Linus Lee — Thesephist.com

# Build brief — an original marketing website in the taste of Linus Lee

> Reference: https://thesephist.com · UIDiscovery: https://uidiscovery.com/sites/linus-lee · captured 2026-09-22 at a 1440px desktop viewport (+ 390px iPhone shots) · [full page](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/linus-lee/full.webp) · [scroll video](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/linus-lee/preview.mp4)

## 1. Goal
Build an original marketing website for **[the user's brand]** that feels as considered as Linus Lee — 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 Linus Lee: structure, rhythm, hierarchy, palette mood and type pairing.
- Never reuse Linus Lee'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
- Linus Lee (thesephist.com): Portfolio marketing website, light, serif.
- 2 sections: Content.
- Spacing: long, content-rich sections (median ≈1700px tall at 1440).
- Type: one family (IBM Plex Serif). Imagery: mostly typography with little or no imagery.

## 4. Page structure (top to bottom)

### 1. Content — supporting content that deepens one idea.
- Layout: text + media block. Tall, ≈1.9 screens (1700px at 1440), page background; no images (type-led); form with 3 fields, one primary button, 48 links (link lists / navigation).
- Slots: Heading (~4 words, like the reference); Body copy; One primary action.
- Topic (tone/length only — never reuse): “My name is Linus.”
- [Screenshot](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/linus-lee/s-01.webp)

### 2. Content — supporting content that deepens one idea.
- Layout: text + media block. Half to one screen (502px at 1440), page background; no images (type-led); form with 3 fields, one primary button, 48 links (link lists / navigation).
- Slots: Heading; Body copy; One primary action.
- [Screenshot](https://uidiscovery.com/media/captures/linus-lee/s-02.webp)

Inner pages also captured (Product): https://uidiscovery.com/sites/linus-lee?view=pages

## 5. Design system
### Colour
| Role | Hex | Use | Contrast on background |
|---|---|---|---|
| background | `#f8f8f8` | page background | — |
| foreground | `#222222` | body text, headings | 15.0:1 |
| accent | `#11b6a5` | primary buttons, links, highlights — sparingly | 2.4:1 ⚠ not for text; use as a fill with #111111 text (7.4:1) |
| surface | `#f8f8f8` | cards, inputs, alternate bands | text on it 15.0:1 |
| muted | `#222222` | secondary text, borders | 15.0:1 |

Captured palette: `#f8f8f8` `#222222` `#11b6a5`. Roles are assigned automatically — sanity-check them against the screenshot. Keep the palette's *mood* (light, cool) and proportions; swap the accent for the user's brand colour.

### Tokens
```css
:root {
  --background: #f8f8f8;
  --foreground: #222222;
  --accent: #11b6a5;
  --surface: #f8f8f8;
  --muted: #222222;
  --font-heading: "IBM Plex Serif", ui-serif, Georgia, serif;
  --font-body: "IBM Plex Serif", 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: **IBM Plex Serif** (Google Fonts) — reference uses IBM Plex Serif. Free to use — load it directly.
- Body: same family — a single-family system; create contrast with size and weight, not a second face.
- 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.
- The serif headings are central to the tone — keep a serif display face even if you swap the family.

### Spacing & rhythm
Sections run ≈1700px tall at 1440 (median; range 502–1700px, captures cap at 1700px) — long, content-rich chapters. Start with 96–128px 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 **typography with little or no imagery** (light, cool, Portfolio). Inferred from element counts, colours and industry — not from the pixels — so open the linked screenshots and match the real style before sourcing anything.

- **No imagery (type-led)** — 1. Content, 2. Content: No imagery needed — type, spacing and colour do the work. If the screenshot shows a background graphic, rebuild it in CSS (gradient, grid, noise) or a short muted video, not a stock photo.

### 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:
- **photography** — generate `Photograph: design studio workspace. Composition: wide shot, subject off-centre to one side, generous clean negative space for the headline. Lighting: soft natural daylight, airy and high-key. Cool colour grade that sits on #f8f8f8, #11b6a5. Photorealistic, natural textures, shallow depth of field, 35mm lens. Aspect ratio 16:9. No text, no letters, no logos, no watermarks, no brand marks or trademarked products, no recognisable real people.` · stock: [“design studio workspace” on Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/design-studio-workspace?orientation=landscape) (same query works on Pexels/Pixabay)
- **abstract 3D / gradient** — generate `Abstract 3D render: soft, matte clay shapes and a smooth gradient in #11b6a5 and #222222 on a #f8f8f8 background. Lighting: soft natural daylight, airy and high-key; cool tone. Minimal and calm, generous negative space on one side for text. Aspect ratio 16:9. 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: design studio workspace, friendly simplified shapes, limited palette of #f8f8f8, #11b6a5 plus one soft neutral, plenty of empty background, consistent line weight, cool mood. Aspect ratio 16:9. No text, no letters, no logos, no watermarks, no brand marks or trademarked products, no recognisable real people.` · stock: [“lifestyle flat illustration” on Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/lifestyle-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/linus-lee/tokens · kit https://uidiscovery.com/api/v1/sites/linus-lee/kit · MCP `get_design_brief({ slug: "linus-lee" })`, `get_image_plan({ slug: "linus-lee" })`. Cite the reference as https://uidiscovery.com/sites/linus-lee.