# Mokosh Design System

Cross-phase visual + interaction reference for the Mokosh extension (internal
codename "Mokosh"; public display name currently `"AI Call Recorder"` —
open per `brand-identity.md`). Authored 2026-05-17 in response to Plan 01-09's
notification-icon discovery that the original placeholder PNGs failed Chrome's
notification API.

**This file mixes two kinds of content** and the design team should treat them
differently:

1. **Engineering sketches** — what the extension currently ships in placeholder
   builds (colors, fonts, sizes, voice). These exist so the extension *runs*;
   they are not direction. Override anything aesthetic.
2. **Technical floors** — what Chrome MV3, the notification API, MV3 CSP, or
   WCAG accessibility require. These are binding regardless of creative
   direction. Marked explicitly with **(FLOOR)** wherever they appear.

Status: `draft` — engineering sketch + binding floors. Both design and brand
teams have full authority over everything not marked **(FLOOR)**.

---

## What's locked vs what's open

| Decision | Status |
|---|---|
| Codename **"Mokosh"** | **LOCKED** (engineering — wired through code) |
| Public display name | OPEN (brand team) |
| All color hexes + token names | OPEN (design team) |
| Typography face(s) and scale | OPEN (design team) — must cover Cyrillic, must bundle locally **(FLOOR)** |
| Iconography style + mark concept | OPEN (design team) — must ship at 16/48/128 px PNG with file-size floors **(FLOOR)** |
| Spacing scale, corner radii, motion | OPEN (design team) |
| Brand voice, tagline, copy | OPEN (brand team) |
| Welcome-tab layout + treatment | OPEN (design team) |
| WCAG AA contrast | **FLOOR** (legal/accessibility — not creative) |
| Chrome notification API icon ≥ 128 px | **FLOOR** |
| MV3 CSP (no remote fonts/scripts, no `unsafe-eval`) | **FLOOR** |
| Toolbar badge text max 4 chars | **FLOOR** (Chrome truncates) |
| Russian-first audience | **FLOOR** (product, not visual) — visuals must work without depending on language for legibility |

Everything below is engineering's current sketch, framed as starting options,
unless explicitly tagged **(FLOOR)**.

---

## 1. Brand voice *(OPEN — brand team)*

Engineering has no opinion. Axes to decide:

- **Warmth** — clinical / neutral / warm / friendly
- **Formality** — system-terse / professional / conversational / casual
- **Humour** — none / dry / occasional / playful
- **Emoji policy** — never / functional only (✓ × ⚠) / freely
- **Two-register vs single-register** — toolbar/notification copy can match welcome-tab copy, or diverge (e.g. terse system messages vs full-prose onboarding)

Engineering's current placeholder voice in shipped strings is *calm, brief,
operationally serious* — chosen because the product runs for operators under
stress. This is a defensible starting point and equally defensible to replace
entirely.

---

## 2. Identity *(OPEN except codename)*

| | |
|---|---|
| Codename **(LOCKED)** | Mokosh — Slavic goddess of weaving and fate |
| Public display name *(OPEN — brand)* | Currently placeholder `"AI Call Recorder"`. See `brand-identity.md` §2 for options. |
| Tagline *(OPEN — brand)* | Currently placeholder `"Записывает, чтобы вы могли воспроизвести."` ("Records so you can reproduce.") Replace, translate, or drop. |
| Mark concept *(OPEN — design)* | See §5 below — engineering sketches one possible direction; design team picks from anything. |

---

## 3. Color *(OPEN — design team)*

Engineering currently ships the placeholder palette below so the extension
runs. **Every hex is open. Every token name is open. The whole palette
strategy is open.**

### 3.1 Engineering's current placeholder palette

| Token | Hex | Currently used for |
|---|---|---|
| `--mks-rec` | `#00C853` | Toolbar badge background when recording (Material Green A700) |
| `--mks-off` | `#9E9E9E` | Toolbar badge background when idle |
| `--mks-error` | `#FFB300` | Toolbar badge background on recoverable error (Material Amber 600) |
| `--mks-fatal` | `#D32F2F` | Toolbar badge background on unrecoverable state (Material Red 700) |
| `--mks-surface-bg` | `#222222` | Smoke-test page / dark popup surfaces |
| `--mks-surface-text` | `#EEEEEE` | Text on dark surfaces |
| `--mks-popup-bg-light` | `#FFFFFF` | Popup background, light Chrome theme |
| `--mks-popup-bg-dark` | `#1F1F1F` | Popup background, dark Chrome theme |
| `--mks-diag-bg` / `--mks-diag-fg` | `#000000` / `#00FF00` | Smoke-test timer overlay (dev-only — keep monospace + high-contrast for legibility, but recolor freely) |

### 3.2 Palette directions for the design team to choose from

Direction matters more than specific hexes. Options without ranking:

- **Dark-mode-native, monochrome + single accent for "recording"** (current placeholder)
- **Light-mode primary with dark-mode variant**
- **Multi-accent** — separate distinguishing color per state beyond just green/yellow/red
- **Warm / earthy** — browns, ochres, off-whites
- **Cool / clinical** — blues, grays, white
- **High-contrast monochrome** — pure black/white + one accent
- **Whatever the design team coins**

### 3.3 Mechanical hooks the palette has to fill

(Not creative — these are surfaces engineering wires colors into.)

