FRAME

BlockFrame at frame scale is a maximalist neobrutalist system on five laws: every region has a 4px black border, every elevated element an 8px hard offset shadow, every corner square, every accent a saturated pastel, and every layout allowed to be a little crooked. The joy is the deliberate collision — bordered cards meeting bordered cards, shadows stacking, tilted decorations puncturing the grid.

The voice is Inter at weight 800–900 in tight uppercase with negative tracking (display) + weight 500 sentence body, and Space Grotesk weight 600 uppercase 0.08em as the label/chrome voice. Five candy pastels (pink/blue/green/yellow/cream) cycle as full-bleed grounds across frames — the color cycling is the primary rhythm. Depth is hard offset shadow (8px/4px, solid black, zero blur, bottom-right); the close-frame’s 12px yellow shadow is the one colored exception.

Key characteristics at frame scale:

• 4px black borders + 8px hard shadows on primary cards; 3px + 4px on chrome (weights coupled).
• Five-pastel palette cycled as full-bleed grounds; black/white/off-white structural.
• Inter 800–900 uppercase negative-tracked display; Space Grotesk label chrome.
• Square corners everywhere (only the stat-deco dot is round); tilted decorations puncture the grid.
• Label-pills open every region; star bursts, stripe blocks, dot grids are reusable attention units.
• Comfortably dense — packed reads as authoritative; empty corners read as broken.

The Frame

Frame Craft Bar

Three eyeball tests gate every frame before any structural check:

• Squint — one Inter display moment dominates at 3–6× its neighbor; cards read as a system, not rivals.

• Silence — cover/quote/close keep air (decorations, not content); the feature-card and stat grids are the dense exception.

• Restraint — the 4px→08px / 3px→4px coupling holds; black borders only (white on close); pastel ground cycles one per frame; no sixth pastel.

• Reference — aim at a zine / 1990s sticker-book / toy-packaging spread (bordered blocks, tilted decorations); failure looks like a flat, borderless, blurred-shadow web card grid.

• Primary: 1920×1080 (16:9). Display authored in cqw (px ÷ 1920 × 100 = cqw).

• Vertical: 1080×1920 (9:16). Square: 1080×1080 (1:1).

• Safe area: slide-pad ~3.1cqw; decorations may bleed off edges.

The container law (load-bearing). Every frame ground sets container-type: size; ALL frame-relative units are cqw/cqh against it — never vw. Borders/shadows scale in cqw so the 4px↔8px coupling holds proportionally; corners stay square.

Colors

Tokens identical to the source. {colors.offwhite} is the default ground, but frames cycle through {colors.cream}/blue/pink/green/yellow grounds — the cycle is the rhythm. {colors.black} is every border + structural text; {colors.white} is card fills. The five pastels are interchangeable with no semantic meaning — pair by juxtaposition (pink+blue+green trio, cream+yellow warm pair). {colors.yellow} is the CTA + the one colored (close) shadow; {colors.black} ground is the close surface. No sixth pastel.

Typography

Two ramps. The reading/chrome ramp (Inter body 0.95cqw weight 500, Space Grotesk labels in px) carries copy + chrome; the display ramp (Inter heading-md 2.1cqw → heading-xl 5cqw, weight 800–900 uppercase) carries every headline + stat.

• Legibility floor: any load-bearing line ≥ 1.4cqw; px labels are chrome only.
• Fit-to-measure: size the headline to its length. Cap the block at ≤ 78cqw; ≤3 words → heading-xl; 4–6 → heading-lg; 7+ → heading-md.
• Inter display is uppercase, weight 800–900, negative-tracked (−0.01..−0.03em); body weight 500 sentence case; Space Grotesk labels uppercase 0.08em. No sentence-case display, no untracked display.

Depth & Surface

Hard offset shadow, solid black, zero blur, bottom-right:

• 0.8cqw (8px) primary cards; 0.4cqw (4px) chrome; 0.6cqw (6px) hover.
• Border-based depth — the 4px/3px borders do much of the lift; shadow makes it “elevated.”
• Tilt — ±2°–12° rotation breaks the grid for perceived dimension.
• Inverted close — 12px YELLOW shadow (and 6px white on close-btn) — the only colored shadows.

Ceiling: no blurred shadow, no rounded corner (save the stat-deco dot), no gradient depth.

Shapes

• 0 radius everywhere except the 12px stat-deco dot (50%). Square corners are the structural identity.

Components

• card-elevated / card-small — the bordered+shadowed content cards (weight-coupled).
• label-pill — the universal eyebrow (border+shadow+pastel). button-primary — yellow CTA.
• star-burst / stripe-block / bg-dot-grid / tilt-deco — the reusable decoration units (one per frame min).
• stat-deco-dot — the lone round shape. close-frame — the inverted black+white+yellow-shadow closer.

Frame Treatments

Recipe: ground · container · composes · focal · chrome · accent · silence · Fixed/Free · density. Cycle the ground color; add ≥1 decoration per frame; open with a label-pill.

