Clay

Overview

Clay.com is the most playful B2B SaaS interface in the GTM-data category. The base atmosphere is **cream-tinted white canvas** (`{colors.canvas}` — #fffaf0) holding dark-navy ink type and **3D-rendered claymation illustrations** (mountains, mascot characters, peach/ochre/lavender landscapes) as the dominant brand voltage. Where most data-platform brands play it cool with grids and gradients, Clay leans hard into hand-crafted-looking 3D illustrations and saturated single-color feature cards.

Type voice runs **Plain Black** (or substituted with Inter weight 500-600) — a custom rounded display face used at very large sizes (72px hero) with negative letter-spacing. Body type uses Inter at standard weights. The display weight stays at 500, never bolder — the rounded character of the typeface gives it warmth without needing weight.

Component voltage comes from **saturated single-color feature cards** in a 6-color palette: hot pink, deep teal, lavender, peach, ochre, and cream-card. Each card shows product UI fragments at small scale — Claygent agent runs, sequencer flows, CRM enrichment outputs. The colored card IS the primary visual element on every long-scroll page.

**Key Characteristics:**

• Cream-tinted white canvas (`{colors.canvas}` — #fffaf0). The warmth differentiates Clay from cool-gray competitor sites.
• Dark navy/black primary CTAs (`{colors.primary}` — #0a0a0a). Buttons rounded `{rounded.md}` (12px) — friendly modern but not pill.
• 6-color saturated feature card palette: `{colors.brand-pink}`, `{colors.brand-teal}`, `{colors.brand-lavender}`, `{colors.brand-peach}`, `{colors.brand-ochre}`, `{colors.surface-card}` (cream).
• 3D claymation illustrations (mountains, characters, abstract shapes) as full-bleed hero artifacts — the brand's most-recognized visual element.
• Custom rounded Plain Black display typeface at 500 weight with -1 to -2.5px letter-spacing on display sizes.
• Border radius is generous: `{rounded.md}` (12px) for buttons + inputs, `{rounded.lg}` (16px) for content cards, `{rounded.xl}` (24px) for feature cards. The bigger radius matches the rounded display type's character.
• Product UI fragments embedded inside colored cards at small scale — agent run logs, sequencer flows, enrichment results.
• Section rhythm `{spacing.section}` (96px) between major bands.
• Footer is cream-tinted (`{colors.surface-soft}`) — Clay does NOT use a dark footer. Even the closing band stays warm-light.

Colors

Brand & Accent

• **Primary** (`{colors.primary}` — #0a0a0a): All primary CTAs, h1/h2 ink type. Near-black with slight warmth.
• **Brand Pink** (`{colors.brand-pink}` — #ff4d8b): Hot-pink feature card surface. Sequencer / outbound feature pages.
• **Brand Teal** (`{colors.brand-teal}` — #1a3a3a): Deep teal-green feature card. Often the featured pricing tier.
• **Brand Lavender** (`{colors.brand-lavender}` — #b8a4ed): Soft lavender feature card.
• **Brand Peach** (`{colors.brand-peach}` — #ffb084): Warm peach feature card.
• **Brand Ochre** (`{colors.brand-ochre}` — #e8b94a): Mustard / ochre feature card and illustration accents.
• **Brand Mint** (`{colors.brand-mint}` — #a4d4c5): Mint accent on illustrations and small badges.
• **Brand Coral** (`{colors.brand-coral}` — #ff6b5a): Coral accent for highlights.

Surface

• **Canvas** (`{colors.canvas}` — #fffaf0): The default page floor. Cream-tinted white.
• **Surface Soft** (`{colors.surface-soft}` — #faf5e8): Footer and CTA-band background.
• **Surface Card** (`{colors.surface-card}` — #f5f0e0): Cream feature cards, testimonial cards.
• **Surface Strong** (`{colors.surface-strong}` — #ebe6d6): Stronger cream for emphasized bands.
• **Surface Dark** (`{colors.surface-dark}` — #0a1a1a): Dark teal-tinted near-black for occasional dark cards (rare).
• **Surface Dark Elevated** (`{colors.surface-dark-elevated}` — #1a2a2a): Elevated dark cards.
• **Hairline** (`{colors.hairline}` — #e5e5e5): 1px borders on cards and inputs.

Text

• **Ink** (`{colors.ink}` — #0a0a0a): Headlines and primary text.
• **Body Strong** (`{colors.body-strong}` — #1a1a1a): Emphasized body, lead paragraphs.
• **Body** (`{colors.body}` — #3a3a3a): Default running-text.
• **Muted** (`{colors.muted}` — #6a6a6a): Sub-headings, breadcrumbs, footer body.
• **Muted Soft** (`{colors.muted-soft}` — #9a9a9a): Captions, fine-print.
• **On Primary / On Dark** (`{colors.on-primary}` — #ffffff): Text on primary buttons + dark feature cards (teal).

