Style BookThe Madras DispatchSaturday, 24 October 2026 Page H1
Style Book
How this paper is set, and the rules the build enforces.
The Three Layers
Every newspaper keeps a style book. This one is enforced by a script.
The design is built in layers, and each layer may read only the one beneath it. Primitives hold raw values. Semantic tokens give those values a role. Components read the roles. Pages compose components and carry no styling of their own.
The check runs before every build and fails it on any breach: a component that reaches for a primitive, a page with a style block, a raw colour anywhere above the primitive layer. The rules are listed in the ledger on this page.
The evening edition is the same set of roles with night paper and light ink. It follows the reader's system setting, or the edition chosen from the switch in the edition line. No component knows which edition it is printed in.
| Layer | May read | May not |
|---|---|---|
| Primitives | Nothing | Other tokens |
| Semantic | Primitives | Raw values |
| Base, components, layouts | Semantic tokens | Primitives, raw colours |
| Pages | Components | Tokens, style blocks |
Palette
Newsprint, ink, and one spot colour. No cream, no pure black.
--color-paper
The sheet. Default background.
--color-paper-raised
A lighter sheet, for coupons and cut-outs.
--color-paper-tint
Tinted boxes and code.
--color-paper-deep
Selection highlight.
--color-ink
Text, rules, headlines.
--color-ink-soft
Decks, bylines, captions.
--color-ink-muted
Meta lines, credits.
--color-ink-faint
Separators inside meta lines.
--color-rule-soft
Rules that should not compete with ink rules.
--color-stamp
The spot colour. Stamps, link hover, focus.
--color-photo-plate
Behind every plate. Ink by day, night paper by night.
Type
Three faces. Base 17 pixels, ratio 1.2, optical sizes on.
The Madras Dispatch
--text-nameplate Nameplate only
Engineer found
--text-headline-banner Banner, one per front page
Lead headline
--text-headline-lead Lead story on a section page
Secondary headline
--text-headline-secondary Stories sharing a page
Brief headline
--text-headline-brief Briefs and teasers
Business
--text-section-name Section nameplate on the folio
Lifted from the story
--text-pullquote Pull quotes
The deck explains the headline in one sentence.
--text-deck Decks under lead headlines
Body copy is justified, hyphenated, and indented.
--text-body Body copy
Compact text inside boxes and tables.
--text-compact Boxed text, briefs, ledgers
Caption and byline size.
--text-small Captions, bylines, meta, nav
Photograph: supplied
--text-fine Credits, folio detail
Rules
Lines carry structure. Whitespace is for margins.
Components
Each part of the paper, with its rule of use.
Headline
Four levels. One banner per front page. Decks are one sentence, italic. Kickers only when the section is not obvious.
Kicker
Lead Headline
A deck under a lead headline.
Secondary Headline
A deck under a secondary.
Brief Headline
A deck under a brief.
Byline and Meta
A byline names the writer. A meta line lists facts. Neither is decoration.
Prose
Justified, hyphenated, paragraphs indented. A dateline opens the first paragraph. A drop cap is for stories without a dateline.
A paragraph with a dateline. It is justified and hyphenated, and the next paragraph is indented rather than spaced.
The second paragraph shows the indent. Columns are set with the columns prop and collapse on small screens.
Pull quote
Set between a heavy rule and a hairline. Quote the subject, not the paper.
Your first job will scare you.
Box
Ruled for facts, tinted for asides, dashed for cut-outs.
Index box and Ear
The index box lists the sections. Ears sit either side of the nameplate and hold the weather and the price.
Jump line, Links, Stamp
A jump line is the only way to continue a story. Links point outside the paper. The stamp is the one red thing on a page.
Plate and Figure
Every picture is a plate: screened to ink on paper, halftoned, and bled into colour when the pointer rests on it. A figure adds the caption and the credit. The credit is mandatory. The mug variant floats a small portrait into the text.
Advert and Daily Five
A display advertisement: double-ruled frame, every line centred, the whole notice one link. Only for the other titles from this press, and only on the Advertisements page. The Daily Five is the word game on the Puzzles page: ink for the right place, the spot red for the wrong place, grey for absent.
Ledger
A ruled table for anything with columns: jobs, degrees, counts.
| Item | Count |
|---|---|
| Posts | 21 |
| Titles | 3 |
Classified and Coupon
Classifieds are dense and capitalised at the lead. The coupon is how readers write in.
Wanted
- Collaborators. For open-source work. Must tolerate justified text.