Chapter 05 / 12 · Containers

Cards & surfaces. Where things live.

Every story the brand tells sits inside a container. Five card patterns cover almost everything you'll need to build.

5.1 Base card

A paper surface on a warm page. Hair border, 14px radius, 24px padding. Three fills: paper (default), sunken (nested), warm (held).

Card

.card · .card-sunk · .card-warm

Three fills solve nearly every containment question. Pick one; never layer paper on paper.

Card title

Calm, generous padding. One hair border. The card is the default surface for almost everything that's not a page background.

Sunken card

Use inside another card, or over warm-5 to feel nested.

Warm card

For sections that should feel held rather than separated.

.card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-lg);
  padding: var(--s-6) var(--s-6);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-2);
  transition: border-color var(--dur-2) var(--ease), box-shadow var(--dur-2) var(--ease), transform var(--dur-2) var(--ease);
  max-width: 320px;
}
.card-title { font: 600 16px/1.3 var(--f-display); color: var(--fg); margin: 0; letter-spacing: -0.005em; }
.card-body  { font: 400 14px/1.55 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); margin: 0; }

.card-sunk  { background: var(--bg-sunk); border-color: var(--hair-soft); }
.card-warm  { background: color-mix(in oklab, var(--warm-5) 50%, var(--bg-paper)); border-color: var(--warm-7); }

5.2 Feature card

Icon + title + body + link. The bedrock of a marketing grid. Hover lifts 2px and borders go pink — promises a next step.

Feature card grid

.feat-card

Speed-to-lead

A real reply inside 30 seconds — on the channel the lead arrived. Every time.

Learn more

Always on

24/7 across chat, email, SMS, voice. Patience that scales without a bigger team.

Learn more

Handoff clean

When stakes rise, the agent hands off with full context. No dropped threads.

Learn more

.feat-grid {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(220px, 1fr));
  gap: var(--s-5); width: 100%;
}
.feat-card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-lg);
  padding: var(--s-6);
  text-decoration: none;
  color: var(--fg);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-3);
  transition: border-color var(--dur-2) var(--ease), transform var(--dur-2) var(--ease), box-shadow var(--dur-2) var(--ease);
}
.feat-card:hover {
  border-color: var(--accent);
  transform: translateY(-2px);
  box-shadow: var(--sh-3);
}
.feat-card:hover .feat-link svg { transform: translateX(3px); }

.feat-icon {
  width: 40px; height: 40px; border-radius: var(--r-md);
  display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
}
.feat-icon-pink  { background: var(--accent-soft);  color: var(--accent-text); }
.feat-icon-blue  { background: var(--info-soft);    color: var(--info-text); }
.feat-icon-green { background: var(--success-soft); color: var(--success-text); }

.feat-title { font: 600 16px/1.3 var(--f-display); margin: 0; letter-spacing: -0.005em; }
.feat-body  { font: 400 14px/1.55 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); margin: 0; }
.feat-link  { margin-top: auto; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--s-2); font: 600 13px/1 var(--f-mono); color: var(--accent-text); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.06em; }
.feat-link svg { transition: transform var(--dur-2) var(--ease); }

5.3 Pricing card

Three tiers, middle is the hero. Ribbon + pink border + primary CTA mark the recommendation. 'Let's talk' uses Fraunces italic for warmth.

Tiered pricing

.price-card

Starter

$49/mo

For small teams testing the water.

1 agent
5,000 conversations / mo
Chat & email channels

Most teams pick this

Grow

$249/mo

For teams that live and die by speed-to-lead.

Up to 5 agents
50,000 conversations / mo
All channels + CRM sync
Human handoff routing

Scale

Let's talk

Enterprise teams, custom channels, dedicated engineering.

Unlimited agents
SLA + SSO + audit logs
Dedicated success engineer

.price-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(240px, 1fr)); gap: var(--s-5); width: 100%; }
.price-card {
  position: relative;
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-xl);
  padding: var(--s-7);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-3);
}
.price-card-hero {
  background: linear-gradient(180deg, var(--bg-paper), var(--bg-paper));
  border: 1.5px solid var(--accent);
  box-shadow: var(--sh-3);
}
.price-ribbon {
  position: absolute; top: -12px; left: var(--s-5);
  background: var(--accent); color: var(--paper);
  font: 600 11px/1 var(--f-mono);
  text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.08em;
  padding: 6px 10px; border-radius: var(--r-pill);
}
.price-badge {
  font: 500 12px/1 var(--f-mono);
  color: var(--fg-dim); text-transform: uppercase;
  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
}
.price-amt {
  font: 700 44px/1 var(--f-display);
  color: var(--fg); letter-spacing: -0.03em;
}
.price-amt-talk { font-family: var(--f-serif); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; color: var(--accent); font-size: 32px; font-variation-settings: "SOFT" 80; }
.price-cur { font-size: 20px; vertical-align: top; color: var(--fg-dim); margin-right: 2px; font-weight: 500; }
.price-per { font-size: 14px; color: var(--fg-dim); font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0; }
.price-desc { font: 400 13.5px/1.55 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); margin: 0; min-height: 2.8em; }
.price-list { list-style: none; padding: 0; margin: var(--s-3) 0 var(--s-5); display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-2); font: 400 14px/1.4 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg); }
.price-list li { position: relative; padding-left: var(--s-5); }
.price-list li::before { content: ""; position: absolute; left: 0; top: .4em; width: 10px; height: 6px; border-left: 2px solid var(--accent); border-bottom: 2px solid var(--accent); transform: rotate(-45deg); }

