Principles

Decisions that resolve every design choice when in doubt. If a component disagrees with a principle, the principle wins.

1 · Forensic precision over decoration

Every datum cites its source. Numbers carry units. Dates carry timezones. Quotes carry section refs. We are the system of record for damage that ends up in court — visual flourish that obscures provenance is a liability.

Pair every measurement with its source — radar tile, pdf code, on-site photo. Make the source clickable.

Don't

Surface stats without context — "1.5\" of hail" with no event date, station, or methodology is unusable.

2 · Density is a feature

Estimators and field teams work in spreadsheets all day. They want more on screen, not less. Default control height is 36px. Default table row is 40px. We make airy layouts available, not mandatory.

3 · Calm authority, not corporate mush

Restrained color. Technical typography. No emoji. No decorative gradients on functional surfaces. The product should read like a NTSB report, not a SaaS landing page.

4 · Tokens are the contract

Components reference tokens. Pages reference components. No raw colors, no magic numbers in feature code. A color change is a one-line edit; a density change is an attribute toggle.

5 · Light is the default; dark is parity

Field crews work in glare; office estimators work past sunset. Both deserve the same information density and the same affordances. Dark mode is not an afterthought — every component is verified in both themes.