value": "14px 26px" },
      "font-size-lg":  { "value": "15px" },
      "focus-outline": { "value": "2px" },
      "focus-offset":  { "value": "2px" },
      "disabled-opacity": { "value": "0.4" },
      "primary":   { "bg": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover}" }, "bg-active": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" } },
      "secondary": { "bg": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" } },
      "ghost":     { "bg": { "value": "transparent" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" }, "border": { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-300}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" } }
    },
    "input": {
      "radius":       { "value": "8px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "10px 13px" },
      "font-size":    { "value": "14px" },
      "min-height-touch": { "value": "44px", "comment": "minimum tap target on mobile" },
      "ring-width":   { "value": "3px" },
      "focus-border": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
      "focus-ring":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
      "error-border": { "value": "{color.primitive.error}" },
      "error-ring":   { "value": "rgba(220,38,38,0.12)" }
    },
    "card": {
      "radius":       { "value": "12px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "24px" },
      "border-width": { "value": "1px" },
      "border":       { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-200}" },
      "bg":           { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
      "shadow":       { "value": "{elevation.sm}" }
    },
    "callout": {
      "radius":       { "value": "8px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "16px 20px" },
      "border-left":  { "value": "3px" },
      "border-color": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
      "bg":           { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" }
    },
    "pill": {
      "radius":      { "value": "9999px" },
      "padding":     { "value": "10px 18px 10px 16px" },
      "gap":         { "value": "10px" },
      "dot-size":    { "value": "9px" },
      "font-size":   { "value": "12px" },
      "font-weight": { "value": "500" }
    },
    "banner": {
      "radius":      { "value": "10px" },
      "padding":     { "value": "13px 15px" },
      "gap":         { "value": "11px" },
      "font-size":   { "value": "13.5px" }
    },
    "skeleton": {
      "radius":           { "value": "6px" },
      "shimmer-duration": { "value": "1.4s" },
      "base":             { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" },
      "highlight":        { "value": "#ECE8E1" }
    },
    "nav": {
      "_comment": "Active-location indicator by surface. See DESIGN.md Appendix D.",
      "active-line":      { "value": "2px", "comment": "brass left-edge line on sidebar rows & mega-menu items; follows corner radius via inset box-shadow" },
      "active-underline": { "value": "2px", "comment": "brass underline on top-bar links & tabs" },
      "active-bg":        { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
      "tab-underline":    { "value": "3px" }
    }
  }
}
```

{
  "color": {
    "primitive": {
      "slate":        { "value": "#0F172A" },
      "slate-800":    { "value": "#1E293B" },
      "slate-700":    { "value": "#334155" },
      "slate-600":    { "value": "#475569" },
      "slate-500":    { "value": "#64748B" },
      "slate-300":    { "value": "#CBD5E1" },
      "slate-200":    { "value": "#E2E8F0" },
      "slate-100":    { "value": "#F1F5F9" },
      "offwhite":     { "value": "#FAF8F4" },
      "warm-100":     { "value": "#F3F1EC", "comment": "tint: fills, alternating bands" },
      "warm-200":     { "value": "#E6E2DA", "comment": "hairlines, dividers, card borders" },
      "warm-300":     { "value": "#D4CEC4", "comment": "emphasised dividers, ghost-button border" },
      "warm-500":     { "value": "#6B6862", "comment": "secondary text: AA on every light ground" },
      "warm-600":     { "value": "#4E4B46", "comment": "stronger secondary text" },
      "white":        { "value": "#FFFFFF" },
      "brass":        { "value": "#C8A35B" },
      "brass-hover":  { "value": "#BC9550" },
      "brass-hover-dark": { "value": "#D4B373", "comment": "hover on dark surfaces LIGHTENS brass (light surfaces darken it)" },
      "brass-active": { "value": "#B89149" },
      "brass-tint":   { "value": "#F2EBD9" },
      "steel":        { "value": "#4E7CA1", "comment": "charts and information graphics only" },
      "steel-600":    { "value": "#456E8E", "comment": "secondary buttons and links (5.4:1 with white)" },
      "steel-700":    { "value": "#3B5F7D", "comment": "secondary hover" },
      "success":      { "value": "#16A34A" },
      "warning":      { "value": "#D97706" },
      "error":        { "value": "#DC2626" }
    },
    "semantic": {
      "light": {
        "text-primary":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "text-secondary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-500}" },
        "text-on-tint":           { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-600}", "comment": "stronger secondary text on tint and brass-tint fills" },
        "text-inverse":           { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "text-on-accent":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-page":                { "value": "{color.primitive.offwhite}" },
