cesnimda
4ce2df0a2b
3.2 KiB
Design Brief (locked via interview)
The confirmed design direction from the Phase 4A interview. This governs the UX/UI redesign, design system, themes, and search experience.
Direction in one line
An approachable, professional, "anyone can pick it up" email tool in the spirit of Notion & Arc — a polished, responsive web app that is fast and premium without being intimidating.
Confirmed preferences
| Dimension | Decision | Design implication |
|---|---|---|
| Reference feel | Notion / Arc, but professional | Friendly, spatial, low learning curve — not a power-user speed tool (not Superhuman). |
| Density | Balanced | Comfortable, readable rows; efficient but not cramped. |
| Input model | Pointer-first / discoverable | Clickable UI is the backbone. Command palette + shortcuts are accelerators for power users, layered on top — never required. |
| App metaphor | Polished web app | Exceptional in-browser experience; shareable URLs; no native-desktop assumptions. |
| Platforms | Desktop (Win + Mac/Linux), Tablet, Mobile | Fully responsive is mandatory — layouts must gracefully collapse desktop → mobile. |
| Default theme | Dark-first | Design primarily for a layered dark UI; light theme fully first-class (genuine white, not grey). |
| Motion | Subtle & smooth | Gentle, quick transitions and tasteful micro-interactions. Respect prefers-reduced-motion. |
| Colour personality | Warm ∩ cool blend, green accent | Accent built around #3ba31f (refined into an accessible ramp); neutrals lean subtly warm. |
| Icons | Clean line, rounded (Lucide-style) | Consistent stroke weight, soft corners. |
| Speed vs polish | Balanced | Polish is welcome only when it never costs perceptible speed. |
| Audience | Mainstream, power-capable | Simple by default; power features revealed progressively. |
| Accessibility | Deferred (nice-to-have) | AA basics baked in cheaply; deeper a11y is a pre-launch backlog item. See below. |
The pivotal insight
The original brief leaned "keyboard-first"; the interview corrected this to
discoverable-first. That reframes the flagship search away from a syntax you
must learn (from:x after:y) toward an inviting, visual, assisted experience —
filter chips, live suggestions, and natural language — with the power syntax still
available underneath. This single decision shapes the entire redesign.
Accent colour note
#3ba31f = rgb(59,163,31). It's a strong differentiator (most email apps default to
blue) and bridges warm/cool. It will be developed into a full ramp (50→900); the
interactive shade will be nudged for WCAG AA contrast on dark surfaces and on
buttons, and green will never be the sole signal for selection/status (always
paired with icon/shape) so the design is colour-blind-safe by construction.
Deferred: accessibility
Per the user, accessibility is a nice-to-have to revisit before public launch, not a hard requirement now. Cheap AA basics (contrast, focus rings, reduced-motion, non-colour-only state) are still baked in; high-contrast mode, full screen-reader semantics, font-scaling controls, and formal colour-blind audits are backlog.