XAEM Theme UI - Theme Generation & Code Translation

Two-pass pipeline for generating high-entropy visual themes and translating them into implementable code. Works upstream of scientific-luxury constraint enforcement.

Description

XAEM Theme UI adds a creative generation layer to the design system. While scientific-luxury enforces structural constraints (OLED black, 0.5px borders, rounded-sm , physics-based easings), it does not generate themes. This skill fills that gap with a two-pass pipeline:

• Pass 1 (Generate): Create high-entropy visual themes -- spectral colour palettes, glow intensities, animation timing scales, typography weight distributions, opacity hierarchies

• Pass 2 (Translate): Convert generated themes into implementable code -- CSS variables, TypeScript design tokens, Tailwind config extensions, Framer Motion preset overrides, component style maps

The structural skeleton remains immutable. Only the visual skin is customisable.

When to Apply

Positive Triggers

• Generating new colour palettes or theme variations

• Creating design tokens for a new feature area

• Building theme presets (dark variants, branded themes)

• User mentions: "theme", "palette", "colour scheme", "design tokens", "generate theme"

• Translating a mood board or colour brief into code

• Customising glow intensities, animation timing, or opacity scales

Negative Triggers

• Enforcing existing design constraints (use scientific-luxury instead)

• Reviewing component layout compliance (use scientific-luxury instead)

• Optimising algorithm performance (use council-of-logic instead)

• Writing backend logic, API routes, or database schemas

The Two Laws

Law 1: Generate Then Translate

Every theme goes through both passes sequentially. Never ship a palette without its code translation. Never write design token code without a generation rationale.

Law 2: Never Violate Structural Constraints

The following are immutable and cannot be overridden by any theme:

Constraint Locked Value Reason

Background #050505 (OLED Black) Foundation of visual hierarchy

Border width 0.5px

Single-pixel precision

Border radius rounded-sm (2px) Sharp, professional appearance

Animation engine Framer Motion only Physics-based motion

Easing curves Physics-based (outExpo , snappy , etc.) No linear transitions

Layout pattern Timeline / asymmetrical No symmetrical card grids

Status icons Breathing orbs No Lucide/FontAwesome for status

Pass 1: Theme Generation

1.1 Colour Palette Generation

Every theme defines exactly six spectral colours mapped to semantic roles:

Role Semantic Purpose Default Hex

Primary Active, in-progress, CTA #00F5FF

Success Completed, approved, positive #00FF88

Warning Verification, awaiting, caution #FFB800

Danger Error, failed, rejected #FF4444

Accent Escalation, human intervention #FF00FF

Neutral Pending, inactive, disabled #6B7280

Palette Strategies

Analogous -- Colours within 30 degrees on the colour wheel. Produces harmonious, low-contrast themes suited for ambient dashboards.

Example: Primary #00F5FF → Success #00FFC8 → Warning #88FF00

Complementary -- Pairs colours from opposite sides of the wheel. High contrast, suited for alert-heavy interfaces.

Example: Primary #00F5FF → Accent #FF0A55

Triadic -- Three colours evenly spaced at 120 degrees. Balanced vibrancy for data-rich views.

Example: Primary #00F5FF → Warning #FF8800 → Accent #AA00FF

Palette Constraints

• All colours must have sufficient contrast against #050505 (minimum 4.5:1 for text)

• No pastel or desaturated colours (saturation must be >= 70%)

• No pure white (#FFFFFF ) as a spectral colour

• Each colour must be visually distinct at 50% opacity over OLED black

1.2 Glow Intensity Curves

Glow is the primary visual feedback mechanism. Three intensity tiers:

Tier Inner Opacity Outer Opacity Spread (px) Use Case

Low 20% 10% 20 Subtle ambient presence

Medium 40% 20% 40 Default interactive

High 60% 30% 60 Alert, active focus

Themes may adjust these values within these bounds:

• Inner opacity: 15%--65%

• Outer opacity: 8%--35%

• Spread: 12px--80px

1.3 Animation Timing Scale

Themes define a timing scale with six duration values:

Token Default (s) Range (s) Purpose

fast

0.2 0.15--0.3 Micro-interactions

normal

0.4 0.3--0.6 Standard transitions

slow

0.6 0.5--0.9 Deliberate, emphasised

breathe

2.0 1.5--3.0 Breathing pulse loops

pulse

1.5 1.0--2.5 Glow pulse cycles

ambient

3.0 2.0--4.0 Background ambient effects

All durations must use physics-based easing. Linear timing is banned.

1.4 Typography Weight Distribution

Themes select from the permitted weight range:

Token Default Range Usage

heroWeight

200 100--300 Hero titles

titleWeight

300 200--400 Section headings

bodyWeight

400 300--500 Body text

dataWeight

500 400--600 Monospace data

labelWeight

400 300--500 Uppercase labels

Font families are locked: JetBrains Mono (data), Inter/SF Pro (editorial).