.btn-fill, .btn-line {
  /* Inline-flex + nowrap so text stays on one line and any trailing
     icon (like the CTA's → SVG) sits neatly next to the text instead
     of wrapping to a second line. Matches the shared .btn pattern. */
  display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
  gap: var(--s-2);
  font: 600 14px/1 var(--f-display); padding: 12px var(--s-5);
  border-radius: var(--r-md); cursor: pointer; border: 1px solid transparent;
  white-space: nowrap;
  text-decoration: none;
  transition: transform var(--dur-2) var(--ease), background var(--dur-2) var(--ease);
}
.btn-fill { background: var(--accent); color: var(--paper); box-shadow: var(--sh-pink); }
.btn-fill:hover { transform: translateY(-1px); }
.btn-line { background: transparent; color: var(--fg); border-color: var(--hair); }
.btn-line:hover { border-color: var(--fg); }

5.4 Testimonial card

Oversized Fraunces glyph on the top-left, balanced quote body, person at the bottom. The emphasised phrase is always Fraunces italic, always pink.

Testimonial

.testim-card

We went from replying in 12 hours to 12 seconds. Our conversion on inbound lifted 28% in the first month.

Sara Lin

VP Growth · Lightbridge Mortgage

.testim-card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-xl);
  padding: var(--s-8) var(--s-7) var(--s-6);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-5);
  position: relative;
  max-width: 440px; width: 100%;
}
.testim-glyph {
  font-family: var(--f-serif); font-style: italic;
  font-variation-settings: "SOFT" 80;
  font-size: 64px; line-height: 1;
  color: var(--accent-text);
  position: absolute; top: var(--s-4); left: var(--s-6);
}
.testim-quote {
  margin: var(--s-7) 0 0;
  font: 400 19px/1.5 var(--f-body);
  color: var(--fg); letter-spacing: -0.005em;
}
.testim-quote em {
  font-family: var(--f-serif); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400;
  color: var(--accent-text); font-variation-settings: "SOFT" 80;
}
.testim-who { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--s-4); }
.testim-avatar {
  width: 40px; height: 40px; border-radius: 50%;
  flex: 0 0 40px;
}
.testim-name { font: 600 14px/1.3 var(--f-display); }
.testim-role { font: 400 12px/1.3 var(--f-mono); color: var(--fg-dim); }

5.5 Stat / metric card

Dashboard-grade. Number leads. Mono + tabular-nums means every row aligns. Green chip for improvement, red for regression.

Stat card

.stat-card

Speed-to-lead (avg)

12s 94%

Down from 3h 47m · last 30d

Qualified leads / week

2,481 28%

vs. last quarter

Handoffs to human

14%

Clean context, every time

.stat-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(220px, 1fr)); gap: var(--s-5); width: 100%; }
.stat-card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-lg);
  padding: var(--s-6) var(--s-6) var(--s-5);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-3);
}
.stat-label { font: 500 12px/1 var(--f-mono); color: var(--fg-dim); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.08em; }
.stat-val { display: flex; align-items: baseline; gap: var(--s-3); flex-wrap: wrap; }
.stat-num { font: 700 36px/1 var(--f-display); color: var(--fg); letter-spacing: -0.025em; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.stat-delta {
  display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 3px;
  font: 600 12px/1 var(--f-mono);
  padding: 4px 8px; border-radius: var(--r-pill);
}
.stat-delta.is-pos { color: var(--success-text); background: var(--success-soft); }
.stat-delta.is-neg { color: var(--error-text);   background: var(--error-soft); }
.stat-foot { font: 400 12px/1.4 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); }

5.6 Media / blog card

Thumb + tag + title + excerpt + meta. Works for blog indexes, case studies, docs. Wide variant for tighter vertical spaces.

Media card

.media-card · .media-card-wide

Guide

How to write a system prompt for a sales agent

Nine patterns that make the difference between an agent that converts and one that annoys.

Jay Stockwell · 6 min read

Case study

Lightbridge Mortgage lifts inbound conversion 28%

A story about replacing 14 reps' worth of first-touch work with a patient, persistent agent.

