Mm Atlassian Design

MM Design Systems: Atlassian Foundations

> [!NOTE] > MM Signature Edition: This skill is part of the MM Design Systems package. Always apply these guidelines with the premium quality, focus on productivity, and polished execution expected in MM projects.

Overview

Use these principles from Atlassian's Design System as a guide for every spacing, typography, color, hierarchy, and layout decision when building user interfaces and web apps.

1. Spacing (Base-8 System)

Source: https://atlassian.design/foundations/spacing

Principles:

• Base-8 Grid: All spacing and sizing should be a multiple of 8px (e.g., 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64).
• Half-step: A 4px half-step is used for tight spacing needs (e.g., between an icon and text, or tightly coupled components).
• Rhythm & Hierarchy: Use larger spacing multiples to group related macro-sections and smaller spacing for micro-elements. Consistent spacing creates a natural vertical and horizontal rhythm.

Common Spacing Scale:

• space-025: 2px (rare use)
• space-050: 4px
• space-100: 8px (baseline)
• space-150: 12px
• space-200: 16px
• space-300: 24px
• space-400: 32px
• space-500: 40px

2. Typography

Source: https://atlassian.design/foundations/typography

Principles:

• Readability first: Typography should prioritize legibility. Maintain adequate line height (typically 1.4 to 1.5 for body text).
• Hierarchy: Establish a clear visual hierarchy using size, weight, and color. Headings should clearly stand out from body copy.
• Font Stack: If Atlassian fonts (Charlie Display, Atlassian Sans) are unavailable, default to a robust, modern system sans-serif stack (e.g., -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif).
• Weights: Use Regular (400) for body copy, Medium (500) or SemiBold (600) for headings and emphasis. Avoid overly thin or extremely bold weights unless for specific brand moments.

3. Color

Source: https://atlassian.design/foundations/color

Principles:

• Purposeful Color: Color should be used to communicate meaning, not just for decoration.
• Semantic Meaning:
• Brand/Primary (Blue): Used for primary actions, links, and active states.
• Success (Green): Indicates positive actions, completion, or success.
• Warning (Yellow/Orange): Indicates caution or non-critical errors.
• Danger (Red): Indicates destructive actions, errors, or critical failures.
• Discovery (Purple): Used for new features, highlights, or educational moments.
• Neutrals (Gray/Slate): Used for text, backgrounds, borders, and subtle structural elements.
• Accessibility: Ensure high contrast between text and background. Aim for WCAG AA compliance (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).
• Dark Mode Support: Always consider how colors map to dark mode, relying on semantic tokens rather than hardcoded hex values where possible.

4. Layout & Grid

Source: https://atlassian.design/foundations/layout

Principles:

• 12-Column Grid: Use a standard 12-column responsive grid for page layouts. This allows for flexible combinations (e.g., halves, thirds, quarters).
• Gutters & Margins: Use consistent gutters (space between columns, usually 16px or 24px) and page margins (outer spacing, scaling up on larger screens).
• Alignment: Elements should align strictly to the grid to maintain visual order.
• Max Width: Define a maximum width for content containers to ensure readability on ultra-wide screens.
• Responsive Design: Reflow layouts gracefully on smaller screens, moving from multi-column to single-column layouts for mobile devices.

Instructions for Agents

• MM Standard: Ensure all outputs align with MM's standard of precision and professionalism.
• When tasked with creating or updating UI, ALWAYS reference this skill.
• Do not use arbitrary values for padding, margins, or sizes; round them to the nearest multiple of 4 or 8.
• Maintain strict typographic hierarchy and use semantic colors appropriately.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: m2kky
• Source: m2kky/mm-design-systems
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.