1 · Cover (identity · move: decorations puncture · left)

Ground {colors.cream} (or offwhite) + faint dot-grid. Composes label-pill, heading-xl, tilt-deco rect, star-burst, counter. Focal a 2–3 line Inter heading-xl uppercase, left, under a label-pill; tilted pastel rects + a star burst puncture the right. Chrome counter pill. Accent the decorations’ pastels. Silence right third holds decorations. Fixed 4px/8px coupling, uppercase display, square. Free title, decoration placement/colors. Density comfortable.

2 · Feature Cards (catalog · move: 3-up bordered grid · blue ground)

Ground {colors.blue}, slide-pad. Composes label-pill, heading-lg, 3× card-elevated (icon-square + card-title + body). Focal three white bordered+shadowed cards. Chrome label-pill eyebrow. Accent the pastel icon-squares (pink/green/yellow). Silence tight — dense by design. Fixed 4px border + 8px shadow, square, uppercase card-titles. Free card content, icon hues. Density dense-exception.

3 · Stat Grid (data · move: tilted stat cards · green ground)

Ground {colors.green}, slide-pad. Composes label-pill, heading-lg, 3× card-small (tilted −2/+2°, stat-deco dot, stat-number + label). Focal three tilted bordered stat cards. Accent the deco-dots’ pastels + black stat numerals. Silence moderate. Fixed alternating tilt, 3px+4px, round deco-dot only. Free figures (from script), dot hues. Density dense-exception.

4 · Closing Plate (closer · move: inverted black · centered)

Ground {colors.black}. Composes close-frame (4px white border, 12px yellow shadow), label-pill (inverted), close-title, star-burst. Focal a white close-title inside the white-bordered frame with the yellow offset shadow; a pink star punctures a corner. Accent the yellow shadow + pink star. Silence ~50%. Fixed white-on-black, 12px yellow shadow (only here), square. Free sign-off, star placement. Density low.

5 · Quote (quote · move: bordered quote frame · pink ground)

Ground {colors.pink} (or offwhite). Composes label-pill, quote-text in a card-elevated, attribution. Focal an Inter quote-text (900 uppercase) inside a white bordered+shadowed frame. Accent the ground + one decoration. Silence moderate. Fixed uppercase quote, 4px/8px. Free quote, ground. Density comfortable.

6 · Timeline (process · move: stepped bordered cards · offwhite)

Ground {colors.offwhite}. Composes label-pill, heading-lg, 3–4 card-small steps + step-connectors. Focal a row of bordered step cards linked by black connector bars, each a pastel + step-num. Accent the step pastels. Silence moderate. Fixed 3px+4px steps, square, connectors. Free steps, hues. Density standard.

Composition Rules

Do

• Pair 4px borders with 8px shadows, 3px with 4px — the coupling is non-negotiable.
• Cycle pastel grounds across frames; keep the deck visually rhythmic.
• Set Inter display uppercase, 800–900, negative-tracked; open every region with a label-pill.
• Render shadows solid black, zero blur, bottom-right; add ≥1 decoration (tilt/star/stripe/dots) per frame.
• Use yellow for CTAs; use the inverted black + 12px yellow shadow close-frame for the closer.
• Tilt decorations ±2°–12°; lean left on most frames.

Don’t

• No rounded corners (save the stat-deco dot); no blurred shadows.
• No colored borders (black only, save the close-frame white); no sixth pastel.
• No sentence-case Inter display; no untracked display; no label as plain text.
• Don’t keep everything perfectly aligned (tilt is the signature); don’t leave corners empty.
• Don’t blow a headline edge-to-edge — fit to measure.

Aspect-Ratio Behavior

slide-pad holds on the short edge; re-step display above the 1.4cqw floor. Decoration count drops on tighter ratios so the frame stays bordered, not cluttered.

Approved Entities

No real customers, logos, or vendors are defined in the source — render any such mark as a placeholder. Pastel fills, decorations, and tilts are content-agnostic.

Numerals & Claims (hard rule)

Never invent figures, stats, or counts at frame scale. Render slots as — figure —, {metric}, N×. Stat cards and charts carry placeholders until the script supplies values. Slide counters and list numbers are decorative.

Pre-Render Self-Audit

• Squint — one Inter display moment dominates; cards read as a system.
• Silence — only feature/stat grids run dense; cover/quote/close keep air with decorations.
• Borders/shadows — 4px↔8px / 3px↔4px coupling holds; solid black, zero blur.
• Color — pastel ground cycles; black borders only (white on close); no sixth pastel.
• Type — Inter uppercase 800–900 negative-tracked, fit-to-measure; Space Grotesk labels 0.08em; ≥1.4cqw floor.
• Shape — square corners (only stat-deco dot round); ≥1 tilt/decoration per frame.
• Fabrication — every numeral traces to the script, else placeholder.

Known Gaps

• Motion intentionally out of scope. frame.md specifies composition only; the source toggles slides via display, no transition.
• Inter + Space Grotesk via Google Fonts. CJK: Noto Sans SC 900 (sentence case — the uppercase signal drops); lean harder on borders/shadows/decoration to carry the brutalist identity.
• 9:16 / 1:1 are guidance; verify the floor and that decoration count scales down.
• Star bursts (clip-path), stripe blocks, dot grids, and tilts are CSS-only; no external imagery is required.