DESIRE PATH
A grounded, field-made system for product studios and software teams, printed in live film grain and drawn along the line people actually walk.
Everything on the bench is live. Hover it, type in it, tab through it, or flip Route.
About the system
- Built from
- Desire Path website
- Components
- 43 in 7 groups, every state
- Typefaces
- Wix Madefor Display, Wix Madefor Text, DM Mono
- Route
- Every page knows two ways from an idea to software: the paved one that goes round the grid, and the line people actually walk. Long way draws every route along the paved grid in dashes, turns each cap's arrow round the corner, quotes months and leaves the wordmark whole. Cut across draws the worn line straight through, sends a walker along it, turns the arrows diagonal, quotes weeks in earth and cuts the wordmark.
- Format
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript with no dependencies, plus DESIGN.md
- Version
- 1.0
- Paper
#E8EAE0 - Moss
#2B3222 - Ink
#1F2419 - Ink 2
#5B6450 - Chalk
#F4F3EA - Black
#0C0D09 - Lichen
#DCE2B4 - Earth
#9C5D3C - Sage
#AEB79E - Bramble
#9E3B2C
In context
A project-planning page for a product studio, built only from the kit: compare the long way with the way across, walk the four stages over the painted valley and describe an idea that turns from a cloud of dots into an interface as the form fills. It ships as the starter, ready to rename.


In the kit
DESIGN.md- Rules for building with the system, written to hand to Claude, Lovable or a developer
tokens/tokens.json- Every colour, size, space and timing as named tokens
tokens/tokens.css- The same tokens as CSS variables, with the paper, moss and sage tones
css/desire-path.css- All components and their states, including both routes
js/desire-path.js- The grain print and its lens, Route, route figures, the idea plate, the seam, tabs, dialogs, toasts, the loader and the chrome. No dependencies
components.html- Every component in every state, side by side
starter/index.html- A project-planning page for a product studio, built only from the system
assets/imagery/- Overland, painted valley and fieldwork images at full resolution
LICENSE.md- Commercial use in your own and client projects
Building with an AI
Attach DESIGN.md
Add it to your conversation in Claude, Lovable or any AI builder.
Describe your page
In your own words, with your own brand and content.
Keep the code or port it
Link the token and component CSS, or ask for React. The rules hold either way.
Components
- Layout
- Viewport frame, Paper, moss and sage sheets, Twelve-column grid, Section head, Route figure, Survey ring, Grain print
- Actions
- Chip, Go button, Cap button, Text link
- Input
- Text field, Select, Textarea, Checkbox, Option rows, Switch, Segmented chips, Range
- Data
- Stage tabs, Path index with peek, Figures, Weeks bar, Route plan, Stage table
- Status
- Tag, Note, Steps, Toast, Loader
- Content
- Plate panel, Black card, Idea plate, Seam, Facts, Answers, Caption
- Overlay and navigation
- Dialog, Navigation bar, Menu, Chapter and motion bar, Footer with cut wordmark
Built from Desire PathSee the full website the system comes from.
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