---
id: productivity-things-design-en
service: Things
website: https://culturedcode.com/things/
category: productivity
document: DESIGN.MD
source_prompt: productivity-things-representative-en
language: en
generated: 2026-07-18
---

# Things DESIGN.MD

> Use this DESIGN.MD as the persistent design standard before building a Productivity site or app. It can be given directly to designers, frontend engineers, AI builders, and coding agents. Things is an information-architecture reference only.

## Purpose

- Things: https://culturedcode.com/things/
- Productivity: planning time and completing focused work
- tasks, schedules, and routines
- priority clarity and notification fatigue
- productivity

## Design brief

Create an original product that supports planning time and completing focused work. Make tasks, schedules, and routines easy to scan, compare, and act on. Treat priority clarity and notification fatigue as a primary design constraint. Starting direction: focus planning board · restrained minimal · medium information density · today's priorities -> time and schedule -> task list -> focus or completion · #111111 · Things.

## Public interface design analysis

- Reference basis: These are recurring visual and structural patterns from public landing screens and representative task flows. Verify the current live capture because services change over time.
- Interface archetype: focus planning board
- Tone and manner: restrained minimal
- Information density: medium
- Color strategy: restrained brand accents on neutral surfaces (#111111)
- Navigation model: sidebar-led context switching
- Structural sequence: today's priorities -> time and schedule -> task list -> focus or completion
- Reusable patterns: today focus, calendar strip, task list, focus timer, quick action
- Independent application rule: Use the order and decision principles only. Do not reproduce logos, copy, imagery, icons, or proprietary screen composition.

## Screen architecture

- Global navigation with clear current location and account state
- Overview that exposes the next important action for tasks, schedules, and routines
- Search, filter, sort, or segmented views only where they reduce decision cost
- Detail view that keeps context, status, evidence, and the primary action together
- Persistent help, recovery, privacy, and safety access for priority clarity and notification fatigue

## Design tokens

```css
:root {
  --color-primary: #111111;
  --color-ink: #F8FAFC;
  --color-canvas: #090A0B;
  --color-surface: #141619;
  --color-tint: #11111155;
  --color-danger: #FB7185;
  --radius-control: 6px;
  --radius-card: 8px;
  --space-1: 4px; --space-2: 8px; --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px; --space-6: 24px; --space-8: 32px;
  --content-reading: 720px;
  --content-wide: 1280px;
}
```

## Component specifications

- Navigation: active, hover, focus, disabled, and collapsed states
- Cards and rows: stable dimensions, realistic content, metadata hierarchy, and complete click targets
- Forms: labels, descriptions, validation, error summary, progress, and recovery
- Actions: one clear primary action per region; icon buttons require accessible names and tooltips
- Feedback: inline status, toast, banner, skeleton, progress, confirmation, and destructive-action dialog

## State design

For every data-driven region, define loading, empty, partial-data, stale, error, offline, permission-denied, disabled, saving, and success states. Keep layout dimensions stable so state changes do not shift surrounding content.

## Responsive rules

- 360px: one primary column, no horizontal page scroll, 44px touch targets
- 768px: preserve context with two panes only when each pane remains readable
- 1280px and above: constrain reading width and use extra space for comparison or persistent context
- Never scale type with viewport width; wrap long labels and localize for text expansion

## Accessibility requirements

- Semantic landmarks and heading order
- Complete keyboard operation with visible focus
- WCAG AA contrast in all states
- Programmatic labels, descriptions, errors, and live regions
- 200% zoom, reduced motion, forced colors, and screen-reader verification

## Design instruction for AI builders

```text
Design an original Productivity interface for [Product name]. Its goal is planning time and completing focused work; its core objects are tasks, schedules, and routines; its critical risk is priority clarity and notification fatigue. Use the token system and screen rules in this document. Specify realistic content, component contracts, all data states, responsive behavior, accessibility, and acceptance criteria. Do not copy Things's logo, proprietary copy, images, or exact layout.
```

## Completion checklist

- [ ] The critical path for planning time and completing focused work is obvious without explanation
- [ ] tasks, schedules, and routines have clear hierarchy, status, and actions
- [ ] priority clarity and notification fatigue has prevention and recovery
- [ ] Mobile, tablet, desktop, keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and reduced motion are verified
- [ ] Loading, empty, error, offline, partial, permission, and success states are complete
- [ ] No protected brand asset or pixel-level layout from Things is reproduced