Object-shaped cards
Where a record stands for a physical thing, the card is drawn as that thing — nine variations in pure gradients.
Layout Updated
A row of stat tiles joined by hairlines that are grid gap, not borders — the container paints the border color and the tiles paint the surface, so separators never double up or break when the row wraps — in a reporting form and in a second form where each tile is the filter for the list beneath it.
Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.
Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.
Showing all 6 downloads.
<p class="cap">Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.</p>
<div class="hss-strip four">
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Documents</span>
<span class="hss-fig">1,482</span>
<span class="hss-sub">this period</span>
</div>
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Median time</span>
<span class="hss-fig">3.2s</span>
<span class="hss-sub">last 24h</span>
</div>
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Clean runs</span>
<span class="hss-fig">98.4%</span>
<span class="hss-sub">no retries</span>
</div>
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Quality score</span>
<span class="hss-fig none">—</span>
<span class="hss-sub">not rated yet</span>
</div>
</div>
<p class="cap">Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.</p>
<div class="hss-strip five" data-hss-filter role="group" aria-label="Filter downloads by status">
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-status="All" aria-pressed="true">
<span class="hss-label">All</span>
<span class="hss-fig">6</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-status="Queued" aria-pressed="false">
<span class="hss-label">Queued</span>
<span class="hss-fig">2</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-status="Downloading" aria-pressed="false">
<span class="hss-label">Downloading</span>
<span class="hss-fig">1</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-status="Done" aria-pressed="false">
<span class="hss-label">Done</span>
<span class="hss-fig">2</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-status="Failed" aria-pressed="false">
<span class="hss-label">Failed</span>
<span class="hss-fig">1</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list">
<li data-status="Done">
<span>Bicycle drivetrain teardown</span>
<span class="hss-st Done">Done</span>
</li>
<li data-status="Downloading">
<span>Kiln firing, part three</span>
<span class="hss-st Downloading">Downloading</span>
</li>
<li data-status="Queued">
<span>Field recording — marsh at dawn</span>
<span class="hss-st Queued">Queued</span>
</li>
<li data-status="Done">
<span>Lathe restoration, episode 12</span>
<span class="hss-st Done">Done</span>
</li>
<li data-status="Failed">
<span>Sourdough hydration tests</span>
<span class="hss-st Failed">Failed</span>
</li>
<li data-status="Queued">
<span>Bookbinding: the long stitch</span>
<span class="hss-st Queued">Queued</span>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" aria-live="polite">Showing all 6 downloads.</p>Colors come from shared theme tokens — --surface, --ink, --border, --accent and friends — so this CSS carries no palette of its own. Use Runnable file to copy the tokens along with it.
.hss-strip {
display: grid;
gap: 1px; /* the hairline IS the gap */
background: var(--border); /* container paints the line colour */
border: 1px solid var(--border);
border-radius: var(--radius);
overflow: hidden;
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}
@media (min-width: 21rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }
.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: 14px 16px; display: grid; gap: 2px; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label { font-family: ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: .8125rem; color: var(--dim); overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
.hss-fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-fig.none { color: var(--dim); font-weight: 400; } /* missing value: dimmed em dash */
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}const strip = document.querySelector('[data-hss-filter]');
const tiles = strip.querySelectorAll('button.hss-tile');
const rows = document.querySelectorAll('.hss-list li');
const status = document.querySelector('.hss-status');
tiles.forEach((tile) => {
tile.addEventListener('click', () => {
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
const value = tile.dataset.status;
const filter = wasOn || value === 'All' ? null : value;
tiles.forEach((other) => other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', 'false'));
(filter ? tile : strip.querySelector('[data-status=All]')).setAttribute('aria-pressed', 'true');
let shown = 0;
rows.forEach((row) => {
row.hidden = filter && row.dataset.status !== filter;
if (!row.hidden) shown += 1;
});
status.textContent = filter
? `Filtered to ${filter}: ${shown} of ${rows.length}. Press the lit tile again to clear.`
: `Showing all ${rows.length} downloads.`;
});
});Build a strip of statistic tiles that reads as one joined instrument panel rather than a row of floating cards.
The separators between tiles must not be borders. Make the container a CSS grid with gap: 1px and give the container itself the border color as its background; each tile then paints the surface color on top. The 1px of container showing through the gap is the hairline. This is the entire pattern: real borders double where two tiles meet and leave a stray edge when auto-fit wraps the row, and a gap physically cannot do either.
Excerpt. The full prompt continues with sections on pinning column counts, tile anatomy, two rules of honesty (render a missing value as a dimmed em dash; keep units with the number), the filter form, computing counts from the unfiltered set, and using aria-pressed rather than tab roles.
Where a record stands for a physical thing, the card is drawn as that thing — nine variations in pure gradients.
A container with no artwork draws one from up to four member tiles, grid tracks following tile count.
Text printed over unreviewed artwork, scrimmed to an alpha that can be written down rather than guessed.