Whiteboard Sketch Diagram Style Guide

Steps to build an AI startup by making something people want:

{
  "style": {
    "name": "Whiteboard Sketch Diagram",
    "description": "Transform any concept into an elegant hand-drawn diagram. Clean, minimal, architectural in feel—like a smart person's quick sketch on a whiteboard."
  },
  "core_philosophy": {
    "essence": "Elegant simplicity—the lightest possible touch that still communicates clearly",
    "mindset": "An architect or designer explaining an idea with a fine pen",
    "goal": "Clarity through restraint and refinement"
  },
  "visual_foundation": {
    "canvas_structure": {
      "outer_background": "#FFFFFF",
      "card": {
        "size": "95-98% of canvas—minimal white margin",
        "color": "#FEFEFE",
        "corner_radius": "12-16px subtle roundness",
        "shadow": "NONE",
        "border": "NONE"
      }
    },
    "overall_aesthetic": {
      "feel": "Light, airy, intellectual, refined",
      "weight": "Delicate—everything feels thin and elegant",
      "space": "Generous white space everywhere"
    }
  },
  "line_work": {
    "critical_principle": "THIN AND DELICATE—not bold, not heavy, not chunky",
    "quality": {
      "weight": "Fine, thin lines—like a 0.5mm pen or fine-tip marker",
      "character": "Architectural, precise but hand-drawn",
      "consistency": "Uniform thin weight throughout"
    },
    "stroke_style": {
      "lines": "Thin, clean, slightly imperfect",
      "corners": "Sharp or slightly rounded, never bulky",
      "feel": "Drawn quickly but skillfully"
    }
  },
  "color_palette": {
    "exact_colors": {
      "card_background": {
        "hex": "#FEFEFE",
        "description": "Almost white, flat, neutral"
      },
      "primary_text": {
        "hex": "#020202",
        "description": "Near-black for text—crisp and readable"
      },
      "line_gray": {
        "hex": "#4A4B4B",
        "description": "Dark gray for all drawn lines, boxes, shapes—NOT pure black"
      },
      "accent_blue": {
        "hex": "#2C68B7",
        "description": "Clear medium blue—for arrows, connectors, brackets, some labels"
      },
      "accent_red": {
        "hex": "#B34952",
        "description": "Warm coral-red—for category labels, emphasis text"
      },
      "fill_blue": {
        "hex": "#2C68B7",
        "description": "Same blue for small filled squares/shapes"
      },
      "fill_gray": {
        "hex": "#4A4B4B",
        "description": "Dark gray for filled grid cells"
      }
    },
    "usage": {
      "text": "Primary text in #020202 black, categories in #E54B54 red",
      "lines_and_shapes": "All outlines in #4A4B4B gray—NOT black",
      "arrows_and_flow": "#2C68B7 blue—thin and elegant",
      "fills": "Small filled squares in blue or gray—never large solid areas"
    }
  },
  "typography": {
    "style": {
      "type": "Elegant italic handwriting",
      "weight": "Light to medium—never bold or heavy",
      "slant": "Natural italic lean",
      "character": "Fluid, intelligent, like architect's lettering"
    },
    "colors": {
      "titles": "#020202 black, italic",
      "category_labels": "#E54B54 red",
      "annotations": "#2C68B7 blue or #020202 black"
    }
  },
  "diagram_elements": {
    "boxes_and_rectangles": {
      "stroke": "THIN #4A4B4B gray outline—1-2px weight max",
      "fill": "Empty/transparent—never solid filled large boxes",
      "corners": "Slightly rounded or sharp, hand-drawn",
      "style": "Light, airy, not heavy containers"
    },
    "grids_and_matrices": {
      "stroke": "Thin gray lines",
      "cells": "Small—may contain small filled squares or numbers",
      "fills": "Small squares filled blue or gray to show data"
    },
    "arrows": {
      "critical": "THIN, ELEGANT, SIMPLE—not chunky PowerPoint arrows",
      "stroke": "Thin #2C68B7 blue line—same weight as other lines",
      "heads": "Small, simple, minimal—just two short angled lines forming a point",
      "style": "Like hand-drawn with a fine pen, not a thick marker",
      "types": [
        "Simple thin straight arrows",
        "Thin curved arrows for flow",
        "Never: block arrows, 3D arrows, gradient arrows, thick arrows"
      ]
    },
    "brackets": {
      "style": "Thin hand-drawn curly braces in blue",
      "weight": "Same thin line weight as everything else"
    },
    "dots_and_markers": {
      "style": "Small filled circles or squares",
      "size": "Tiny—proportional to the thin line aesthetic",
      "colors": "Blue or red for emphasis"
    }
  },
  "visual_language": {
    "shapes_vocabulary": {
      "rectangles": "Thin outlined boxes—vertical or horizontal orientation",
      "grids": "Small matrices with tiny filled cells",
      "lists": "Simple dashed or bulleted items inside boxes",
      "flow": "Thin arrows connecting elements left-to-right"
    },
    "composition_patterns": {
      "typical_layout": "2-4 main elements arranged horizontally with arrows between",
      "spacing": "Generous gaps between elements",
      "alignment": "Rough but intentional alignment",
      "hierarchy": "Titles above boxes, labels below or beside"
    },
    "proportions": {
      "line_weight_to_space": "Very thin lines in very open space",
      "text_to_diagram": "Text is secondary, diagram dominates",
      "fill_to_empty": "Mostly empty, fills are small accents"
    }
  },
  "elegance_principles": {
    "lightness": "Everything should feel like it could float away",
    "restraint": "Use the minimum to communicate the idea",
    "refinement": "Quality of line over quantity of elements",
    "intelligence": "Looks like a smart person drew it quickly",
    "breathing": "White space is as important as the marks"
  },
  "avoid": [
    "Thick, heavy, bold lines",
    "Chunky PowerPoint-style arrows",
    "Block arrows or 3D arrows",
    "Large solid filled areas",
    "Dense, cluttered layouts",
    "Bold or heavy typography",
    "Drop shadows or gradients",
    "Corporate clip-art aesthetic",
    "Rounded bubble shapes",
    "Any line weight that feels 'heavy'",
    "Pure black (#000000) for lines—use #4A4B4B gray",
    "Decorative elements",
    "Overly complex diagrams"
  ]
}