Brutalist Academic UI

Opinionated design skill for interfaces where intellectual rigor, typographic precision, and structural honesty matter.

Skriptoteket Compatibility (must follow)

• No Tailwind / utility CSS frameworks (see docs/adr/adr-0029-frontend-styling-pure-css-design-tokens.md).
• Use HuleEdu tokens + component classes (see .agent/rules/045-huleedu-design-system.md and src/skriptoteket/web/static/css/huleedu-design-tokens.css).
• Prefer existing classes before inventing new ones: .huleedu-btn, .huleedu-card, .huleedu-link, .huleedu-table, .huleedu-row.

When to Use

Activate when user:

• Builds websites, landing pages, dashboards, documentation sites
• Needs institutional or academic visual language
• Mentions: "brutalist", "academic", "minimal", "no gradients", "serious UI"
• Wants to avoid AI-generated aesthetic (purple gradients, Roboto, pill buttons)

I Need To...

| Task | Read | |------|------| | Align with Skriptoteket tokens + button hierarchy | .agent/rules/045-huleedu-design-system.md | | Understand grid/typography/color principles | fundamentals.md | | Build page structure, layouts, navigation | patterns.md | | Create data tables, ledgers, state rows | examples/tables-ledgers.md | | Build buttons, cards, interactions | examples/components.md |

Quick Reference

Banned

• Purple/startup gradients
• Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Inter
• Tailwind / utility-first styling that bypasses tokens
• border-radius > var(--huleedu-radius-lg) (8px) for containers
• Decorative blobs, floating shapes
• Soft shadows, backdrop blur
• Scale/bounce hover animations

Font Stack

/* Use HuleEdu token fonts (defined in src/skriptoteket/web/static/css/huleedu-design-tokens.css). */
font-family: var(--huleedu-font-serif); /* long-form reading */
font-family: var(--huleedu-font-sans);  /* UI */
font-family: var(--huleedu-font-mono);  /* code/ids */

Spacing Scale

/* Representative spacing tokens (4px base scale). */
--huleedu-space-1: 4px;   --huleedu-space-2: 8px;   --huleedu-space-3: 12px;  --huleedu-space-4: 16px;
--huleedu-space-6: 24px;  --huleedu-space-8: 32px;  --huleedu-space-12: 48px; --huleedu-space-16: 64px;

Color Palette

/* Use HuleEdu tokens for all color decisions (no hardcoded hex). */
--huleedu-navy: #1C2E4A;      /* ink */
--huleedu-canvas: #F9F8F2;    /* paper */
--huleedu-burgundy: #4D1521;  /* accent / CTA / attention */
--huleedu-warning: #D97706;
--huleedu-error: #DC2626;

Core Principle

The best interface is one where you notice the content, not the interface. Every element earns its place. Typography does the work. Whitespace is structure.