Mistral AI DESIGN.md

Overview

Mistral AI carries itself with a singular, almost cinematographic visual signature — the homepage opens with "Frontier AI. In your hands." rendered in elegant near-serif display type over a photographic mountain landscape bathed in mustard-orange sunset light. Below the hero, every page closes with the same recognizable element: a horizontal "sunset stripe" gradient band running red→orange→yellow→cream that wraps the foot of the page just above the footer. This stripe is THE brand recognizer — it appears on the homepage, products/studio, solutions/coding, news articles, contact form, and services tier page without exception.

The system pairs PP Editorial Old (a near-serif elegant display face) for hero displays with Inter for everything else (body, headings, UI). Cream-yellow surfaces ({colors.cream}, {colors.surface-cream-soft}) anchor form panels and feature cards; saturated orange ({colors.primary}) carries primary CTAs; the deep mountain photography on the homepage and the dark code mockups inside Le Studio create photographic depth. Cards are rectangular with {rounded.lg} (12px) corners — distinctly less playful than Miro's or Mintlify's pill-buttons-everywhere approach. Buttons are also {rounded.md} (8px), not pills — Mistral's geometry is more sober and editorial than its peers.

Key Characteristics:

Atmospheric mountain-sunset hero photography (orange-red-yellow gradient sky)
Horizontal "sunset stripe" band ({colors.primary} → {colors.sunshine-700} → {colors.yellow-saturated} → {colors.cream}) at every page bottom
Cream-yellow surfaces ({colors.cream}, {colors.cream-soft}) for form panels and feature cards
PP Editorial Old (or similar near-serif) for hero displays; Inter for everything else
{rounded.md} (8px) buttons and {rounded.lg} (12px) cards — less playful, more editorial geometry
Saturated orange primary CTA ({colors.primary}) carries every action call

Colors

Source pages: mistral.ai/ (homepage), /products/studio (Le Studio product), /solutions/coding (coding solution), /news/vibe-remote-agents-mistral-medium-3-5 (news), /contact (contact form), /services (services tiers). Token coverage was identical across all six pages.

Brand & Accent

Mistral Orange ({colors.primary}): Primary CTA color, brand orange
Orange Deep ({colors.primary-deep}): Pressed-state and emphasis variant
Sunshine 300 ({colors.sunshine-300}): Atmospheric light orange-yellow
Sunshine 500 ({colors.sunshine-500}): Mid-spectrum sunset orange
Sunshine 700 ({colors.sunshine-700}): Saturated mid sunset gradient stop
Sunshine 800 ({colors.sunshine-800}): Deep sunset gradient stop
Sunshine 900 ({colors.sunshine-900}): Deepest sunset orange
Yellow Saturated ({colors.yellow-saturated}): Pure brand yellow used in the sunset stripe gradient
Block 5/6/7 ({colors.block-5}, {colors.block-6}, {colors.block-7}): Spectrum stops along the sunset gradient (light-yellow → mid-yellow → deep-orange)

Cream / Neutral Warm

Cream ({colors.cream}): Warm yellow-cream surface for form panels, feature cards, footer
Cream Soft ({colors.cream-soft}): Lighter cream variant
Cream Deeper ({colors.cream-deeper}): More-saturated cream for badge/tag chips
Beige Deep ({colors.beige-deep}): Cream surface 1px border color

Surface

Canvas White ({colors.canvas}): Page background and card surface
Surface ({colors.surface}): Subtle quieter background
Surface Cream ({colors.surface-cream}): Cream-yellow tinted surface
Surface Code ({colors.surface-code}): Dark code-block / IDE mockup surface
Hairline ({colors.hairline}): 1px borders
Hairline Soft ({colors.hairline-soft}): Quieter dividers
Hairline Strong ({colors.hairline-strong}): Stronger 1px border for inputs

Text

Ink ({colors.ink}): Primary headlines and body text
Ink Tint ({colors.ink-tint}): Slightly softer black for hero overlay text
Charcoal ({colors.charcoal}): Body emphasis
Slate ({colors.slate}): Secondary text
Steel ({colors.steel}): Tertiary text, captions
Stone ({colors.stone}): Muted labels
Muted ({colors.muted}): Disabled, placeholders
On Dark ({colors.on-dark}): White text on dark surfaces
On Dark Muted ({colors.on-dark-muted}): Reduced-opacity white
On Cream ({colors.on-cream}): Ink text on cream surfaces

Semantic

Link ({colors.link}): Inline link color (matches primary orange)

Typography

Font Family

PP Editorial Old (display): Mistral's signature near-serif elegant display typeface used for hero displays, large numbers, and editorial section openers. Carries a slightly classical, intelligent character that contrasts the contemporary product positioning. Fallbacks: 'Times New Roman', Georgia, serif.

