--- version: "alpha" name: "American Diner Americana" description: "American diner landing page, 50s retro style, mint green and red, checkerboard pattern, chrome typography, neon signs, nostalgic. Ideal for landing pages, modern websites. AI-ready template." colors: primary: "#9ED9CC" secondary: "#111111" tertiary: "#E84E45" neutral: "#E0E0E0" surface: "#000000" accent: "#FFC1CC" typography: h1: fontFamily: Lobster fontSize: 2.5rem fontWeight: 700 body-md: fontFamily: Lobster fontSize: 1rem fontWeight: 400 components: button-primary: backgroundColor: "{colors.primary}" textColor: "{colors.neutral}" padding: 12px --- ## Overview American diner landing page, 50s retro style, mint green and red, checkerboard pattern, chrome typography, neon signs, nostalgic. Ideal for landing pages, modern websites. AI-ready template. The American diner didn't just serve food — it served an entire visual language. Post-war optimism, Eisenhower-era prosperity, the open road. Chrome everything. Formica countertops in impossible colors. Neon tubes buzzing against plate glass at 2am. The checkerboard floor wasn't a pattern choice; it was inevitability. What makes this aesthetic endure isn't accuracy — it's feeling. Nobody actually misses waiting 40 minutes for a milkshake. They miss the promise those spaces made: that America was simple, abundant, fun. The jukebox in the corner. The waitress who called you 'hon.' Red vinyl booths cracking at the seams. Every element was accidentally designed to become iconic. Nostalgia is commerce. Always has been. The diner aesthetic sells because it triggers a memory people never had — a collective false past that feels warmer than whatever's actually happening. Brands figured this out decades ago. Wrap anything in chrome and neon, suddenly it feels trustworthy. Familiar. Worth paying more for. - Density: 5/10 — Balanced - Variance: 7/10 — Dynamic - Motion: 4/10 — Subtle - **Style:** Nostalgic, Bold, Playful - **Keywords:** diner, retro, 50s, americana, checkerboard, neon, chrome, red - **Era:** 1950s Diner - **Light/Dark:** ✓ Full / ✗ No ## Colors - **Background** (#9ED9CC) — Primary background surface - **Text** (#111111) — Primary text color - **Accent** (#E84E45) — Primary accent, CTAs and interactive elements - **Chrome Silver** (#E0E0E0) — Extended palette, decorative use - **Check Black** (#000000) — Deep contrast surface - **Milkshake Pink** (#FFC1CC) — Primary text color ## Typography - **Display / Hero:** Lobster — Weight 700, tight tracking, used for headline impact - **Body:** Lobster — Weight 400, 16px/1.6 line-height, max 72ch per line - **UI Labels / Captions:** Lobster — 0.875rem, weight 500, slight letter-spacing - **Monospace:** JetBrains Mono — Used for code, metadata, and technical values Scale: - Hero: clamp(2.5rem, 5vw, 4rem) - H1: 2.25rem - H2: 1.5rem - Body: 1rem / 1.6 - Small: 0.875rem ## Layout - **Grid:** CSS Grid primary. Max-width containment: 1280px centered with 1.5rem side padding. - **Spacing rhythm:** Balanced. Base unit: 0.5rem (8px). - **Section vertical gaps:** clamp(4rem, 8vw, 8rem). - **Hero layout:** Asymmetric composition. - **Feature sections:** Asymmetric grid with varied card sizes. No 3-equal-columns. - **Mobile collapse:** All multi-column layouts collapse below 768px. No horizontal overflow. - **z-index contract:** base (0) / sticky-nav (100) / overlay (200) / modal (300) / toast (500). ## Elevation & Depth Split-screen layout (Mint/Pink), chrome arrow connectors, checkerboard borders, neon signage, subtle halftone patterns, glossy metallic rendering. - **Physics:** Ease-out curves, 200-300ms duration. Smooth and predictable. - **Entry animations:** Fade + translate-Y (16px → 0) over 420ms ease-out. Staggered cascades for lists: 80ms between items. - **Hover states:** Subtle color shift + shadow adjustment over 200ms. - **Page transitions:** Fade only (200ms). - **Performance:** Only transform and opacity animated. No layout-triggering properties. ## Shapes Base corner radius: 8px. See rounded tokens in front matter for the full scale. ## Components - **Primary Button:** Subtly rounded (0.5rem) shape. Accent color fill. Hover: 8% darken + subtle lift shadow. Active: -1px translate tactile press. Font weight 600. No outer glows. - **Secondary / Ghost Button:** Outline variant. 1.5px border in muted color. Text in primary color. Hover: subtle background fill. - **Cards:** Subtly rounded (0.5rem) corners. Surface background. Subtle shadow (0 2px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.06)). 1px border stroke. - **Inputs:** Label above input. 1px border stroke. Focus ring: 2px accent color offset 2px. Error text below in semantic red. No floating labels. - **Navigation:** Primary surface background. Active item: accent color indicator. Font weight 500 when active. - **Skeletons:** Shimmer animation matching component dimensions. No circular spinners. - **Empty States:** Icon-based composition with descriptive text and action button. ## Do's and Don'ts - No emojis in UI — use icon system only (Lucide, Heroicons) - No pure white (#FFFFFF) backgrounds — use off-white or dark surfaces - No oversaturated accent colors (saturation cap: 80%) - No 3-column equal-width feature layouts — use zig-zag or asymmetric grid - No `h-screen` — use `min-h-[100dvh]` - No AI copywriting clichés: "Elevate", "Seamless", "Unleash", "Next-Gen" - No broken external image links — use picsum.photos or inline SVG - No generic lorem ipsum in demos - Do Mint/Pink/Red palette - Do Checkerboard patterns - Do Chrome effects/gradients - Do Script/Diner typography - Do Neon sign glow effects ## Use Case Landing pages, Modern websites