Sapphire Design System (Lightweight Approximation)
This skill teaches you how to build UI that closely matches Danske Bank's Sapphire design system using only CSS custom properties and plain HTML/CSS patterns. No npm packages required.
The real Sapphire system uses @danske/sapphire-react, @danske/sapphire-css, @danske/sapphire-design-tokens, and @danske/sapphire-icons. This skill extracts the essential design tokens, component patterns, and icon catalog so you can replicate the look and feel in any framework (React, Vue, Svelte, plain HTML, etc.).
Quick Start
Every Sapphire-styled page needs two things:
- A theme class on a root element - Add
class="sapphire-theme-default" to your <body> or root container
- The design tokens CSS - Either link to the tokens stylesheet or inline the CSS custom properties
The tokens define everything: colors, spacing, typography, radii, shadows, and control sizes. Components are built by referencing these tokens, which means your entire UI stays consistent and theme-switchable.
<body class="sapphire-theme-default">
<!-- All Sapphire-styled content goes here -->
</body>
How to Use This Skill
- Start with tokens: Read
references/tokens.md for the full set of CSS custom properties. Copy the .sapphire-theme-default block into your project's CSS.
- Build components: Read only the component reference files you need (see table below). This keeps context lean — not every page needs every component.
- Add icons: Read
references/icons.md for the complete icon catalog (700+ icons). Icons are simple SVGs that you can inline or reference.
Component References
Components are split into focused files. Read only what your task requires:
| File |
Components |
When to read |
references/core.md |
Surface, Text, Card, Separator, Layout (stack/row/container) |
Always — needed for any Sapphire page |
references/buttons.md |
Button (7 variants × 3 sizes, states, icons) |
When the UI has buttons or clickable actions |
references/forms.md |
Text Field, Checkbox, Radio, Switch, Select |
When the UI has form inputs or settings |
references/feedback.md |
Badge, Alert, Tabs, Dialog/Modal, Avatar |
When the UI shows status indicators, navigation tabs, modals, or user avatars |
For a typical page, start with core.md + buttons.md. Add forms.md if there are inputs, feedback.md if there are badges/alerts/tabs/dialogs.
Design Principles
Sapphire follows these key principles that you should maintain:
- Semantic color tokens: Never hardcode colors. Use semantic tokens like
--sapphire-semantic-color-foreground-primary instead of raw hex/hsl values. This ensures theme compatibility (light, dark, contrast modes).
- Consistent spacing scale: Use the spacing tokens (
--sapphire-semantic-size-spacing-*) for all padding, margins, and gaps. The scale runs from 4xs (0.125rem) to 6xl (4.5rem).
- Pill-shaped buttons: Buttons use
border-radius equal to their height, creating the signature pill shape.
- Subtle interaction states: Hover/active states use semi-transparent overlays via
color-mix(), not distinct solid colors. This creates smooth, layered interactions.
- Typography hierarchy: Use the heading scale (
heading-2xl down to heading-xs) and body scale (body-lg down to body-xs) with the Danske font family (falls back to system sans-serif).
- Focus rings: All interactive elements show a
2px solid blue-400 outline on keyboard focus, offset by 2px.
- Disabled = 30% opacity: Disabled elements use
opacity: 0.3 universally.
Theme Variants
Sapphire has three surface levels plus a contrast (dark) mode. Each adjusts token values:
| Class |
Background |
Use Case |
.sapphire-theme-default |
White |
Primary surface |
.sapphire-theme--secondary |
Sand-50 |
Elevated sections |
.sapphire-theme--tertiary |
Sand-100 |
Nested containers |
.sapphire-theme--contrast |
Gray-900 (dark) |
Dark mode / hero sections |
Nest theme classes to create depth. A card on a secondary surface would have the secondary class on the section and the default class on the card itself.