Inter (UI prose): Variable typeface for body, navigation, buttons, labels, captions. Fallbacks: ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif.

JetBrains Mono (code): Monospace for code blocks and IDE mockups. Fallbacks: 'SF Mono', Menlo, Consolas, monospace.

Hierarchy

Token	Size	Weight	Line Height	Letter Spacing	Family	Use
`{typography.hero-display}`	84px	400	1.05	-1.5px	PP Editorial Old	Hero ("Frontier AI. In your hands.")
`{typography.display-lg}`	64px	400	1.10	-1px	PP Editorial Old	Section openers
`{typography.heading-1}`	52px	400	1.15	-0.5px	PP Editorial Old	Page headlines ("Get in touch with the team.")
`{typography.stat-display}`	56px	400	1.10	-1px	PP Editorial Old	Stat callouts ("75%")
`{typography.heading-2}`	36px	500	1.20	-0.5px	Inter	Subsection headlines
`{typography.heading-3}`	28px	500	1.25	0	Inter	Card titles
`{typography.heading-4}`	22px	500	1.30	0	Inter	Feature tile titles
`{typography.heading-5}`	18px	500	1.40	0	Inter	Smaller card titles
`{typography.subtitle}`	18px	400	1.50	0	Inter	Hero subtitle, lead body
`{typography.body-md}`	16px	400	1.55	0	Inter	Primary body text
`{typography.body-md-medium}`	16px	500	1.55	0	Inter	Body emphasis
`{typography.body-sm}`	14px	400	1.50	0	Inter	Secondary body
`{typography.body-sm-medium}`	14px	500	1.50	0	Inter	Active sidebar, button labels
`{typography.caption}`	13px	400	1.40	0	Inter	Helper text
`{typography.caption-bold}`	13px	600	1.40	0	Inter	Badge labels
`{typography.micro}`	12px	500	1.40	0	Inter	Footer microcopy
`{typography.micro-uppercase}`	11px	600	1.40	1px	Inter	Section eyebrows
`{typography.button-md}`	14px	500	1.30	0	Inter	Button labels
`{typography.code-md}`	14px	400	1.50	0	JetBrains Mono	Code blocks

Principles

Editorial / sans pairing — PP Editorial Old (near-serif, classical) anchors hero displays; Inter (geometric sans) carries everything else. The contrast IS the brand voice.
Generous body leading (1.55 on body-md) for editorial readability across long-form pages
Tight hero leading (1.05 on 84px display) creates magazine-grade typographic display
Negative letter-spacing progresses with size — display sizes use -1.5px to -0.5px; smaller heads relax to 0
Stat-display token (56px Editorial) for marketing stat callouts ("75% / 80% / 100%")

Layout

Spacing System

Base unit: 4px (8px primary increment)
Tokens: {spacing.xxs} (4px) · {spacing.xs} (8px) · {spacing.sm} (12px) · {spacing.md} (16px) · {spacing.lg} (20px) · {spacing.xl} (24px) · {spacing.xxl} (32px) · {spacing.xxxl} (40px) · {spacing.section-sm} (48px) · {spacing.section} (64px) · {spacing.section-lg} (96px) · {spacing.hero} (120px)
Section rhythm: Marketing pages use {spacing.section-lg} (96px); content pages tighten to {spacing.section} (64px)
Card internal padding: {spacing.xl} (24px) for compact cards; {spacing.xxl} (32px) for feature panels and form panels

Grid & Container

Marketing pages use 1280px max-width with 32px gutters
Hero band uses 2-column split (text left, sunset photography right) on desktop
Le Studio product page uses 3-up feature grid below the hero
Contact page uses 1-column layout with cream form panel centered (~520px max-width)
Services page uses 4-tier card layout with cream feature panel separator strip

Whitespace Philosophy

Marketing surfaces give content generous breathing room — {spacing.hero} (120px) hero padding lets the mountain-sunset photography fill the frame. Form pages tighten dramatically: contact form panel uses {spacing.xxl} (32px) internal padding, fields stack on {spacing.md} (16px) gap.

