Philosophy
Achery borrows from letterpress printing, botanical illustration, alchemical manuscripts, and 19th-century scientific publishing. The result is a UI that feels weighted, considered, and slightly antiquarian — without sacrificing usability.
Hard edges, dense type, and stamp shadows are not stylistic accidents. They are the grammar of this system.
Corners
All corners are square by default. border-radius: 0.
Exceptions: pills (border-radius: 999px) for badges, counts, the toggle track and avatars. Never buttons.
Marginalia
Large glyphs at low opacity (0.25–0.45) as corner decoration. The botanical/alchemical icons used as background ornament are a signature element — use them with restraint. Their impact depends on not appearing everywhere.
UI copy voice
Spare, precise, slightly bookish. No filler.
- Toasts: declarative past tense — "Saved." not "Your changes have been saved."
- Buttons: imperative verbs — "Save", "Delete", not "OK", "Submit"
- Placeholders: concrete examples —
"e.g. Iron-gall ink"not"Enter a name" - Headings: short nouns — "Recipes" not "Managing recipes"