1.5 Opacity Hierarchy Tuning

Themes define a six-step text opacity scale and a three-step border opacity scale:

Text: primary(0.85-0.95) → secondary(0.65-0.75) → tertiary(0.45-0.55) → muted(0.35-0.45) → subtle(0.25-0.35) → ghost(0.15-0.25)

Border: visible(0.08-0.12) → subtle(0.04-0.08) → ghost(0.02-0.04)

Pass 2: Code Translation

2.1 CSS Variable Output

:root { /* Spectral Palette */ --spectral-primary: #00F5FF; --spectral-success: #00FF88; --spectral-warning: #FFB800; --spectral-danger: #FF4444; --spectral-accent: #FF00FF; --spectral-neutral: #6B7280;

/* Glow Intensities */ --glow-low-inner: 20; --glow-low-outer: 10; --glow-med-inner: 40; --glow-med-outer: 20; --glow-high-inner: 60; --glow-high-outer: 30;

/* Animation Timing */ --duration-fast: 0.2s; --duration-normal: 0.4s; --duration-slow: 0.6s; --duration-breathe: 2s; --duration-pulse: 1.5s; --duration-ambient: 3s;

/* Text Opacity Hierarchy */ --text-primary: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9); --text-secondary: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7); --text-tertiary: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); --text-muted: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4); --text-subtle: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3); --text-ghost: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2);

/* Border Opacity Hierarchy */ --border-visible: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1); --border-subtle: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.06); --border-ghost: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.03); }

2.2 TypeScript Design Token File

export const THEME = { spectral: { primary: '#00F5FF', success: '#00FF88', warning: '#FFB800', danger: '#FF4444', accent: '#FF00FF', neutral: '#6B7280', }, glow: { low: { inner: '20', outer: '10', spread: 20 }, medium: { inner: '40', outer: '20', spread: 40 }, high: { inner: '60', outer: '30', spread: 60 }, }, durations: { fast: 0.2, normal: 0.4, slow: 0.6, breathe: 2.0, pulse: 1.5, ambient: 3.0, }, weights: { hero: 200, title: 300, body: 400, data: 500, label: 400, }, } as const;

2.3 Tailwind Theme Extension

// tailwind.config.ts (theme.extend block) { colors: { spectral: { primary: 'var(--spectral-primary)', success: 'var(--spectral-success)', warning: 'var(--spectral-warning)', danger: 'var(--spectral-danger)', accent: 'var(--spectral-accent)', neutral: 'var(--spectral-neutral)', }, }, transitionDuration: { fast: 'var(--duration-fast)', normal: 'var(--duration-normal)', slow: 'var(--duration-slow)', }, }

2.4 Framer Motion Preset Overrides

import { THEME } from './design-tokens';

export const themeMotion = { fadeInLeft: { initial: { opacity: 0, x: -20 }, animate: { opacity: 1, x: 0 }, transition: { duration: THEME.durations.normal, ease: [0.19, 1, 0.22, 1], }, }, breathing: { animate: { opacity: [1, 0.6, 1], scale: [1, 1.05, 1] }, transition: { duration: THEME.durations.breathe, repeat: Infinity, ease: 'easeInOut', }, }, glowPulse: (colour: string) => ({ animate: { boxShadow: [ 0 0 0 ${colour}00, 0 0 ${THEME.glow.medium.spread}px ${colour}${THEME.glow.medium.inner}, 0 0 0 ${colour}00, ], }, transition: { duration: THEME.durations.pulse, repeat: Infinity }, }), };

2.5 Status Colour Mapping

import { THEME } from './design-tokens';

export const STATUS_MAP = { pending: THEME.spectral.neutral, in_progress: THEME.spectral.primary, awaiting_verification: THEME.spectral.warning, verification_in_progress: THEME.spectral.warning, verification_passed: THEME.spectral.success, verification_failed: THEME.spectral.danger, completed: THEME.spectral.success, failed: THEME.spectral.danger, blocked: THEME.spectral.warning, escalated_to_human: THEME.spectral.accent, } as const;

Existing Design Tokens Reference

The current baseline lives at apps/web/lib/design-tokens.ts . Key exports:

• SPECTRAL -- Six-colour palette (cyan, emerald, amber, red, magenta, grey)

• BACKGROUNDS -- OLED black foundation with elevation steps

• TEXT -- Six-step text opacity hierarchy

• BORDERS -- Three-step border opacity hierarchy

• EASINGS -- Four physics-based cubic-bezier curves

• DURATIONS -- Six animation duration tokens

• MOTION_PRESETS -- Framer Motion animation presets

• TW -- Tailwind class helper constants

All generated themes must be compatible with this token structure.

