Preview the prompt +
# Build brief — an original marketing website in the taste of Balthazar
> Reference: https://balthazarny.com · UIDiscovery: https://uidiscovery.com/sites/balthazar · captured 2026-09-23 at a 1440px desktop viewport (+ 390px iPhone shots) · [full page](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/balthazar/full.webp) · [scroll video](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/balthazar/preview.mp4)
## 1. Goal
Build an original marketing website for **[the user's brand]** that feels as considered as Balthazar — same structure, rhythm and polish, entirely new identity and content.
## 2. Originality rules
- Build an ORIGINAL design for the user's own brand in the same *taste* as Balthazar: structure, rhythm, hierarchy, palette mood and type pairing.
- Never reuse Balthazar's logo, name, product imagery, illustrations, icons, screenshots or copy. Write new copy for the user's product.
- If the user hasn't said what their product is, ask first (or use clearly marked placeholders like [Brand], [Product], [Audience]).
- Reference screenshots are for looking at, not for embedding or tracing.
## 3. The taste, in short
- Balthazar (balthazarny.com): Food & Drink marketing website, light.
- 2 sections: Content → Footer.
- Spacing: short, dense bands (median section ≈500px).
- Type: Bureaugrotesqueoneone headings over Georgia body. Imagery: mostly photography.
## 4. Page structure (top to bottom)
### 1. Content — supporting content that deepens one idea.
- Layout: text + media block. Half to one screen (500px at 1440), page background; 4 images/icons (a set of cards or a small gallery); 2 text links instead of buttons.
- Slots: Heading; Body copy; Supporting visual (see image plan); Text link action.
- [Screenshot](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/balthazar/s-01.webp) · imagery: slot 1
### 2. Footer — navigation, legal and contact — the page's index.
- Layout: multi-column link groups, brand line, legal row. Compact band (329px at 1440), page background; 1 image/graphic; form with 3 fields, 3 text links instead of buttons.
- Slots: Brand mark + one-line description; 3–5 link columns; Newsletter or contact (optional); Legal row + social icons.
- Topic (tone/length only — never reuse): “BALTHAZAR NEW YORK”
- [Screenshot](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/balthazar/s-02.webp)
Inner pages also captured (About, Careers, Contact): https://uidiscovery.com/sites/balthazar?view=pages
## 5. Design system
### Colour
| Role | Hex | Use | Contrast on background |
|---|---|---|---|
| background | `#fffef0` | page background | — |
| foreground | `#000000` | body text, headings | 20.7:1 |
| accent | `#be9755` | primary buttons, links, highlights — sparingly | 2.7:1 ⚠ not for text; use as a fill with #111111 text (7.0:1) |
| surface | `#fffef0` | cards, inputs, alternate bands | text on it 20.7:1 |
| muted | `#444444` | secondary text, borders | 9.6:1 |
Captured palette: `#fffef0` `#444444` `#be9755` `#000000`. Roles are assigned automatically — sanity-check them against the screenshot. Keep the palette's *mood* (light, warm) and proportions; swap the accent for the user's brand colour.
### Tokens
```css
:root {
--background: #fffef0;
--foreground: #000000;
--accent: #be9755;
--surface: #fffef0;
--muted: #444444;
--font-heading: "Inter", ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
--font-body: "Source Serif 4", ui-serif, Georgia, serif;
--radius: 12px; /* calibrate from the screenshot */
}
/* Tailwind v4 — in globals.css after @import "tailwindcss"; */
@theme {
--color-background: var(--background);
--color-foreground: var(--foreground);
--color-accent: var(--accent);
--color-surface: var(--surface);
--color-muted: var(--muted);
--font-heading: var(--font-heading);
--font-sans: var(--font-body);
}
```
### Typography
- Headings: **Inter** (Google Fonts) — reference uses Bureaugrotesqueoneone. “Bureaugrotesqueoneone” is likely a custom or licensed face. Inter is a neutral stand-in — pick a closer free match by eye from the screenshot.
- Body: **Source Serif 4** (Google Fonts) — reference uses Georgia. “Georgia” is a licensed face — use Source Serif 4 (or Newsreader) as the free stand-in, or license the original.
- Scale (starting point, sizes weren't measured — calibrate against the 1440px screenshot): display clamp(2.5rem, 5vw, 4.25rem), h2 clamp(1.75rem, 3vw, 2.5rem), h3 1.25rem, body 1rem–1.125rem / 1.6, small 0.875rem. Headings: tight tracking (-0.02em), line-height 1.05–1.15.
### Spacing & rhythm
Sections run ≈500px tall at 1440 (median; range 329–500px, captures cap at 1700px) — short, dense bands. Start with 64–80px vertical padding per section on desktop and about two-thirds of that on mobile. One continuous background — separate sections with space and type, not colour bands. 8px spacing grid, 1200–1280px max content width, 24px (mobile) / 32–48px (desktop) gutters.
### Shape, depth & theme
Radii and shadows weren't measured. Read exact corner radius, border and shadow treatment from the screenshots. Light-first; for a dark mode use a near-black (not #000) background, ~90% white text, lift surfaces with lightness not shadow, re-check the accent.
