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Public. A near-monochrome canvas, a serif at weight 300, one violet accent doing all the chromatic work.

  • Finance
  • Light theme
  • 11 colors
  • 3 typefaces

Public reads like a financial broadsheet rendered in UI: a near-monochrome canvas of cool grays and bone white, with one vivid violet used sparingly as a linking accent. The signature is Denton, a custom serif held at an almost whispered weight 300 for display headlines — a deliberate inversion of fintech convention that swaps the usual bold sans for something editorial and considered. Inter carries every functional surface, keeping the interface legible and quiet. Surfaces are flat and unembellished, depth is earned through the occasional 16px-radius card or a soft 10px shadow rather than gradients or heavy elevation. The only true color is #0027b3 violet, reserved for links and the rare inline accent tag; everything else is ink, paper, and shadow. Buttons are long pill shapes (100px radius) — the primary action is a matte black fill, secondaries are ghost outlines. Generous vertical breathing room between sections and a centered editorial layout reinforce the sense that this is a place for reading, not scanning.

Screenshot of Public
Captured from public.com on October 11, 2026

Public design system

Public

Brand1

  • Inline text links, link borders, the sole chromatic accent — a deep electric violet that makes the rare colored element read as switched on

Accent1

  • Decorative illustration fills, subtle highlight washes, icon tints

Neutrals9

  • Primary button fill, hardest borders, maximum-weight text

  • Primary text, nav ink, strong borders — the deepest reading tone

  • Dark surfaces, nav bar fills, inverted card backgrounds

  • Body text on canvas, secondary borders, the workhorse neutral

  • Muted helper text, inactive tags, disabled labels

  • Secondary borders, input outlines, table dividers

  • Hairline borders, subtle dividers, card outlines on canvas

  • Page background — the dominant surface behind every section

  • Card surfaces, elevated panels, inverted button fills

Try a pairing

Pick any two colors from the palette to check whether text stays readable on top.

Aa

Paper White on Violet Ink

10.82 : 1 contrast

Background
Text
  • Body textPasses AA 4.5
  • Large textPasses AA 3
  • StrictPasses AAA 7

More DESIGN.md files. Same web, different personalities.