MagicBlocks Team · Apr 2026

.media-card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-xl);
  overflow: hidden;
  display: flex; flex-direction: column;
  max-width: 320px; width: 100%;
  transition: transform var(--dur-2) var(--ease), box-shadow var(--dur-2) var(--ease);
}
.media-card:hover { transform: translateY(-2px); box-shadow: var(--sh-3); }
.media-thumb { aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; width: 100%; }
.media-body { padding: var(--s-5) var(--s-6) var(--s-6); display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-3); }
.media-tag { font: 500 11px/1 var(--f-mono); color: var(--accent-text); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.08em; }
.media-title { font: 600 18px/1.3 var(--f-display); color: var(--fg); margin: 0; letter-spacing: -0.01em; }
.media-excerpt { font: 400 13.5px/1.55 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); margin: 0; }
.media-meta { display: flex; gap: var(--s-2); font-size: 12px; color: var(--fg-dim); margin-top: var(--s-2); }
.media-who { font-weight: 500; color: var(--fg-soft); }
.media-date { }

.media-card-wide { max-width: 520px; flex-direction: row; align-items: stretch; }
.media-card-wide .media-thumb { flex: 0 0 200px; aspect-ratio: auto; }
@media (max-width: 640px) { .media-card-wide { flex-direction: column; } .media-card-wide .media-thumb { flex: initial; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; } }

5.7 Callout surface

Full-bleed rectangles that close the loop on a section. One pink radial bloom. Ink variant reserved for dev-facing moments — rare, intentional.

CTA surface

.cta-card · .cta-card-ink

Ready to move?

See your inbound reply in 12 seconds, not 12 hours.

Book a 25-minute demo. Bring your hardest objection handling — we'll show you how the agent handles it.

For engineers

Drop an agent into any product in 30 lines.

Full SDK. REST + Websockets. Works with your existing CRM, auth, and tone.

.cta-card {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-2xl);
  padding: var(--s-9) var(--s-8);
  display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: var(--s-4);
  max-width: 520px; width: 100%;
  position: relative; overflow: hidden;
}
.cta-card::after {
  content: ""; position: absolute; right: -80px; top: -80px;
  width: 260px; height: 260px; border-radius: 50%;
  background: radial-gradient(circle, var(--accent-soft), transparent 70%);
  pointer-events: none;
}
.cta-eyebrow { font: 500 12px/1 var(--f-mono); color: var(--accent-text); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.08em; position: relative; }
.cta-title { font: 700 28px/1.15 var(--f-display); color: var(--fg); letter-spacing: -0.015em; margin: 0; position: relative; max-width: 22ch; text-wrap: balance; }
.cta-title em { font-family: var(--f-serif); font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; color: var(--accent); font-variation-settings: "SOFT" 80; }
.cta-body { font: 400 16px/1.55 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg-soft); margin: 0; max-width: 48ch; position: relative; }
.cta-actions { display: flex; gap: var(--s-3); flex-wrap: wrap; position: relative; margin-top: var(--s-3); }

.cta-card-ink {
  background: var(--ink); color: var(--warm-3);
  border-color: transparent;
}
.cta-card-ink .cta-title { color: var(--warm-3); }
.cta-card-ink .cta-body { color: #C9CFE2; }
.cta-card-ink::after { background: radial-gradient(circle, rgba(255,63,122,0.3), transparent 70%); }

5.8 Panel

A card with a titled header bar and dense rows. Used for sidebar data, in-app dashboards, and admin listings.

Panel

.panel

Active agents

●

Inbound-qualify

Chat · SMS · email

481 today

●

Reactivation

Email only

62 today

●

Booked-call-follow-up

SMS only

18 today

.panel {
  background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair);
  border-radius: var(--r-lg);
  overflow: hidden;
  max-width: 420px; width: 100%;
}
.panel-head { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; padding: var(--s-4) var(--s-5); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--hair); background: var(--bg-sunk); }
.panel-title { font: 600 13px/1 var(--f-display); margin: 0; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em; color: var(--fg-dim); }
.panel-action { background: transparent; border: 0; font: 500 12px/1 var(--f-mono); color: var(--accent-text); cursor: pointer; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.06em; }
.panel-action:hover { text-decoration: underline; text-underline-offset: 3px; }

.panel-row { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: var(--s-4); padding: var(--s-4) var(--s-5); border-top: 1px solid var(--hair-soft); }
.panel-row:first-of-type { border-top: 0; }
.panel-row-icon { width: 22px; height: 22px; border-radius: 50%; flex: 0 0 22px; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; font-size: 10px; }
.panel-row-body { flex: 1; min-width: 0; }
.panel-row-name { font: 600 14px/1.3 var(--f-body); }
.panel-row-meta { font: 400 12px/1.3 var(--f-mono); color: var(--fg-dim); }
.panel-row-stat { font-size: 12px; color: var(--fg-soft); white-space: nowrap; }

5.9 Dashboard tile

A content tile for product dashboards — header with title and a menu hook, a flexible body, and an optional footer row. Sits on the warm page inside a grid.