        "bg-surface":             { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "bg-muted":               { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" },
        "bg-accent":              { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
        "bg-inverse":             { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "border-default":         { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-200}" },
        "border-strong":          { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-300}" },
        "action-primary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
        "action-primary-hover":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover}" },
        "action-primary-active":  { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" },
        "action-primary-text":    { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "action-secondary":       { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" },
        "action-secondary-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" },
        "action-secondary-text":  { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "focus-ring":             { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-500}", "comment": "muted, buttons and links on light grounds (4.7:1 or better); form fields use a brass border and brass-tint ring (component.input)" }
      },
      "dark": {
        "text-primary":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-100}" },
        "text-secondary":         { "value": "#94A3B8" },
        "text-on-tint":           { "value": "#94A3B8" },
        "text-inverse":           { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "text-on-accent":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-page":                { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "bg-surface":             { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-800}" },
        "bg-muted":               { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "bg-accent":              { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "bg-inverse":             { "value": "{color.primitive.offwhite}" },
        "border-default":         { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-700}" },
        "border-strong":          { "value": "{color.primitive.slate-600}" },
        "action-primary":         { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
        "action-primary-hover":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover-dark}" },
        "action-primary-active":  { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" },
        "action-primary-text":    { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" },
        "action-secondary":       { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" },
        "action-secondary-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" },
        "action-secondary-text":  { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
        "focus-ring":             { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}", "comment": "brass on dark grounds (7.5:1 on slate)" }
      }
    },
    "status": {
      "success": { "bg": { "value": "#DCFCE7" }, "base": { "value": "#16A34A" }, "text": { "value": "#15803D" } },
      "warning": { "bg": { "value": "#FEF3C7" }, "base": { "value": "#D97706" }, "text": { "value": "#B45309" } },
      "error":   { "bg": { "value": "#FEE2E2" }, "base": { "value": "#DC2626" }, "text": { "value": "#B91C1C" } },
      "info":    { "bg": { "value": "#E8EFF5" }, "base": { "value": "#4E7CA1" }, "text": { "value": "#3B5F7D" } }
    },
    "chart": {
      "categorical": { "value": ["#4E7CA1", "#C8A35B", "#4F9D8C", "#8C6A93", "#C0795B", "#64748B"] },
      "sequential":  { "value": ["#ECF2F7", "#C2D5E3", "#8FB1CB", "#5E8BAC", "#3B5F7D"] },
      "diverging":   { "value": ["#B91C1C", "#F2B8B8", "#F3F1EC", "#A7E3BE", "#15803D"] }
    }
  },
  "font": {
    "family":     { "heading": { "value": "Bricolage Grotesque" }, "body": { "value": "DM Sans" } },
    "weight":     { "regular": { "value": "400" }, "medium": { "value": "500" }, "semibold": { "value": "600" }, "bold": { "value": "700" }, "extrabold": { "value": "800" } },
    "size":       { "cover": { "value": "clamp(40px, 5.5vw, 80px)", "comment": "fluid: 40px on phones, 80px at 1440px and wider; one per piece, covers only" }, "display": { "value": "56px" }, "title": { "value": "32px" }, "heading": { "value": "22px" }, "subheading": { "value": "18px" }, "body-lg": { "value": "18px" }, "body": { "value": "16px" }, "small": { "value": "14px" }, "label": { "value": "13px" }, "pill": { "value": "12px" }, "caption": { "value": "11px" } },
    "lineHeight": { "display": { "value": "1.0" }, "heading": { "value": "1.1" }, "body": { "value": "1.5", "comment": "screen" }, "body-print": { "value": "1.3", "comment": "slides and print" } }
  },
  "space":  { "2xs": { "value": "4px" }, "xs": { "value": "8px" }, "sm": { "value": "12px" }, "md": { "value": "16px" }, "lg": { "value": "24px" }, "xl": { "value": "32px" }, "2xl": { "value": "48px" }, "3xl": { "value": "64px" } },
  "radius": { "sm": { "value": "6px" }, "md": { "value": "8px" }, "lg": { "value": "12px" }, "xl": { "value": "20px" }, "full": { "value": "9999px" } },