- `chrome.action.setBadgeBackgroundColor(...)` — one color per toolbar badge state
- Popup background + text (two themes if supporting both Chrome light/dark)
- Welcome-tab background + text
- Smoke-test diagnostic overlay (dev-only — design team can ignore)

If the design team lands on N states beyond recording/idle/error, engineering
adapts the badge wiring.

---

## 4. Typography *(OPEN — design team, with one floor)*

Engineering ships system stack as a placeholder. Open to replacement.

### 4.1 Technical floor **(FLOOR — KEEP)**

- **Must cover Cyrillic glyphs.** Russian operators are primary. Latin-only faces are non-starters.
- **Must bundle locally.** MV3 CSP forbids remote `@font-face` from external CDNs. Any custom face ships as a static asset in `dist/`.
- **Should not block the service worker.** The SW has no DOM and renders no text; this only matters for popup + welcome.

### 4.2 Engineering's current placeholder stack

| Family token | Stack | Currently used for |
|---|---|---|
| `--mks-font-ui` | `-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif` | All UI text |
| `--mks-font-mono` | `"SF Mono", Menlo, Consolas, "Courier New", monospace` | Diagnostic overlays, code, timer |

Chosen for zero-load, no FOUT, automatic Cyrillic coverage on every OS.
**Equally valid:** a licensed custom face (Inter, IBM Plex Sans, JetBrains
Mono, or anything), variable fonts, a type pair, a different system fallback
chain.

### 4.3 Engineering's current type scale (placeholder)

| Token | Size | Line-height | Currently used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| `--mks-text-xs` | 11px | 1.3 | Badge labels, footnotes |
| `--mks-text-sm` | 13px | 1.4 | Secondary UI text |
| `--mks-text-base` | 15px | 1.5 | Body text |
| `--mks-text-lg` | 18px | 1.4 | Section headings within popup |
| `--mks-text-xl` | 24px | 1.3 | Welcome page H1 |
| `--mks-text-xxl` | 32px | 1.2 | Diagnostic timer, large status |

Replace freely. Modular scale, fluid type, t-shirt sizes — design team picks.

### 4.4 Engineering's current weight ladder (placeholder)

- 400 (regular), 500 (medium), 700 (bold)

Replace freely.

---

## 5. Iconography *(OPEN — design team, with floors)*

### 5.1 Technical floors **(FLOOR — KEEP)**

- Sized PNGs at **16, 48, 128 px** in `dist/icons/`, declared in `manifest.json:icons` and `manifest.json:action.default_icon`
- The **128 px is required** for `chrome.notifications.create({type:'basic'})` to render an iconUrl
- File-size minimums per `assets-spec.md` (Chrome silently rejects icons below ~200 B / 500 B / 1 KB at the three sizes)
- Optional 192 px variant for hi-DPI notification rendering
- Inline SVG preferred for popup/welcome surfaces where Chrome permits — sharper at all DPIs. Chrome's `notifications.create` REQUIRES PNG `iconUrl` though.

### 5.2 Engineering's current placeholder direction

Solid-filled, 24×24 source grid with 2 px padding, neutral mark + state via
badge (the toolbar icon itself doesn't change between idle/recording — the
`chrome.action.setBadgeBackgroundColor` does the state work).

**This is one of many possible directions.** Equally valid:

- Line-only icons
- Mixed (solid for primary, line for secondary)
- Per-state icon swaps via `chrome.action.setIcon` (adds perf cost — see §7)
- Animated SVG icons
- Illustrated mark (full scene rather than abstract glyph)

### 5.3 Mark concept *(OPEN — design team)*

Engineering's current placeholder is "dark square + green dot" via
ImageMagick. **No mark direction is implied.** Possible directions:

- Recording-dot inside a frame (conventional, immediately readable as "records")
- Thread/spool/weave motif (leans into the Mokosh etymology)
- Abstract geometric mark (no figurative reference)
- Wordmark only (the letterforms are the mark)
- Illustrated mascot
- Whatever the design team coins

Constraints: must resolve at 16 px (a strong silhouette is hard at that size),
must work neutral OR colored (depending on the team's badge-vs-icon-state
decision).