Elevation & Depth

The system runs predominantly flat with strategic atmospheric depth from photography.

Level	Treatment	Use
0 (flat)	No shadow; `{colors.hairline-soft}` border	Default cards, table rows, form inputs
1 (subtle)	`rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 1px 2px 0px`	Hover-elevated tiles
2 (card)	`rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 4px 12px 0px`	Standard feature cards
3 (mockup)	`rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08) 0px 12px 24px -4px`	IDE mockup, code editor frames
4 (modal)	`rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.12) 0px 16px 48px -8px`	Modals, dropdowns

Decorative Depth

The atmospheric depth on Mistral's hero comes from the photographic mountain-sunset imagery — natural light gradient does the work
The "sunset stripe" closing band carries depth via its multi-stop gradient (red → orange → yellow → cream)
IDE / code mockups use dark-canvas backgrounds with subtle drop shadow

Shapes

Border Radius Scale

Token	Value	Use
`{rounded.xs}`	4px	Small chips, micro-controls
`{rounded.sm}`	6px	Discount badges, compact UI
`{rounded.md}`	8px	Buttons, inputs, search-pill, code blocks
`{rounded.lg}`	12px	Cards, modals, panels (the dominant card radius)
`{rounded.xl}`	16px	Larger feature panels
`{rounded.xxl}`	20px	Featured emphasis cards
`{rounded.full}`	9999px	Status badges, pill tabs (used sparingly — most buttons are NOT pills)

The radius scale is sober and editorial — Mistral does NOT use pill buttons. {rounded.md} (8px) for buttons, {rounded.lg} (12px) for cards, {rounded.full} reserved for badges and the rare pill tab.

Photography Geometry

Hero photography is full-bleed atmospheric mountain-sunset imagery with no internal framing
IDE/code mockups render with {rounded.lg} (12px) corners on dark canvas
Customer logos wall presents wordmarks inline at consistent 60–80px height
Product imagery (Le Studio mockup, agent UI mockups) sits in {rounded.lg} panels with subtle border

Components

Per the no-hover policy, hover states are NOT documented. Default and pressed/active states only.

Buttons

button-primary — Saturated-orange primary CTA, the dominant action.

Background {colors.primary}, text {colors.on-primary}, typography {typography.button-md}, padding 10px 20px, rounded {rounded.md}.
Pressed state button-primary-pressed deepens to {colors.primary-deep}.
Disabled state button-primary-disabled uses {colors.hairline} background and {colors.muted} text.

button-cream — Warm cream-yellow secondary action, common on cream-surface sections.

Background {colors.cream}, text {colors.ink}, border 1px solid {colors.beige-deep}, typography {typography.button-md}, padding 10px 20px, rounded {rounded.md}.

button-dark — Dark/black primary CTA on cream surfaces.

Background {colors.ink}, text {colors.on-dark}, typography {typography.button-md}, padding 10px 20px, rounded {rounded.md}.

button-secondary — Outlined secondary action.

Background transparent, text {colors.ink}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-strong}, typography {typography.button-md}, padding 10px 20px, rounded {rounded.md}.

button-on-cream — White button on cream-tinted backgrounds.

Background {colors.canvas}, text {colors.ink}, border 1px solid {colors.beige-deep}, typography {typography.button-md}, padding 10px 20px, rounded {rounded.md}.

button-link — Inline orange text link.

Background transparent, text {colors.primary}, typography {typography.body-sm-medium}, padding 0. Underline on activation.

Cards & Containers

card-base — Standard content card.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}.

card-feature — White feature card with larger padding.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}`.

card-cream — Warm cream-yellow feature card (services tiers, perk callouts).

Background {colors.cream}, text {colors.ink}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.beige-deep}.

card-cream-soft — Lighter cream variant.

Background {colors.surface-cream-soft}, text {colors.ink}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}.

card-feature-product — Product showcase card with subtle elevation.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}, shadow rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.04) 0px 4px 12px.

card-photographic — Photographic product card with dark background.

Background {colors.surface-code}, text {colors.on-dark}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding 0 (image fills the card).

pricing-card — Standard pricing tier card.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}.

pricing-card-featured — Featured pricing tier (cream background + orange border).

Background {colors.cream}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 2px solid {colors.primary}.

Inputs & Forms

text-input — Standard text field.

Background {colors.canvas}, text {colors.ink}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-strong}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.sm} {spacing.md}, height 44px.

text-input-focused — Activated state.