  "breakpoint": { "sm": { "value": "375px" }, "md": { "value": "768px" }, "lg": { "value": "1024px" }, "xl": { "value": "1440px" } },
  "zIndex": { "base": { "value": "0" }, "dropdown": { "value": "1000" }, "sticky": { "value": "1100" }, "overlay": { "value": "1200" }, "modal": { "value": "1300" }, "popover": { "value": "1400" }, "toast": { "value": "1500" } },
  "elevation": {
    "sm": { "value": "0 1px 2px rgba(15,23,42,0.06)" },
    "md": { "value": "0 2px 8px rgba(15,23,42,0.08)" },
    "lg": { "value": "0 8px 24px rgba(15,23,42,0.12)" }
  },
  "motion": {
    "duration": { "fast": { "value": "120ms" }, "base": { "value": "180ms" }, "slow": { "value": "280ms" } },
    "easing":   { "value": "cubic-bezier(0.2,0,0,1)" },
    "pulse": {
      "duration":   { "value": "2.4s" },
      "easing":     { "value": "ease-out" },
      "iteration":  { "value": "infinite" },
      "ring": {
        "start": { "spread": { "value": "0 0 0 0" },   "alpha": { "value": "0.7" } },
        "end":   { "spread": { "value": "0 0 0 8px" }, "alpha": { "value": "0" } },
        "fadeBy":{ "value": "70%", "comment": "ring fully expanded & faded by 70% of the loop; remaining 30% is a rest beat" }
      },
      "comment": { "value": "Expanding box-shadow ring that radiates from a live/active status dot and fades, then rests before repeating. Colour inherits from the status the element carries. Pure CSS; honour prefers-reduced-motion." }
    }
  },
  "component": {
    "_comment": "Exact specs for the reusable brand components: the single source of truth that index.html, theme.css (.ic-* classes) and DESIGN.md spec tables all derive from. Colours reference primitives/semantics; dimensions are literal and checked against index.html by build-tokens.py.",
    "button": {
      "radius":        { "value": "8px" },
      "font-size":     { "value": "14px" },
      "font-weight":   { "value": "700" },
      "padding":       { "value": "11px 20px" },
      "padding-sm":    { "value": "8px 14px" },
      "font-size-sm":  { "value": "12.5px" },
      "padding-lg":    { "value": "14px 26px" },
      "font-size-lg":  { "value": "15px" },
      "focus-outline": { "value": "2px" },
      "focus-offset":  { "value": "2px" },
      "disabled-opacity": { "value": "0.4" },
      "primary":   { "bg": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-hover}" }, "bg-active": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-active}" } },
      "secondary": { "bg": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-600}" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.steel-700}" } },
      "ghost":     { "bg": { "value": "transparent" }, "text": { "value": "{color.primitive.slate}" }, "border": { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-300}" }, "bg-hover": { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" } }
    },
    "input": {
      "radius":       { "value": "8px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "10px 13px" },
      "font-size":    { "value": "14px" },
      "min-height-touch": { "value": "44px", "comment": "minimum tap target on mobile" },
      "ring-width":   { "value": "3px" },
      "focus-border": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
      "focus-ring":   { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
      "error-border": { "value": "{color.primitive.error}" },
      "error-ring":   { "value": "rgba(220,38,38,0.12)" }
    },
    "card": {
      "radius":       { "value": "12px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "24px" },
      "border-width": { "value": "1px" },
      "border":       { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-200}" },
      "bg":           { "value": "{color.primitive.white}" },
      "shadow":       { "value": "{elevation.sm}" }
    },
    "callout": {
      "radius":       { "value": "8px" },
      "padding":      { "value": "16px 20px" },
      "border-left":  { "value": "3px" },
      "border-color": { "value": "{color.primitive.brass}" },
      "bg":           { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" }
    },
    "pill": {
      "radius":      { "value": "9999px" },
      "padding":     { "value": "10px 18px 10px 16px" },
      "gap":         { "value": "10px" },
      "dot-size":    { "value": "9px" },
      "font-size":   { "value": "12px" },
      "font-weight": { "value": "500" }
    },
    "banner": {
      "radius":      { "value": "10px" },
      "padding":     { "value": "13px 15px" },
      "gap":         { "value": "11px" },
      "font-size":   { "value": "13.5px" }
    },
    "skeleton": {
      "radius":           { "value": "6px" },
      "shimmer-duration": { "value": "1.4s" },
      "base":             { "value": "{color.primitive.warm-100}" },
      "highlight":        { "value": "#ECE8E1" }
    },
    "nav": {
      "_comment": "Active-location indicator by surface. See DESIGN.md Appendix D.",
      "active-line":      { "value": "2px", "comment": "brass left-edge line on sidebar rows & mega-menu items; follows corner radius via inset box-shadow" },
      "active-underline": { "value": "2px", "comment": "brass underline on top-bar links & tabs" },
      "active-bg":        { "value": "{color.primitive.brass-tint}" },
      "tab-underline":    { "value": "3px" }
    }
  }
}

/* ==========================================================================
   iceConnect: theme.css
   Ready-to-paste CSS custom properties generated from the brand design system.