### 5.4 Inline glyphs *(OPEN — design team)*

The popup and welcome surfaces need glyphs for actions and states. Concepts
engineering currently shows:

| Concept | Currently shown as | Design-team-owned |
|---|---|---|
| Save / download | ⬇ filled-arrow-into-tray (Unicode, placeholder) | Replace with custom glyph or icon font |
| Stop | ■ filled-square (placeholder) | — |
| Recording active | ● solid-circle (placeholder) | — |
| Error | ▲ filled-triangle with `!` (placeholder) | — |
| Settings | ⚙ filled-gear (placeholder; not currently surfaced) | — |
| Welcome / intro | 🧵 thread emoji (smoke-test placeholder only) | Replace at design time |

---

## 6. Spacing *(OPEN — design team)*

Engineering currently uses a **4 px base** with the steps below as
placeholders. Replace with any base (8 px, variable, t-shirt sizes,
golden-ratio, etc.).

| Token | Value | Currently used for |
|---|---|---|
| `--mks-space-1` | 4px | Tight padding within badges |
| `--mks-space-2` | 8px | Default padding inside controls |
| `--mks-space-3` | 12px | Padding inside popup containers |
| `--mks-space-4` | 16px | Section separation |
| `--mks-space-6` | 24px | Welcome page section gaps |
| `--mks-space-8` | 32px | Welcome page hero spacing |

### 6.1 Surface sizing — current placeholders + technical floors

| Surface | Engineering's placeholder | Floor / mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Popup | 320 × 200 (comfortable; Chrome auto-sizes) | Chrome popups auto-size; no hard max |
| Welcome page | full viewport, content max-width 720 px | None — fully open |
| Notification | Chrome-controlled (~360 px wide) | **(FLOOR)** — not styleable |
| Toolbar badge text | max 4 chars | **(FLOOR)** — Chrome truncates beyond |

---

## 7. Motion *(OPEN — design team)*

Engineering currently ships near-zero motion (200–300 ms opacity fades, no
bounce) because the product promise is unobtrusiveness. **Equally valid:**

- Lively spring physics
- Fully static (no transitions at all)
- Cinematic entrances on welcome
- Subtle micro-interactions on every state change

Engineering's current placeholder durations:

| Where | Duration | Easing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hover transitions | 150ms | `ease-out` | Buttons, links |
| Badge state change | instant | — | No animation (Chrome badge API doesn't support; setIcon swap interval would cost perf) |
| Welcome page CTA hover | 200ms | `ease-out` | Background-color + slight scale |
| Notification slide | Chrome default | — | **(FLOOR)** — not controllable |

Per-state icon swap animation (e.g. recording-pulse) is possible but adds
`setIcon` interval cost; design team picks if worth it.

---

## 8. Component conventions

Two layers per component: **functional contract** (KEEP — comes from PLAN,
not creative direction) and **visual treatment** (OPEN — design team).

### 8.1 Toolbar action (`chrome.action`)

**Functional contract (KEEP):**
- Three states surface to operators: IDLE, REC, ERROR (some teams add OFF as a distinct post-stop state)
- Click behavior depends on state — IDLE click starts recording; REC click opens SAVE popup; ERROR click opens RESTART popup
- Tooltip text changes per state via `chrome.action.setTitle`

**Visual treatment (OPEN):**
- Badge background color per state (currently mapped to `--mks-rec` / `--mks-off` / `--mks-error`)
- Badge text per state (currently `""` / `"REC"` / `"ERR"` / `"OFF"`)
- Tooltip wording (currently Russian, placeholder copy below — brand team rewrites)
  - IDLE: `"Mokosh — щёлкните, чтобы начать запись"`
  - REC: `"Mokosh — идёт запись (00:42)"`
  - ERROR: `"Mokosh — ошибка записи, щёлкните для восстановления"`

### 8.2 Notification

**Functional contract (KEEP):**
- Fired via `chrome.notifications.create({type:'basic', iconUrl, title, message, priority})`
- `iconUrl` must be a ≥128 px PNG via `chrome.runtime.getURL` **(FLOOR)**
- Fires on startup (until operator dismisses), on recovery (after user-stopped-sharing), optionally on save-complete (Phase 5 candidate)
- One notification per state transition (no spam)

**Visual treatment (OPEN):**
- Title text (currently `"Mokosh"`)
- Message text (brand team rewrites)
- `priority` (1 default, 2 for urgent — design team can pick when to escalate)