Font
Sapphire uses the proprietary "Danske" font. When approximating without the font files, use a system font stack that matches the geometric sans-serif style:
font-family: 'Danske', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif;
Accessibility
- All interactive elements must have visible focus indicators (the focus ring tokens handle this)
- Color is never the sole indicator of state - always pair with icons, text, or shape
- Minimum touch target size:
--sapphire-semantic-size-height-control-sm (2rem / 32px)
- Use semantic HTML elements (
<button>, <input>, <nav>) - the CSS classes layer on top
1---2name: sapphire-design3description: Approximate the Danske Bank Sapphire design system using plain CSS and HTML, without installing @danske/sapphire-* packages. Use this skill whenever the user asks to build UI that should look like Sapphire, match Danske Bank's design system, create Sapphire-styled components, or wants banking/fintech UI with a Scandinavian design language. Also trigger when the user mentions 'sapphire tokens', 'sapphire components', or wants to create UI prototypes that follow the Sapphire visual style. This skill is framework-agnostic and works with any frontend stack.4---56# Sapphire Design System (Lightweight Approximation)78This skill teaches you how to build UI that closely matches Danske Bank's Sapphire design system using only CSS custom properties and plain HTML/CSS patterns. No npm packages required.910The real Sapphire system uses `@danske/sapphire-react`, `@danske/sapphire-css`, `@danske/sapphire-design-tokens`, and `@danske/sapphire-icons`. This skill extracts the essential design tokens, component patterns, and icon catalog so you can replicate the look and feel in any framework (React, Vue, Svelte, plain HTML, etc.).1112## Quick Start1314Every Sapphire-styled page needs two things:15161. **A theme class on a root element** - Add `class="sapphire-theme-default"` to your `<body>` or root container172. **The design tokens CSS** - Either link to the tokens stylesheet or inline the CSS custom properties1819The tokens define everything: colors, spacing, typography, radii, shadows, and control sizes. Components are built by referencing these tokens, which means your entire UI stays consistent and theme-switchable.2021```html22<body class="sapphire-theme-default">23 <!-- All Sapphire-styled content goes here -->24</body>25```2627## How to Use This Skill28291. **Start with tokens**: Read `references/tokens.md` for the full set of CSS custom properties. Copy the `.sapphire-theme-default` block into your project's CSS.302. **Build components**: Read only the component reference files you need (see table below). This keeps context lean — not every page needs every component.313. **Add icons**: Read `references/icons.md` for the complete icon catalog (700+ icons). Icons are simple SVGs that you can inline or reference.3233## Component References3435Components are split into focused files. Read only what your task requires:3637| File | Components | When to read |38|------|-----------|-------------|39| `references/core.md` | Surface, Text, Card, Separator, Layout (stack/row/container) | **Always** — needed for any Sapphire page |40| `references/buttons.md` | Button (7 variants × 3 sizes, states, icons) | When the UI has buttons or clickable actions |41| `references/forms.md` | Text Field, Checkbox, Radio, Switch, Select | When the UI has form inputs or settings |42| `references/feedback.md` | Badge, Alert, Tabs, Dialog/Modal, Avatar | When the UI shows status indicators, navigation tabs, modals, or user avatars |4344For a typical page, start with `core.md` + `buttons.md`. Add `forms.md` if there are inputs, `feedback.md` if there are badges/alerts/tabs/dialogs.4546## Design Principles4748Sapphire follows these key principles that you should maintain:4950- **Semantic color tokens**: Never hardcode colors. Use semantic tokens like `--sapphire-semantic-color-foreground-primary` instead of raw hex/hsl values. This ensures theme compatibility (light, dark, contrast modes).51- **Consistent spacing scale**: Use the spacing tokens (`--sapphire-semantic-size-spacing-*`) for all padding, margins, and gaps. The scale runs from `4xs` (0.125rem) to `6xl` (4.5rem).52- **Pill-shaped buttons**: Buttons use `border-radius` equal to their height, creating the signature pill shape.53- **Subtle interaction states**: Hover/active states use semi-transparent overlays via `color-mix()`, not distinct solid colors. This creates smooth, layered interactions.54- **Typography hierarchy**: Use the heading scale (`heading-2xl` down to `heading-xs`) and body scale (`body-lg` down to `body-xs`) with the Danske font family (falls back to system sans-serif).55- **Focus rings**: All interactive elements show a `2px solid blue-400` outline on keyboard focus, offset by 2px.56- **Disabled = 30% opacity**: Disabled elements use `opacity: 0.3` universally.5758## Theme Variants5960Sapphire has three surface levels plus a contrast (dark) mode. Each adjusts token values:6162| Class | Background | Use Case |63|-------|-----------|----------|64| `.sapphire-theme-default` | White | Primary surface |65| `.sapphire-theme--secondary` | Sand-50 | Elevated sections |66| `.sapphire-theme--tertiary` | Sand-100 | Nested containers |67| `.sapphire-theme--contrast` | Gray-900 (dark) | Dark mode / hero sections |6869Nest theme classes to create depth. A card on a secondary surface would have the secondary class on the section and the default class on the card itself.7071## Font7273Sapphire uses the proprietary "Danske" font. When approximating without the font files, use a system font stack that matches the geometric sans-serif style:7475```css76font-family: 'Danske', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif;77```7879## Accessibility8081- All interactive elements must have visible focus indicators (the focus ring tokens handle this)82- Color is never the sole indicator of state - always pair with icons, text, or shape83- Minimum touch target size: `--sapphire-semantic-size-height-control-sm` (2rem / 32px)84- Use semantic HTML elements (`<button>`, `<input>`, `<nav>`) - the CSS classes layer on top
thomasrohde