   Source of truth: https://brand.iceconnect.com  ·  machine-readable: /dist/tokens.json
   COUPLING: the core palette here mirrors tokens.json. If you change a brand
   colour, change it in tokens.json too and run `python3 tools/build-tokens.py --check`
   to confirm they still match (see tools/BUILD.md).
   Drop this into any web project and reference tokens with var(--ic-...).
   Light is the default; dark applies under prefers-color-scheme: dark
   OR when you set data-theme="dark" on a parent element.
   ========================================================================== */

:root {
  /* Light surfaces use the warm neutrals (--ic-offwhite, --ic-warm-*); the slate
     greys below serve dark mode and the chart palette. */
  /* --- Primitive colours (raw values: avoid referencing directly in UI) --- */
  --ic-slate:        #0F172A;
  --ic-slate-800:    #1E293B;
  --ic-slate-700:    #334155;
  --ic-slate-600:    #475569;
  --ic-slate-500:    #64748B;
  --ic-slate-300:    #CBD5E1;
  --ic-slate-200:    #E2E8F0;
  --ic-slate-100:    #F1F5F9;
  --ic-offwhite:     #FAF8F4;
  --ic-warm-100:     #F3F1EC;   /* tint: fills, alternating bands */
  --ic-warm-200:     #E6E2DA;   /* hairlines, dividers, card borders */
  --ic-warm-300:     #D4CEC4;   /* emphasised dividers, ghost-button border */
  --ic-warm-500:     #6B6862;   /* secondary text: AA on every light ground */
  --ic-warm-600:     #4E4B46;   /* stronger secondary text */
  --ic-white:        #FFFFFF;
  --ic-brass:        #C8A35B;
  --ic-brass-hover:  #BC9550;       /* darken brass on hover/active; keep slate text */
  --ic-brass-hover-dark: #D4B373;   /* dark surfaces LIGHTEN brass on hover instead */
  --ic-brass-active: #B89149;
  --ic-brass-tint:   #F2EBD9;
  --ic-steel:        #4E7CA1;  /* charts and information graphics only */
  --ic-steel-600:    #456E8E;  /* secondary buttons and links, 5.4:1 with white */
  --ic-steel-700:    #3B5F7D;  /* secondary hover */
  --ic-steel-hover:  var(--ic-steel-700);  /* kept for older builds; use --ic-steel-700 */

  /* --- Semantic colours · light (reference THESE in UI, by role) --- */
  --ic-text-primary:     var(--ic-slate);
  --ic-text-secondary:   var(--ic-warm-500);
  --ic-text-on-tint:     var(--ic-warm-600);    /* stronger secondary text on tint and brass-tint fills */
  --ic-text-inverse:     var(--ic-white);
  --ic-text-on-accent:   var(--ic-slate);     /* slate text on brass: never white */
  --ic-bg-page:          var(--ic-offwhite);
  --ic-bg-surface:       var(--ic-white);
  --ic-bg-muted:         var(--ic-warm-100);
  --ic-bg-accent:        var(--ic-brass-tint); /* callout / highlight panel fills */
  --ic-bg-inverse:       var(--ic-slate);
  --ic-border-default:   var(--ic-warm-200);
  --ic-border-strong:    var(--ic-warm-300);
  --ic-action-primary:        var(--ic-brass);
  --ic-action-primary-hover:  var(--ic-brass-hover);
  --ic-action-primary-active: var(--ic-brass-active);
  --ic-action-secondary:       var(--ic-steel-600);
  --ic-action-secondary-hover: var(--ic-steel-700);
  --ic-focus-ring:       var(--ic-warm-500); /* muted: buttons and links on light grounds; brass on dark */

  /* --- Status sets · bg / base (icon, fill) / text (AA on white) --- */
  --ic-success-bg:   #DCFCE7;  --ic-success-base: #16A34A;  --ic-success-text: #15803D;
  --ic-warning-bg:   #FEF3C7;  --ic-warning-base: #D97706;  --ic-warning-text: #B45309;
  --ic-error-bg:     #FEE2E2;  --ic-error-base:   #DC2626;  --ic-error-text:   #B91C1C;