## 6. Imagery plan
Best guess: mostly **photography** (light, warm, Food & Drink). Inferred from element counts, colours and industry — not from the pixels — so open the linked screenshots and match the real style before sourcing anything.
### Slot 1 · 1. Content → photography
- Photography, seen in the capture (people, adult, crowd). (measured from the screenshot) Count: a set of ~4 in one consistent style. Aspect: 4:5. Look first: [ref 1](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/balthazar/s-01.webp)
- **Stock** — “plated dish overhead natural light”: [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/plated-dish-overhead-natural-light?orientation=portrait) · [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/search/plated%20dish%20overhead%20natural%20light/?orientation=portrait) · [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/images/search/plated%20dish%20overhead%20natural%20light/?orientation=vertical)
- **Generate** — `Photograph: plated dish overhead natural light. Composition: simple composition with one focal point. Lighting: soft natural daylight, airy and high-key. Warm colour grade that sits on #fffef0, #be9755. Photorealistic, natural textures, shallow depth of field, 35mm lens. Aspect ratio 4:5. No text, no letters, no logos, no watermarks, no brand marks or trademarked products, no recognisable real people.`
- **Icons** — 2. Footer: Use one open-source icon set at one stroke weight — Lucide, Phosphor or Heroicons (MIT) — tinted with the text or accent token. Social icons: Simple Icons.
### If the screenshots show a different style
Open the refs first and name what you actually see (photo / product UI / illustration / abstract gradient or 3D / type only). If it differs from the guess, switch routes — UI is built in code, type-only needs no image, otherwise:
- **abstract 3D / gradient** — generate `Abstract 3D render: soft, matte clay shapes and a smooth gradient in #be9755 and #444444 on a #fffef0 background. Lighting: soft natural daylight, airy and high-key; warm tone. Minimal and calm, generous negative space on one side for text. Aspect ratio 3:2. No text, no letters, no logos, no watermarks, no brand marks or trademarked products, no recognisable real people.` · stock: [“abstract gradient 3d” on Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/abstract-gradient-3d?orientation=landscape) (same query works on Pexels/Pixabay)
- **illustration** — generate `Flat vector illustration: plated dish overhead, friendly simplified shapes, limited palette of #fffef0, #be9755 plus one soft neutral, plenty of empty background, consistent line weight, warm mood. Aspect ratio 3:2. No text, no letters, no logos, no watermarks, no brand marks or trademarked products, no recognisable real people.` · stock: [“food flat illustration” on Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/food-flat-illustration?orientation=landscape) (same query works on Pexels/Pixabay)
- **Licences:** Unsplash and Pexels images are free for commercial use under their own licences; Pixabay under the Pixabay Content License. Check each image's page before use, credit the photographer when asked (good practice anyway), and skip images showing logos, trademarks, branded products or identifiable people without a release.
- **AI generation:** the prompts work with any image model (GPT Image, Imagen, Flux, Midjourney, Firefly, SDXL…) — check its commercial-use terms. Never put the reference brand's name or “in the style of <brand>” in a prompt.
- **Never** download, trace or re-host the reference's own images, illustrations, product shots or logos.
## 7. Build steps
1. Confirm brand, product, audience and the primary action with the user.
2. Set up the tokens (CSS variables / Tailwind @theme) and load the fonts.
3. Build the sections in order, mobile-first, with each reference screenshot open.
4. Write original copy for every slot — match length and tone, never the words.
5. Source every image via the imagery plan (stock or generated); compress it and record credits.
6. Run the checklist at 390 / 768 / 1440px and fix what fails.
## 8. Acceptance checklist
- [ ] Responsive at 390px, 768px and 1440px — no horizontal scroll, tap targets ≥ 44px on mobile.
- [ ] Colour contrast WCAG AA: 4.5:1 body text, 3:1 large text and UI; visible focus states; full keyboard navigation.
- [ ] Semantic HTML: one <h1>, ordered headings, landmarks (header/nav/main/footer), labelled form fields, alt text on meaningful images.
- [ ] Performance: modern image formats with width/height set, lazy-load below the fold, ≤ 2 font families with font-display: swap, LCP < 2.5s.
- [ ] prefers-reduced-motion respected; animations under ~300ms and never blocking content.
- [ ] Originality: no copied logos, images, illustrations or copy from the reference; every image licensed or generated; credits recorded.
## 9. If you use Next.js + Tailwind
Paste the @theme block into globals.css, load fonts with next/font/google, make each section a server component in components/sections/, use next/image with explicit sizes, and keep client components for interactive bits only (menus, toggles, accordions).
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More: tokens https://uidiscovery.com/api/v1/sites/balthazar/tokens · kit https://uidiscovery.com/api/v1/sites/balthazar/kit · MCP `get_design_brief({ slug: "balthazar" })`, `get_image_plan({ slug: "balthazar" })`. Cite the reference as https://uidiscovery.com/sites/balthazar.