Semantic

• **Success** (`{colors.success}` — #22c55e): Success states.
• **Warning** (`{colors.warning}` — #f59e0b): Warning callouts.
• **Error** (`{colors.error}` — #ef4444): Validation errors.

Typography

Font Family

The system runs **Plain Black** (a custom rounded display face) for headlines and **Inter** for body, navigation, and UI. Plain Black at weight 500 with negative letter-spacing handles every display headline; Inter handles the rest. The fallback stack walks `Inter, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif` for both.

Hierarchy

| Token | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Use |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| `{typography.display-xl}` | 72px | 500 | 1.0 | -2.5px | Homepage h1 ("Go to market with unique data") — Plain Black |

| `{typography.display-lg}` | 56px | 500 | 1.05 | -2px | Section heads — Plain Black |

| `{typography.display-md}` | 40px | 500 | 1.1 | -1px | Sub-section heads, product names |

| `{typography.display-sm}` | 32px | 500 | 1.15 | -0.5px | CTA-band heads, feature card titles |

| `{typography.title-lg}` | 24px | 600 | 1.3 | -0.3px | Pricing plan names, larger feature titles |

| `{typography.title-md}` | 18px | 600 | 1.4 | 0 | Card titles, intro paragraphs |

| `{typography.title-sm}` | 16px | 600 | 1.4 | 0 | Small card titles, list labels |

| `{typography.body-md}` | 16px | 400 | 1.55 | 0 | Default running-text |

| `{typography.body-sm}` | 14px | 400 | 1.55 | 0 | Footer body, fine-print |

| `{typography.caption}` | 13px | 500 | 1.4 | 0 | Badge labels, captions |

| `{typography.caption-uppercase}` | 12px | 600 | 1.4 | 1.5px | Section labels, "FEATURED" badges |

| `{typography.button}` | 14px | 600 | 1.0 | 0 | Standard button labels |

| `{typography.nav-link}` | 14px | 500 | 1.4 | 0 | Top-nav menu items |

Principles

Plain Black at weight 500 + negative letter-spacing IS the brand voice. Going to weight 700 reads as bombastic; the rounded character of the typeface adds warmth that bolder weight would flatten.

The body-vs-display split is functional: Plain Black for Plain Black moments (headlines), Inter for everything else (running text, UI, buttons). Mixing them is a system violation.

Note on Font Substitutes

If Plain Black is unavailable, **Inter** at weight 500 with -0.05em letter-spacing is a usable approximation. **Söhne Breit** at weight Buch is an alternative if licensed. **Recoleta** at weight 500 carries similar rounded-display warmth.

Layout

Spacing System

• **Base unit:** 4px.
• **Tokens:** `{spacing.xxs}` 4px · `{spacing.xs}` 8px · `{spacing.sm}` 12px · `{spacing.md}` 16px · `{spacing.lg}` 24px · `{spacing.xl}` 32px · `{spacing.xxl}` 48px · `{spacing.section}` 96px.
• **Section padding:** `{spacing.section}` (96px) between major editorial bands.
• **Card internal padding:** `{spacing.xl}` (32px) for feature cards and pricing tiers; `{spacing.lg}` (24px) for testimonial and product mockup cards.

Grid & Container

• **Max content width:** ~1280px centered.
• **Editorial body:** Single 12-column grid; hero often uses 7/5 split (h1 left, illustration right).
• **Feature card grids:** 3-up at desktop, 2-up at tablet, 1-up at mobile.
• **Pricing grid:** 3-4 up at desktop, 1-up at mobile.

Whitespace Philosophy

Clay uses generous whitespace around big rounded display headlines and saturated feature cards. The cream canvas + colored cards + 3D illustrations create a playful warmth that competing data-platform sites lack.

Elevation & Depth

| Level | Treatment | Use |

|---|---|---|

| Flat | No shadow, no border | Body sections, top nav, hero |

| Soft hairline | 1px `{colors.hairline}` border | Inputs, small content cards |

| Saturated card | Brand pink/teal/lavender/peach/ochre fill — no shadow | Feature cards |

| Cream card | `{colors.surface-card}` background — no shadow | Testimonial, secondary cards |

| Subtle drop shadow | Faint shadow at low alpha | Hover-elevated states (rare) |

The system uses no heavy shadows. Depth comes from the saturated color contrast between cream canvas and bright feature cards.