  --ic-info-bg:      #E8EFF5;  --ic-info-base:    #4E7CA1;  --ic-info-text:    #3B5F7D;

  /* --- Chart palettes (use categorical IN ORDER; steel & brass lead) --- */
  --ic-chart-1: #4E7CA1; /* steel */
  --ic-chart-2: #C8A35B; /* brass */
  --ic-chart-3: #4F9D8C; /* teal  */
  --ic-chart-4: #8C6A93; /* plum  */
  --ic-chart-5: #C0795B; /* clay  */
  --ic-chart-6: #64748B; /* slate */

  /* --- Typography --- */
  --ic-font-heading: 'Bricolage Grotesque', system-ui, sans-serif; /* headings ONLY, >=18px */
  --ic-font-body:    'DM Sans', system-ui, sans-serif;             /* body, UI, buttons */
  --ic-weight-regular:   400;
  --ic-weight-medium:    500;
  --ic-weight-semibold:  600;
  --ic-weight-bold:      700;
  --ic-weight-extrabold: 800;
  --ic-size-cover:    clamp(40px, 5.5vw, 80px); /* fluid; one per piece, covers only */
  --ic-size-display:  56px;
  --ic-size-title:    32px;
  --ic-size-heading:  22px;
  --ic-size-sub:      18px;
  --ic-size-body-lg:  18px;
  --ic-size-body:     16px;
  --ic-size-small:    14px;
  --ic-size-label:    13px;
  --ic-size-pill:     12px;
  --ic-size-caption:  11px;
  --ic-lh-display: 1.0;
  --ic-lh-heading: 1.1;
  --ic-lh-body:    1.5;   /* screen */
  --ic-lh-body-print: 1.3;   /* slides and print */

  /* --- Spacing (8px base, 4px half-step) --- */
  --ic-space-2xs: 4px;
  --ic-space-xs:  8px;
  --ic-space-sm:  12px;
  --ic-space-md:  16px;
  --ic-space-lg:  24px;
  --ic-space-xl:  32px;
  --ic-space-2xl: 48px;
  --ic-space-3xl: 64px;

  /* --- Radius --- */
  --ic-radius-sm:   6px;   /* chips, small controls */
  --ic-radius-md:   8px;   /* buttons, inputs */
  --ic-radius-lg:   12px;  /* cards */
  --ic-radius-xl:   20px;  /* panels */
  --ic-radius-full: 9999px;

  /* --- Breakpoints (mobile-first min-widths; for @media and container queries) --- */
  --ic-bp-sm: 375px;   /* phone */
  --ic-bp-md: 768px;   /* tablet */
  --ic-bp-lg: 1024px;  /* laptop */
  --ic-bp-xl: 1440px;  /* desktop */

  /* --- Layering (z-index scale; stay on the scale, never ad-hoc 9999) --- */
  --ic-z-base:     0;     /* page content, normal flow */
  --ic-z-dropdown: 1000;  /* menus, selects */
  --ic-z-sticky:   1100;  /* sticky headers & toolbars */
  --ic-z-overlay:  1200;  /* modal scrim / backdrop */
  --ic-z-modal:    1300;  /* dialogs & sheets */
  --ic-z-popover:  1400;  /* popovers & tooltips */
  --ic-z-toast:    1500;  /* transient alerts: above all */

  /* --- Elevation (soft slate shadows; use borders, not shadow, in dark mode) --- */
  --ic-elevation-sm: 0 1px 2px rgba(15,23,42,0.06);
  --ic-elevation-md: 0 2px 8px rgba(15,23,42,0.08);
  --ic-elevation-lg: 0 8px 24px rgba(15,23,42,0.12);

  /* --- Motion --- */
  --ic-motion-fast: 120ms;
  --ic-motion-base: 180ms;
  --ic-motion-slow: 280ms;
  --ic-motion-ease: cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1);
  --ic-pulse-duration: 2.4s;
  --ic-pulse-ease: ease-out;
}

/* --- Semantic colours · dark ---
   Swaps ONLY the semantic layer. In dark mode, separate surfaces with
   border-default rather than relying on shadow. */
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root:not([data-theme="light"]) {
    --ic-text-primary:   var(--ic-slate-100);
    --ic-text-secondary: #94A3B8;
    --ic-text-on-tint:   #94A3B8;
    --ic-text-inverse:   var(--ic-slate);  /* flips with bg-inverse, else white on off-white */
    --ic-bg-page:        var(--ic-slate);