Theme Presets

Scientific Luxury (Default)

The baseline theme. All values match apps/web/lib/design-tokens.ts .

Primary: #00F5FF (Cyan) Success: #00FF88 (Emerald) Warning: #FFB800 (Amber) Danger: #FF4444 (Red) Accent: #FF00FF (Magenta) Neutral: #6B7280 (Grey) Glow: standard | Timing: standard | Weights: standard

Midnight Aurora

Cool-shifted palette with extended glow spread for ambient dashboards.

Primary: #00D4FF (Ice Blue) Success: #00E87A (Mint) Warning: #FF9F00 (Deep Amber) Danger: #FF3355 (Crimson) Accent: #CC44FF (Violet) Neutral: #5A6270 (Slate) Glow: high-spread (50px med) Timing: slower (+20%) Weights: lighter (hero 100, title 200)

Solar Flare

Warm-shifted palette with snappy timing for alert-dense interfaces.

Primary: #FFAA00 (Solar Gold) Success: #44FF66 (Neon Green) Warning: #FF6600 (Flame) Danger: #FF2222 (Hot Red) Accent: #FF44AA (Hot Pink) Neutral: #7A7A80 (Warm Grey) Glow: tight (spread 16px) Timing: faster (-15%) Weights: heavier (data 600, title 400)

Deep Ocean

Desaturated blue-green palette with slow, ambient timing for monitoring views.

Primary: #0099CC (Deep Teal) Success: #00CC99 (Sea Green) Warning: #CCAA00 (Muted Gold) Danger: #CC3344 (Muted Red) Accent: #9944CC (Deep Purple) Neutral: #556677 (Ocean Grey) Glow: diffuse (spread 70px) Timing: slowest (+30%) Weights: standard

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern Why It Fails Correct Approach

Overriding #050505 background in theme config Breaks OLED black foundation Background is structural, not thematic. Leave it locked.

Using transition: linear in generated presets Violates physics-based motion requirement Use outExpo , snappy , or smooth cubic-bezier curves

Generating pastel or low-saturation colours Insufficient contrast on OLED black Maintain >= 70% saturation, >= 4.5:1 contrast ratio

Producing grid-cols-2 or grid-cols-4 layout Symmetrical grids banned by structural rules Theme controls colour/timing, not layout. Layout is locked.

Setting rounded-lg or rounded-xl in tokens Violates sharp corner constraint rounded-sm is structural. Themes cannot modify border radius.

Using CSS @keyframes instead of Framer Motion Bypasses physics-based animation engine All motion via Framer Motion presets

Generating white text at 100% opacity Harsh, breaks opacity hierarchy Maximum text opacity is 0.95; use the six-step scale

Checklist

Before merging any generated theme:

• Six spectral colours defined with hex values

• All colours pass 4.5:1 contrast against #050505

• Glow intensities within permitted bounds (inner 15-65%, outer 8-35%)

• Animation durations within permitted ranges (0.15s--4.0s)

• Typography weights within permitted ranges (100--600)

• Text opacity scale has six steps, all within bounds

• Border opacity scale has three steps, all within bounds

• CSS variables generated and valid

• TypeScript design token file compiles without errors

• Tailwind config extension is syntactically correct

• Framer Motion presets use physics-based easing only

• Status colour mapping covers all AgentStatus values

• No structural constraints overridden (background, borders, radius, layout)

• Australian English used throughout (colour, not color)

Response Format

[AGENT_ACTIVATED]: XAEM Theme UI [PHASE]: {Generation | Translation | Review} [PASS]: {1 - Generate | 2 - Translate} [STATUS]: {in_progress | awaiting_verification | complete}

{theme generation output or code translation}

[NEXT_ACTION]: {what happens next}

Integration Points

System Relationship

scientific-luxury

Downstream consumer. XAEM generates, scientific-luxury enforces.

council-of-logic

Shannon check on token count -- no redundant variables.

design-tokens.ts

Baseline reference. Generated themes must be structurally compatible.

genesis-orchestrator

Theme generation may be triggered during SECTION_D (frontend shell).

Australian Localisation

Element Format Example

Date DD/MM/YYYY 13/02/2026

Time H:MM am/pm 2:30 pm

Timezone AEST/AEDT 2:30 pm AEDT

Currency AUD ($) $1,234.56

Spelling Australian English colour, behaviour

All generated tokens, comments, and documentation must use Australian English spelling conventions: colour (not color), customise (not customize), optimise (not optimize), analyse (not analyze).

XAEM THEME UI - GENERATION PIPELINE ACTIVE