### 8.3 Popup (current scope: SAVE-only per Plan 01-09)

**Functional contract (KEEP):**
- Represents the current toolbar state (REC / ERROR; IDLE shouldn't normally surface here)
- REC state offers a single primary action: save the buffered archive
- ERROR state offers a single primary action: restart recording
- No secondary actions in either state (Plan 01-09 scope decision)

**Visual treatment (OPEN):**
- Sizing (current placeholder 320 × 200)
- CTA wording (current placeholder Russian; brand team rewrites)
- Layout (CTA position, status line, footer)
- Status messaging copy
- Dark/light theme handling (current placeholder: auto via `prefers-color-scheme`)

### 8.4 Welcome page (Plan 01-10)

**Functional contract (KEEP):**
- Opens via `chrome.tabs.create` on first install
- Static HTML/CSS/JS in `dist/` (no remote loads **(FLOOR)**)
- Must communicate: what Mokosh does, how the operator triggers a save, privacy story

**Visual treatment (OPEN — design team owns entirely):**
- Layout (hero + steps, scrolling story, modal, video walkthrough, anything)
- Tone (welcome cheer vs sober briefing — brand team)
- Hero treatment (wordmark-only, mark + wordmark, illustrated scene, video)
- Primary CTA wording + placement
- Whether there's a CTA at all (some onboarding flows just inform)

---

## 9. Accessibility & internationalization *(FLOORS — KEEP)*

These are functional/legal floors, not creative:

- **Contrast: WCAG AA** (4.5:1 normal text, 3:1 large text). Any palette the design team lands on must validate against this for all state pairings. Engineering's current placeholder palette is pre-validated; new palettes need re-validation.
- **Focus indicators:** visible focus rings on all interactive elements (popup buttons, welcome CTA). Chrome's default `outline` works; custom focus styles welcome as long as they remain visible.
- **Color-independence:** every color-coded state must pair with text or shape. Color alone is not an accessible state indicator — pairs with badge labels, glyphs, or copy.
- **Russian-first localization:** all user-facing strings ship in Russian as the default locale. UI scaffolding must support future locales via Chrome's `_locales/` mechanism.
- **Reduced motion:** if any animation is enabled, honor `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` by falling back to static.

---

## 10. Open creative decisions

Non-exhaustive list for both teams. None block engineering today
(placeholders ship); each unlocks a polish pass when answered.

1. Public display name (`brand-identity.md` §2)
2. Design system name (`brand-identity.md` §3)
3. Voice register — one tone or two (system-terse vs welcome-prose)
4. Tagline final wording (currently `"Записывает, чтобы вы могли воспроизвести."`)
5. Palette direction (§3.2) + specific hexes
6. Token naming convention (`--mks-rec` placeholder pattern)
7. Typography face(s) — system stack vs custom
8. Type scale + weight ladder
9. Spacing base + steps
10. Corner radii — sharp / soft / mixed
11. Iconography style — solid / line / mixed
12. Mark concept (§5.3)
13. Per-state icon swaps vs fixed mark + dynamic badge
14. Motion vocabulary — minimal / lively / static
15. Welcome-tab layout + treatment (§8.4)
16. Popup layout treatment (§8.3 visual)
17. Notification copy + tone (§8.2)
18. Tooltip wording per state (§8.1)
19. Dark/light theme strategy — auto-detect, follow-Chrome, force one, user-toggle

---

## 11. Implementation notes *(TECHNICAL — KEEP)*

- All extension contexts (SW, offscreen, popup, welcome page) share the same CSP. No external font/asset loads. Everything bundled or `chrome.runtime.getURL`. **(FLOOR)**
- Icons must be in `dist/icons/` and declared in both `manifest.json:icons` AND `manifest.json:action.default_icon`. **(FLOOR)**
- Notification iconUrl uses `chrome.runtime.getURL('icons/icon128.png')` — at least 128 × 128, ideally 192 × 192 for retina. Smaller icons silently fail Chrome's `imageUtil` validation. **(FLOOR)**
- All popup HTML/CSS lives in `src/popup/`. All welcome HTML/CSS lives in `src/welcome/` (Plan 01-10). **(file convention — easy to change)**
- Inline SVG preferred over PNG where the surface permits — sharper at all DPIs. Notification API requires PNG. **(FLOOR for notification only)**

---

## 12. Related

- `brand-identity.md` — naming + blurb + voice (Brief #1)
- `assets-spec.md` — concrete file deliverables + technical floors
- `src/background/index.ts` — implements toolbar action + notification per §8
- `src/popup/index.html` — implements popup per §8.3
- `src/welcome/welcome.html` — implements welcome per §8.4 (Plan 01-10)
- `.planning/phases/01-stabilize-video-pipeline/01-CONTEXT.md` D-15/D-16/D-17 amendments — interaction model this design language sits inside