    --ic-bg-surface:     var(--ic-slate-800);
    --ic-bg-muted:       var(--ic-slate-700);
    --ic-bg-accent:      var(--ic-slate-700);
    --ic-bg-inverse:     var(--ic-offwhite);
    --ic-border-default: var(--ic-slate-700);
    --ic-border-strong:  var(--ic-slate-600);
    /* primary hover LIGHTENS on dark surfaces; the focus ring turns brass */
    --ic-action-primary-hover: var(--ic-brass-hover-dark);
    --ic-focus-ring: var(--ic-brass);
  }
}

[data-theme="dark"] {
  --ic-text-primary:   var(--ic-slate-100);
  --ic-text-secondary: #94A3B8;
  --ic-text-on-tint:   #94A3B8;
  --ic-text-inverse:   var(--ic-slate);
  --ic-bg-page:        var(--ic-slate);
  --ic-bg-surface:     var(--ic-slate-800);
  --ic-bg-muted:       var(--ic-slate-700);
  --ic-bg-accent:      var(--ic-slate-700);
  --ic-bg-inverse:     var(--ic-offwhite);
  --ic-border-default: var(--ic-slate-700);
  --ic-border-strong:  var(--ic-slate-600);
  --ic-action-primary-hover: var(--ic-brass-hover-dark);
  --ic-focus-ring: var(--ic-brass);
}

/* --- Live status pulse: pure CSS, honours reduced motion ---
   Markup: <span class="ic-dot" style="--ic-gc:22,163,74"></span> (RGB triplet). */
.ic-dot {
  width: 9px; height: 9px; border-radius: 50%;
  background: rgb(var(--ic-gc, 22,163,74));
  animation: ic-pulse var(--ic-pulse-duration) var(--ic-pulse-ease) infinite;
}
@keyframes ic-pulse {
  0%       { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0   rgba(var(--ic-gc, 22,163,74), 0.7); }
  70%,100% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 8px rgba(var(--ic-gc, 22,163,74), 0); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .ic-dot { animation: none; box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(var(--ic-gc, 22,163,74), 0.25); }
}

/* --- Status pill: compact inline state; pair with .ic-dot for "live" states ---
   Markup: <span class="ic-pill"><span class="ic-dot" style="--ic-gc:22,163,74"></span>All systems operational</span>
   On a dark surface, set data-theme="dark" on an ancestor for the translucent treatment. */
.ic-pill {
  display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px;
  border-radius: var(--ic-radius-full);
  border: 1px solid var(--ic-border-default);
  background: var(--ic-bg-surface);
  color: var(--ic-text-secondary);
  padding: 10px 18px 10px 16px;
  font: var(--ic-weight-medium) 12px/1 var(--ic-font-body);
  letter-spacing: 0.01em; white-space: nowrap;
}
[data-theme="dark"] .ic-pill {
  background: rgba(255,255,255,0.05);
  border-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.14);
  color: #94A3B8;
}

/* --- Status banner: an inline status message in its tint ---
   Markup: <div class="ic-banner ic-banner--warning"><svg.../><div>…</div></div>
   Always pair the colour with the icon or text (accessibility). */
.ic-banner {
  display: flex; gap: 11px; align-items: flex-start;
  border: 1px solid; border-radius: 10px;   /* component.banner.radius: tighter than card lg(12) */
  padding: 13px 15px; font: var(--ic-weight-regular) 13.5px/1.5 var(--ic-font-body);
}
.ic-banner--success { background: var(--ic-success-bg); border-color: #BBF7D0; color: var(--ic-success-text); }
.ic-banner--warning { background: var(--ic-warning-bg); border-color: #FDE68A; color: var(--ic-warning-text); }
.ic-banner--error   { background: var(--ic-error-bg);   border-color: #FECACA; color: var(--ic-error-text); }
.ic-banner--info    { background: var(--ic-info-bg);    border-color: #CFDEEA; color: var(--ic-info-text); }

