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Card

A bordered container for one item or group, with its title, content and actions.

In Accessible first

See it live​

Start Storybook to see it live: npm run storybook
Live from StorybookOpen Card in StorybookSee it in dark

When to use it​

In Accessible first: Groups a summary before submitting.

  • Use it when: A repeating unit of title, media and one destination or action.
  • Not when: Records people compare cell by cell (a table), or a whole card as one big link that screen readers read as one.

Instead:

  • Table: Records compared across rows.
  • Item: A compact row in a list.

How Accessible first uses it​

A card on the page
Use A strong border, no shadow
Not A shadow
Shadows are hard to see; borders are not.

Words​

  • Use common words. Explain any term you must use.
  • One idea per sentence. Put the action first.
  • Never blame the person.
  • Use: Continue, Change, Start, You. Avoid: Invalid, Utilise, Submit, Error code.

The labels components use, from the voice tokens:

  • content.action.commit: Continue
  • content.action.cancel: Go back
  • content.action.destroy: Delete
  • content.action.retry: Try again
  • content.action.empty-action: Start a new application

See Voice and tone for the whole voice.

Accessibility and keyboard​

Test before you ship:

  • One inner link or button names the destination; the rest is not one big link. undefined

Use it in code​

npx open-ds add card

The component reads only component keys and semantic tokens, so it follows the brand and mode on <html>.

Tokens it reads​

Card reads 17 tokens of its own, each an alias of a semantic token. Each row is one part: its own token, the semantic it aliases, and the value it ends at. Change a semantic and every component that reads it follows; override one of Card's tokens to change Card alone.

Changes with theme

Accessible first decides what changes when you switch theme. Here a switch changes colors only, so the marked rows differ between light and dark; everything else holds steady.

PartIts token and the semantic it aliasesValue
Card
Fill
Changes with theme		component.card.backgroundcolor.surface.defaultvar(--card-background)Lightgray.light.0:#FFFFFFDarkgray.dark.50:#141414
Border
Changes with theme		component.card.bordercolor.border.defaultvar(--card-border)Lightgray.light.200:#D6D6D6Darkgray.dark.100:#222222
Cornercomponent.card.radiusradius.containervar(--card-radius)radius.8:0.5rem
Paddingcomponent.card.paddingspace.inset.containervar(--card-padding)space.24:1.5rem
Shadowcomponent.card.shadowelevation.cardvar(--card-shadow)shadow.none
Gapcomponent.card.gapspace.gap.defaultvar(--card-gap)space.16:1rem
Text
Changes with theme		component.card.labelcolor.text.primaryvar(--card-label)Lightgray.light.900:#141414Darkgray.dark.900:#F7F7F7
Border widthcomponent.card.border-widthborder-width.defaultvar(--card-border-width)border-width.2:2px
Header
Gapcomponent.card.header.gapspace.gap.tightvar(--card-header-gap)space.12:0.75rem
Title
Font familycomponent.card.title.font-familytype.heading.font-familyvar(--card-title-font-family)font.family.atkinson-hyperlegible:"Atkinson Hyperlegible", Verdana, sans-serif
Text sizecomponent.card.title.font-sizetype.heading.font-sizevar(--card-title-font-size)font.size.22:1.375rem
Weightcomponent.card.title.font-weighttype.heading.font-weightvar(--card-title-font-weight)font.weight.700:700
Line heightcomponent.card.title.line-heighttype.heading.line-heightvar(--card-title-line-height)font.line-height.1_25:1.25
Description
Text
Changes with theme		component.card.description.labelcolor.text.secondaryvar(--card-description-label)Lightgray.light.700:#333333Darkgray.dark.600:#B4B4B4
Text sizecomponent.card.description.font-sizetype.body.font-sizevar(--card-description-font-size)font.size.19:1.1875rem
Content
Gapcomponent.card.content.gapspace.gap.defaultvar(--card-content-gap)space.16:1rem
Footer
Gapcomponent.card.footer.gapspace.gap.defaultvar(--card-footer-gap)space.16:1rem