Principles

  • Plain first. Short sentences, everyday words, the figure and the name the record gives.
  • Words, not color. Every status (Update, Correction, Developing, Closed, answered, waiting) carries a text label. Color is only a hint.
  • Large targets. Buttons and links people tap are at least 44 pixels tall.
  • Readers set the size. The Aa button changes text size, line width and colors, and keeps the choice on that device only.
  • Nothing moves while you read. Strips that can be dismissed are hidden before the page is drawn, so the layout does not jump.

Colors

These are the light-theme tokens, read from the site’s stylesheet when the site is built. Dark and high-contrast themes redefine the same names.

  • --navy
    #06264b
  • --navy-deep
    #041a33
  • --blue
    #0d3e72
  • --gold
    #e6aa00
  • --gold-light
    #f5c64a
  • --gold-dark
    #7a5700
  • --gold-text
    #7a5700
  • --paper
    #f7f5ef
  • --surface
    #ffffff
  • --surface-2
    #eef2f5
  • --surface-warm
    #fbf7ea
  • --warm
    #fbf7ea
  • --white
    #ffffff
  • --ink
    #15202c
  • --text2
    #33414f
  • --muted
    #55616d
  • --line
    #d8d4c9
  • --link
    #0d3e72
  • --head
    #06264b
  • --head-2
    #06264b
  • --focus
    #0d3e72
  • --on-gold
    #06264b
  • --ok-bg
    #e3f3e8
  • --ok-ink
    #1b5e33
  • --wait-bg
    #fbefc6
  • --wait-ink
    #6b4a00
  • --none-bg
    #e8edf1
  • --none-ink
    #33414f
  • --stop-bg
    #fbe7e5
  • --stop-ink
    #8a1f1f
  • --info-bg
    #e4eefa
  • --info-ink
    #0d3e72

Type

Headline: Georgia, bold

Summary line: Georgia, regular.

Body text: Arial, 18 pixels on a phone and 19 on a desktop, line height 1.6, line length about 56 characters.

Small print: 14 pixels, used for dates and notes only.

--serif: Georgia; --sans: Arial; --body: 18px (19px from 900px wide); sizes are written with --px so the Text size control scales them

Status badges

Top story Update Correction Developing Closed Answered Declined

Buttons and links

Primary action Second action A text link →

The plain-words box

An optional block at the top of a report. It restates only what the report says. Its text is part of the report and is locked like the rest of it.

Notes inside a report

Rules that keep it honest

  • A published report is not edited. Corrections and updates are dated notes and are logged on Corrections & Updates.
  • Counts and dates on the About page and the front page are worked out from the site’s own pages when it is built, never typed.
  • The sources list on a report shows only the links the report itself gives. We do not match them to single claims.
  • A glossary entry must come from a law or an official page, or the word is left out.

How we work →