/* --- Button: primary / secondary / ghost · sizes sm·md·lg · all states ---
   Markup: <button class="ic-btn ic-btn--primary">Set up monitoring</button>
   Slate text on brass (never white); brass darkens on hover/active. (component.button) */
.ic-btn {
  display: inline-block; font-family: var(--ic-font-body); font-weight: 700;
  font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap; cursor: pointer;
  border: 1px solid transparent; border-radius: var(--ic-radius-md); padding: 11px 20px;
  transition: background var(--ic-motion-fast) var(--ic-motion-ease);
}
.ic-btn--sm { font-size: 12.5px; padding: 8px 14px; }
.ic-btn--lg { font-size: 15px;   padding: 14px 26px; }
.ic-btn--primary   { background: var(--ic-action-primary); color: var(--ic-text-on-accent); }
.ic-btn--primary:hover  { background: var(--ic-action-primary-hover); }
.ic-btn--primary:active { background: var(--ic-action-primary-active); }
.ic-btn--secondary { background: var(--ic-action-secondary); color: var(--ic-white); }
.ic-btn--secondary:hover { background: var(--ic-action-secondary-hover); }
.ic-btn--ghost { background: transparent; color: var(--ic-text-primary); border-color: var(--ic-border-strong); }
.ic-btn--ghost:hover { background: var(--ic-bg-muted); }
.ic-btn:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--ic-focus-ring); outline-offset: 2px; }
.ic-btn[disabled], .ic-btn--disabled { opacity: 0.4; pointer-events: none; }

/* --- Input / field: default · focus · error · disabled ---
   Markup: <input class="ic-field"> · add .ic-field--error for the error state.
   Pair with a visible <label>; on mobile ensure the control is ≥44px tall. (component.input) */
.ic-field {
  font-family: var(--ic-font-body); font-size: 14px; color: var(--ic-text-primary);
  background: var(--ic-bg-surface); border: 1px solid var(--ic-border-default);
  border-radius: var(--ic-radius-md); padding: 10px 13px;
}
/* Form fields focus in brass (border + brass-tint ring), on light and dark */
.ic-field:focus, .ic-field--focus {
  outline: none; border-color: var(--ic-action-primary);
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px var(--ic-bg-accent);
}
.ic-field--error { border-color: var(--ic-error-base); box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(220,38,38,0.12); }
.ic-field[disabled], .ic-field--disabled { background: var(--ic-bg-muted); color: var(--ic-text-secondary); }

/* --- Card: the core content container (component.card) --- */
.ic-card {
  background: var(--ic-bg-surface); border: 1px solid var(--ic-border-default);
  border-radius: 12px; padding: 24px; box-shadow: var(--ic-elevation-sm);
}

/* --- Callout: brass-tint panel with a brass left border (component.callout) --- */
.ic-callout {
  background: var(--ic-bg-accent); border-left: 3px solid var(--ic-action-primary);
  border-radius: 8px; padding: 16px 20px; color: var(--ic-text-primary);
}

/* --- Skeleton: shimmer placeholder for loads >300ms; reserves layout (component.skeleton) ---
   Markup: <div class="ic-skeleton" style="height:12px;width:70%"></div> */
.ic-skeleton {
  background: linear-gradient(90deg, var(--ic-bg-muted) 25%, #ECE8E1 37%, var(--ic-bg-muted) 63%);
  background-size: 400% 100%; border-radius: 6px;
  animation: ic-shimmer 1.4s ease infinite;
}
@keyframes ic-shimmer { 0% { background-position: 100% 0; } 100% { background-position: 0 0; } }
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) { .ic-skeleton { animation: none; } }