Dashboard tile

.dash-tile

Same paper surface language as .card, with a three-zone layout. Use for chart tiles, activity feeds, recent-lead lists.

Recent leads

Acme Corp2m
Globex Holdings18m
Initech1h

<div class="dash-tile">
  <header class="dash-tile-head">
    <h3 class="dash-tile-title">Recent leads</h3>
    <button class="dash-tile-more">⋯</button>
  </header>
  <div class="dash-tile-body">…</div>
  <footer class="dash-tile-foot"><a href="#">View all →</a></footer>
</div>

.dash-tile { display: flex; flex-direction: column; background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair); border-radius: var(--r-md); overflow: hidden; }
.dash-tile-head { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center;
  padding: var(--s-4); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--hair); }
.dash-tile-title { font: 600 15px/1.2 var(--f-display); color: var(--fg); margin: 0; }
.dash-tile-more { border: 0; background: transparent; color: var(--fg-soft);
  font-size: 18px; cursor: pointer; padding: 0 var(--s-2); }
.dash-tile-body { padding: var(--s-3) var(--s-4); flex: 1; }
.dash-tile-list { list-style: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; }
.dash-tile-list li { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center;
  padding: var(--s-2) 0; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--hair); font: 400 14px/1 var(--f-body); color: var(--fg); }
.dash-tile-list li:last-child { border-bottom: 0; }
.dash-tile-foot { padding: var(--s-3) var(--s-4); border-top: 1px solid var(--hair); background: var(--bg-sunk); }
.dash-tile-foot a { font: 500 13px/1 var(--f-body); color: var(--accent-text); text-decoration: none; }

5.10 KPI tile

A big-number tile for the top row of a dashboard. Label, value, delta (green up or red down), and a small sparkline.

KPI with delta

.kpi-tile

Tabular-nums on the value. Delta uses arrow glyph + colour — never use colour alone for meaning.

Leads qualified

1,284

↑ 12.4%

<div class="kpi-tile">
  <div class="kpi-label">Leads qualified</div>
  <div class="kpi-row">
    <div class="kpi-value">1,284</div>
    <div class="kpi-delta is-up">↑ 12.4%</div>
  </div>
  <svg class="kpi-spark" viewBox="0 0 160 40">
    <polyline points="0,30 … 160,10" />
  </svg>
</div>

.kpi-tile { padding: var(--s-4); background: var(--bg-paper);
  border: 1px solid var(--hair); border-radius: var(--r-md); }
.kpi-label { font: 500 11px/1 var(--f-mono); text-transform: uppercase;
  letter-spacing: 0.08em; color: var(--fg-dim); }
.kpi-row { display: flex; align-items: baseline; gap: var(--s-3);
  margin: var(--s-2) 0 var(--s-3); }
.kpi-value { font: 700 28px/1 var(--f-display);
  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; color: var(--fg); }
.kpi-delta { font: 600 12px/1 var(--f-mono); }
.kpi-delta.is-up { color: var(--success, #37BC9B); }
.kpi-delta.is-down { color: var(--error, #FF5B5B); }
.kpi-spark { width: 100%; height: 36px; color: var(--accent-text); }

5.11 Divider

Three flavours. Hair is default; use the labelled version to separate steps (sign-in, flows); accent is a section-break exclamation — use sparingly.

HR styles

.div-hair · .div-accent · .div-label

Text above the divider.

Default hair divider — 1px, var(--hair).

Labelled divider — used in sign-in flows.

Accent divider — rare, for intentional section breaks.

.div-hair { border: 0; border-top: 1px solid var(--hair); margin: var(--s-5) 0; }
.div-accent {
  border: 0; height: 2px; margin: var(--s-5) 0;
  background: linear-gradient(90deg, transparent, var(--accent), transparent);
}
.div-label {
  display: flex; align-items: center;
  gap: var(--s-4); margin: var(--s-5) 0;
  color: var(--fg-dim);
  font: 500 11px/1 var(--f-mono); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.1em;
}
.div-label::before, .div-label::after {
  content: ""; flex: 1;
  border-top: 1px solid var(--hair);
}

5.12 Anatomy of a feature card

Speed-to-lead

A real reply inside 30 seconds — on the channel the lead arrived.

Learn more

1
1. Fill
background: var(--bg-paper);
2
2. Border
border: 1px solid var(--hair);
3
3. Radius
border-radius: var(--r-lg);
4
4. Padding
padding: var(--s-6);
5
5. Icon token
background: var(--accent-soft); color: var(--accent-text);
6
6. Lift
transform: translateY(-2px); box-shadow: var(--sh-3);