claymorphism

Claymorphism Design Spec

3 Core Elements

1. Large Radius — Generous border-radius (20–50px) for a puffy, inflated look
2. Dual Inner Shadows — Light inset from top-left + dark inset from bottom-right to simulate 3D clay surface
3. Offset Outer Shadow — Directional box-shadow offset (not centered) to ground the element

CSS Tokens

Reference: references/tokens.css

@import 'references/tokens.css';

.clay-card {
  background: var(--clay-bg-card);
  border-radius: var(--clay-radius-lg);
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow);
  color: var(--clay-text);
}

Component Examples

Card

.clay-card {
  background: var(--clay-bg-card);
  border-radius: var(--clay-radius-lg);
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow);
  padding: 1.5rem;
  color: var(--clay-text);
}

Button

.clay-btn {
  background: var(--clay-bg-button);
  border: none;
  border-radius: var(--clay-radius-pill);
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow);
  padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;
  color: var(--clay-text);
  cursor: pointer;
  transition: box-shadow 0.2s;
}
.clay-btn:hover {
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow-elevated);
}
.clay-btn:active {
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow-pressed);
}

Input

.clay-input {
  background: var(--clay-bg);
  border: none;
  border-radius: var(--clay-radius);
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow-pressed);
  padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
  color: var(--clay-text);
}
.clay-input:focus {
  outline: 2px solid var(--clay-accent);
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

Toggle

.clay-toggle {
  width: 56px;
  height: 30px;
  background: var(--clay-bg-card);
  border-radius: var(--clay-radius-pill);
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow-pressed);
}
.clay-toggle-knob {
  width: 24px;
  height: 24px;
  background: var(--clay-bg);
  border-radius: 50%;
  box-shadow: var(--clay-shadow);
  transition: transform 0.2s;
}

Dark Mode Notes

• Dark mode reduces inner highlight intensity (rgba(255,255,255,0.05) vs 0.6) to avoid glowing artifacts
• Outer shadow opacity increases to maintain depth on dark backgrounds
• Background colors shift to warm dark tones — avoid pure black to preserve the clay feel
• All dark tokens are defined in [data-theme="dark"] in tokens.css

Accessibility Notes

• Ensure contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 for text — clay backgrounds are muted, verify against --clay-text
• Provide visible :focus outlines since clay shadows alone don't indicate focus
• Use prefers-contrast: more to flatten shadows and increase text contrast

@media (prefers-contrast: more) {
  .clay-card {
    box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px var(--clay-text);
  }
}