Decorative Depth

• **3D claymation illustrations** — mountains, characters, mascots rendered in a hand-crafted 3D style. The brand's most-recognized depth element. Not a token — these are illustrated assets.
• **Mascot characters** appear as inline figures in feature cards and CTAs.

Shapes

Border Radius Scale

| Token | Value | Use |

|---|---|---|

| `{rounded.xs}` | 6px | Small badges, dropdown items |

| `{rounded.sm}` | 8px | Small buttons, hairline-border accent |

| `{rounded.md}` | 12px | Standard CTA buttons, text inputs |

| `{rounded.lg}` | 16px | Content cards, testimonial cards, pricing tiers |

| `{rounded.xl}` | 24px | Feature cards (the saturated brand-color cards) |

| `{rounded.pill}` | 9999px | Category tabs, badge pills |

| `{rounded.full}` | 9999px / 50% | Avatars, icon buttons |

Components

Top Navigation

**`top-nav`** — Cream nav bar pinned to top. 64px tall, `{colors.canvas}` background. Carries the Clay logo + wordmark at left, primary horizontal menu (Product, Solutions, Resources, Pricing, Customers) center, right-side cluster with "Sign in" + "Try free" `{component.button-primary}`. Menu items in `{typography.nav-link}` (Inter 14px / 500).

Buttons

**`button-primary`** — Background `{colors.primary}` (near-black), text `{colors.on-primary}` (white), type `{typography.button}` (Inter 14px / 600), padding 12px × 20px, height 44px, rounded `{rounded.md}` (12px).

**`button-secondary`** — Cream button with hairline outline. Background `{colors.canvas}`, text `{colors.ink}`, 1px hairline border.

**`button-on-color`** — White button used over saturated brand-color feature cards. Same shape as primary but inverted (white background, ink text).

**`button-text-link`** — Inline text button, no background. Used for "Sign in" and inline link CTAs.

**`text-link`** — Inline body links in `{colors.ink}` with underline.

Cards & Containers

**`hero-band`** — Cream-canvas hero with 7-5 grid: h1 + sub-headline + button row on the left, 3D claymation illustration on the right. Vertical padding `{spacing.section}` (96px).

**`hero-illustration-card`** — Right-side artifact holding 3D claymation illustration (mountains, mascot character, abstract shapes). Background `{colors.surface-soft}`, rounded `{rounded.xl}` (24px). The illustration IS the artifact.

**`feature-card-pink`** / **`feature-card-teal`** / **`feature-card-lavender`** / **`feature-card-peach`** / **`feature-card-ochre`** — Saturated single-color feature cards. Background varies per variant; rounded `{rounded.xl}` (24px); padding `{spacing.xl}` (32px). Each card carries an h3 in `{typography.title-md}`, a body description, and a product UI fragment or mascot illustration. Text color flips to `{colors.on-dark}` (white) on pink and teal cards, `{colors.ink}` (dark) on lavender/peach/ochre cards (the lighter saturations have enough contrast for dark text).

**`feature-card-cream`** — Lower-key feature card variant on `{colors.surface-card}`. Used for less-emphasized features that don't warrant a saturated color.

**`product-mockup-card`** — Card showing actual Clay product UI (Claygent agent runs, sequencer flows, CRM enrichment tables). Background `{colors.canvas}` with hairline border, rounded `{rounded.lg}`, padding `{spacing.lg}` (24px).

**`testimonial-card`** — Customer quote cards. Background `{colors.surface-card}` (cream), rounded `{rounded.lg}`, padding `{spacing.lg}` (24px). Top row has avatar + name + role; below sits the testimonial in `{typography.body-md}`.

**`pricing-tier-card`** — Standard tier card. Background `{colors.canvas}` with hairline, rounded `{rounded.lg}`, padding `{spacing.xl}` (32px).

**`pricing-tier-card-featured`** — The featured tier flips to `{colors.brand-teal}` (deep teal-green). The teal surface IS the featured signal.

**`expert-card`** — Used on /experts page. Background `{colors.canvas}` with hairline, rounded `{rounded.lg}`, padding `{spacing.lg}`. Carries an avatar at top, expert name, specialization, and a "Book session" link.

Inputs & Forms

**`text-input`** — Background `{colors.canvas}`, text `{colors.ink}`, type `{typography.body-md}`, rounded `{rounded.md}` (12px), padding 12px × 16px, height 44px. 1px hairline border.