Border switches to 2px solid {colors.primary}.

text-area — Multi-line text area for contact form.

Background {colors.canvas}, text {colors.ink}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-strong}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.md}.

contact-form-panel — Cream-tinted form container on the contact page.

Background {colors.cream}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.beige-deep}. Hosts text-inputs, text-area, submit button-dark.

Tabs

pill-tab + pill-tab-active — Pill-style tab nav (used sparingly on product pages).

Inactive: background {colors.canvas}, text {colors.steel}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline}, padding {spacing.xs} {spacing.md}, rounded {rounded.full}.
Active: background {colors.ink}, text {colors.on-dark}.

segmented-tab + segmented-tab-active — Underline-style tab navigation.

Inactive: text {colors.steel}, transparent background, padding {spacing.sm} {spacing.md}, no bottom border.
Active: text {colors.primary}, 2px bottom border in {colors.primary}.

Badges & Status

badge-orange — Saturated orange badge.

Background {colors.primary}, text {colors.on-primary}, typography {typography.caption-bold}, rounded {rounded.full}, padding 4px 10px.

badge-cream — Cream-tinted tag chip.

Background {colors.cream-deeper}, text {colors.ink}, typography {typography.caption-bold}, rounded {rounded.full}, padding 4px 10px.

badge-dark — Dark/black status badge.

Background {colors.ink}, text {colors.on-dark}, typography {typography.caption-bold}, rounded {rounded.full}, padding 4px 10px.

promo-banner — Sticky black promo strip ABOVE the top nav.

Background {colors.ink}, text {colors.on-dark}, typography {typography.body-sm-medium}, padding {spacing.sm} {spacing.md}. Carries one-line copy + inline CTA.

Code

code-block — Syntax-highlighted IDE-style code block (Le Studio page mockup, agent demos).

Background {colors.surface-code}, text {colors.on-dark}, typography {typography.code-md}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.md}.

code-block-header — Header bar above the code block.

Background {colors.surface-code}, text {colors.on-dark-muted}, typography {typography.caption}, padding {spacing.xs} {spacing.md}, bottom border 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08).

Documentation Components

feature-icon-tile — Cream-yellow feature icon callout.

Background {colors.cream}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.md}, border 1px solid {colors.beige-deep}.

industry-tile — Industry-vertical tile in solutions page grid.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}.

stat-cell — Stat-row cell ("75% more / 80% better").

Background transparent, text {colors.ink}, typography {typography.stat-display}, padding {spacing.lg}.

customer-testimonial-card — Customer quote card (used inside Le Studio and Solutions pages).

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.xxl}, border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}. Quote in {typography.body-md}, attribution in {typography.body-sm} {colors.steel}.

logo-wall-item — Customer logo wordmark cell.

Background transparent, text {colors.steel}, typography {typography.body-md-medium}, padding {spacing.lg}.

faq-accordion-item — FAQ panel.

Background {colors.canvas}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.xl}, bottom border 1px solid {colors.hairline}.

app-store-badge — App Store / Google Play download badge.

Background {colors.ink}, text {colors.on-dark}, typography {typography.caption-bold}, rounded {rounded.md}, padding {spacing.sm} {spacing.md}.

Navigation

Top Navigation (Marketing) — Sticky white bar.

Background {colors.canvas}, height ~64px, bottom border 1px solid {colors.hairline-soft}.
Left: Mistral M-mark logo + "MISTRAL AI_" wordmark + horizontal link list (Products, Solutions, Research, Blog, Customers, Company).
Right: "Contact Sales" link + black-pill "Try Studio" CTA.

Signature Components

hero-band-sunset — Atmospheric sunset hero band.

Background gradient linear-gradient(135deg, {colors.sunshine-700} 0%, {colors.sunshine-900} 60%, {colors.primary} 100%) overlaid on photographic mountain landscape.
Layout: hero headline left in {typography.hero-display} ({colors.ink}), subtitle in {typography.subtitle} ({colors.ink-tint}), button row (button-dark + button-secondary), atmospheric mountain photography right.

sunset-stripe-band — Horizontal closing band at the foot of every page.

Multi-stop gradient: {colors.primary} → {colors.sunshine-700} → {colors.sunshine-500} → {colors.yellow-saturated} → {colors.cream}.
Padding {spacing.lg} 0. Spans full width, sits above the footer. THIS IS THE BRAND'S MOST RECOGNIZABLE SIGNATURE ELEMENT.

cta-banner-cream — Page-bottom CTA band on cream surface.