**`text-input-focused`** — Border thickens to ink for emphasis.

Tabs / Badges

**`category-tab`** + **`category-tab-active`** — Pill-shaped tabs in sub-nav. Inactive: transparent + muted text. Active: cream-card background + ink text. Padding 8px × 16px.

**`badge-pill`** — Small cream-fill pill labels in `{typography.caption}` (13px / 500), rounded `{rounded.pill}`.

CTA / Footer

**`cta-band-illustrated`** — Pre-footer "Turn your growth ideas into reality today" band. Background `{colors.surface-soft}`, rounded `{rounded.xl}`, padding 80px. Carries an h2 in `{typography.display-md}`, a sub-line, and a `{component.button-primary}` — usually paired with a 3D illustration of a mascot or scene.

**`footer`** — Cream-tinted footer (NOT dark navy unlike most SaaS sites). Background `{colors.surface-soft}`, text `{colors.body}`. 4-column link list. Vertical padding 80px. Often features a horizon-style 3D mountain illustration at the very bottom — Clay's signature footer mountain.

Do's and Don'ts

Do

• Anchor every page on the cream canvas (`{colors.canvas}` — #fffaf0). The warm tint differentiates Clay from cool-gray data sites.
• Use 3D claymation illustrations as hero artifacts. Hand-crafted 3D characters and mountains ARE the brand.
• Cycle saturated feature cards across the page — pink → teal → lavender → peach → ochre → cream. Repeating the same color twice in a row reads as off-rhythm.
• Use Plain Black at weight 500 with negative letter-spacing on every display headline.
• Show product UI fragments inside saturated feature cards. The brand voltage is product-driven, not abstract.
• Use cream footer (NOT dark). Clay deliberately closes pages with warm cream rather than the standard dark-footer SaaS template.
• Anchor every band with `{spacing.section}` (96px) vertical rhythm.

Don't

• Don't use cool grays for canvas. The cream tint is non-negotiable.
• Don't use a 7th brand-color card. The 6-color palette is saturated enough.
• Don't bold display weight beyond 500. Plain Black at 700 reads as bombastic.
• Don't repeat the same brand-color card twice in a row.
• Don't replace claymation illustrations with flat vector art. The hand-crafted 3D character IS the brand voice.
• Don't use a dark footer. The cream footer is part of the system's warm-throughout pacing.
• Don't add hover state styling beyond what the system already encodes.

Responsive Behavior

Breakpoints

| Name | Width | Key Changes |

|---|---|---|

| Mobile | < 768px | Hamburger nav; hero h1 72→36px; hero-illustration-card stacks below; feature grids 1-up; pricing 1-up |

| Tablet | 768–1024px | Top nav tightens; feature cards 2-up; pricing 2-up |

| Desktop | 1024–1440px | Full top-nav; 3-up feature cards; 3-up pricing tiers |

| Wide | > 1440px | Same as desktop with more breathing room; max content 1280px |

Touch Targets

• `{component.button-primary}` at minimum 44 × 44px (matches WCAG AAA).
• `{component.text-input}` height is 44px.

Collapsing Strategy

• Top nav collapses to hamburger at < 768px.
• Hero 7-5 grid → single-column on mobile.
• Feature card grids reduce columns rather than scaling.
• Saturated feature cards retain their colored fill at every breakpoint.
• Pricing tier cards collapse 4 → 2 → 1.

Iteration Guide

1. Focus on ONE component at a time. Reference its YAML key (`{component.feature-card-pink}`, `{component.pricing-tier-card-featured}`).

2. Pick the right brand-color card for the feature: pink for outbound/sequencer, teal for enterprise/featured, lavender for AI-agent products, peach for general SaaS warmth, ochre for community / experts.

3. Variants of an existing component (`-active`, `-disabled`) live as separate entries.

4. Use `{token.refs}` everywhere — never inline hex.

5. Never document hover.

6. Display headlines stay Plain Black 500 with negative letter-spacing. Body stays Inter 400.

7. The cream-throughout palette is a system contract — don't add a dark footer.

Known Gaps

• Plain Black is licensed to Clay and not available as a public web font; Inter weight 500 with negative letter-spacing is the closest substitute.
• 3D claymation illustrations are commissioned assets, not system tokens — they're rendered per-page.
• The mascot characters (named characters that recur across the site) are illustrated assets; their exact lineage and naming are not formalized in tokens.
• Animation and transition timings (3D illustration parallax on scroll, feature card entrance animations) are not in scope.
• Form validation states beyond `{component.text-input-focused}` are not extracted.
• The actual Clay product surface (in-app data tables, formula editor, agent builder) shares some tokens with the marketing site but adds many product-specific components that are out of scope.