Background {colors.cream}, text {colors.ink}, rounded {rounded.lg}, padding {spacing.section}. "The next chapter of AI is yours." headline in {typography.heading-1} (PP Editorial Old), button row below.

footer-region — Cream-tinted multi-column footer.

Background {colors.footer-cream}, padding {spacing.section} {spacing.xxl}.
5-column link grid (Why Mistral / Explore / Build / Legal + brand mark column).
Bottom: language picker + social icons.

footer-link — Individual footer link.

Background transparent, text {colors.primary}, typography {typography.body-sm}, padding {spacing.xxs} 0.

Do's and Don'ts

Do

Reserve {colors.primary} (saturated orange) for primary CTAs and active states only
Use the sunset stripe band at the foot of every page — it's the brand's most recognizable signature
Pair PP Editorial Old (display) with Inter (UI) — never substitute either with a generic alternative
Apply {rounded.md} (8px) to buttons and {rounded.lg} (12px) to cards consistently
Use cream-yellow surfaces ({colors.cream}) for form panels, feature cards, and footer
Anchor heroes with photographic mountain-sunset imagery (or its visual equivalent — atmospheric gradient sky)
Use stat-display token (PP Editorial 56px) for stat callouts to maintain editorial character

Don't

Don't use pill-shaped buttons ({rounded.full}) — Mistral's geometry is sober and editorial, not playful
Don't introduce additional accent colors beyond the orange/yellow/cream sunset palette
Don't reduce hero leading below 1.05 — the editorial display needs that magazine-grade tightness
Don't replace PP Editorial Old hero displays with Inter — the editorial / sans contrast IS the brand
Don't apply heavy shadows on flat documentation cards; reserve elevation for IDE mockups
Don't drop the sunset stripe band from any page bottom — it's the brand's continuity element

Responsive Behavior

Breakpoints

Name	Width	Key Changes
Mobile (small)	< 480px	Single column. Hero scales to 40px (PP Editorial). Pill nav collapses to hamburger. Pricing tiers stack 1-up.
Mobile (large)	480 – 767px	Feature tiles 2-up. Hero scales to 52px.
Tablet	768 – 1023px	2-column feature grids. Pill-tab nav returns. Hero 64px.
Desktop	1024 – 1279px	Multi-column layouts. Hero 76px. Stat row at full width.
Wide Desktop	≥ 1280px	Full 84px hero presentation.

Touch Targets

Buttons render at 40–44px effective height — at WCAG AAA floor with 10px 20px padding
Form inputs render at 44px height
Pill tabs render at ~32px tall — bumps to 44px on mobile

Collapsing Strategy

Promo banner stays full-width; truncates at < 480px
Top nav below 1024px collapses to hamburger
Hero band: 2-column hero (text + photography) collapses to stacked at < 1024px
Pricing tiers: 4-column desktop → 2-column tablet → 1-column mobile
Stat row: 3-column → stacked at < 768px
Hero typography: 84px → 64px → 52px → 40px
Footer: 5-column desktop → 3-column tablet → 1-column accordion mobile
Sunset stripe band stays full-width on all breakpoints

Image Behavior

Mountain-sunset photography uses 16:9 ratio with full-bleed scaling
IDE mockup images maintain aspect ratio across breakpoints
Customer logo wall presents wordmarks at consistent 60–80px height

Iteration Guide

Focus on ONE component at a time
Reference component names and tokens directly ({colors.primary}, {component-name}-pressed)
Run npx @google/design.md lint DESIGN.md after edits
Add new variants as separate components: entries
Default to {typography.body-md} for body and {typography.subtitle} for emphasis. Hero displays use {typography.hero-display} (PP Editorial Old).
Keep {colors.primary} confined to primary CTAs, active states, and the sunset stripe band
Cards use {rounded.lg} (12px), buttons use {rounded.md} (8px). Pills ({rounded.full}) reserved for badges only.
Always include the sunset-stripe-band component at the foot of every page mockup.

Known Gaps

Specific dark-mode token values not surfaced; the brand has not shipped a published dark-mode palette
Animation/transition timings not extracted; recommend 150–200ms ease for hover/focus state transitions
Form validation success state not explicitly captured beyond defaults
Sunset stripe band gradient stops are approximations — the actual values may vary slightly across pages but the visual rhythm is consistent

Mistral AI

Color Tokens