Spine

FolioSpineDesign proposalNovember 2026

Spine

Where everything at home is kept, and what it needs next.

A private household record in the Folio suite. It keeps where things live, their warranties, the art on the walls and the jobs that come round again. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers.

Ask · Home · Things · Wayfinder

Fig. 1. The household, catalogued. Spine is the volume you just put back.

I

Identity

Spine borrows from the library: bookcloth colours, call-number labels, a reading face for titles. Warm, calm and specific to its job, which is knowing where everything is.

I.1 The idea

A shelfmark for everything

A home is a library that nobody catalogued.

Libraries solved finding things long ago. Every book carries a shelfmark, a short code that says exactly where it lives.

Spine gives a home the same quiet system. Rooms get two letters, shelves a number, boxes a letter, and everything you record points to one. Write the mark on a real label and the house and the app agree.

GARoomGarageTwo letters, the same everywhere
3ShelfShelving 3Numbered from the door, left to right
BBoxHand toolsThe grey crate with the yellow lid

Fig. 2. Anatomy of a shelfmark: GA·3·B

I.2 App icon

Two volumes and a dot

The icon tells the whole story in one glance: things have a place, and Spine knows which one.

DefaultBuckram cloth, a marigold volume
DarkNight board, the green lit up as sage
TintedTwo greys, so the system tint reads
12°shelf120 units, 10 unit gridkeyline circle, r 44

Fig. 3. Construction on a ten unit grid. The lean is twelve degrees.

  1. 01Two volumes on a shelf. One stands, one leans: the one you just put back.
  2. 02The leaning volume is marigold, the colour of a ribbon marker, and carries a call-number label with one dot. That dot is the place you are looking for.
  3. 03Buckram green behind, the colour of library cloth. Quiet on a home screen full of loud icons.
  4. 04Two shapes and a line, so it still reads at 29 px in Settings.
180
120
87
60
40
29

Fig. 4. From the App Store to Settings, in points

I.3 Wordmark

Spine, a Folio volume

Spine is set in Literata Semibold, spaced a little tighter. The suite name sits above it in DM Mono capitals, spaced wide, like the imprint at the foot of a book spine.

Folio

Spine

Primary lockup

Clear space: the height of the icon label

SpineFolio
Spine lockup
Next volumeNext volume
Every Folio app is a volume on the same shelf: one height, its own cloth, its own label.

I.4 Area icons

Four areas, one plus

Drawn on a 24 grid with a 1.75 stroke and round ends. The current area fills its shape and takes a heavier line, so it reads without colour.

  • Ask

    A question in a speech mark. Find anything, in your own words.

    DefaultCurrent

  • Home

    A house under an open book, laid face down. What is coming up.

    DefaultCurrent

  • Things

    A luggage tag. Everything you own that is worth a record.

    DefaultCurrent

  • Wayfinder

    A floor plan, a door and a dot. Rooms, then shelves, then boxes.

    DefaultCurrent

  • Add

    One plus, always in the same corner. Adding first, then the areas.

    Default

I.5 Colour

Bookcloth and paper

Two warm neutrals, one deep green and one marigold ribbon. Every text colour passes WCAG AA on its background; the ratios are measured against the page colour.

Light

Daylight in the reading room

  • EndpaperBackground#F3ECE1
  • VellumCards and sheets#FBF7F0
  • BoardWells, tracks, quiet fills#EAE1D3
  • InkText#1F1A1514.7:1
  • PencilSecondary text#5F53466.4:1
  • BuckramBrand and actions#24493D8.5:1
  • MarigoldRibbon markers, never text#E2A13B

Dark

The reading room at night

  • NightBackground#14120F
  • BoardCards and sheets#1E1A16
  • WellWells and tracks#2A251F
  • PaperText#F0E8DB15.4:1
  • PencilSecondary text#B5A9988.1:1
  • SageBrand and actions#8FC2A89.3:1
  • MarigoldRibbon markers#E8B04F9.6:1

Room cloths

Each room keeps its cloth, and always shows its code and name with it.

  • KitchenKIA54E2D
  • Living roomLR2E5B4B
  • HallHAC8952F
  • StudyST2B3A5C
  • BedroomBEC98B86
  • BathroomBA8FB0AA
  • GarageGA66652C
  • LoftLO5A3550

I.6 Type

A reading face, a working face, a catalogue face

Literata was drawn for reading on screens; its optical sizes keep it sturdy small and fine large. Schibsted Grotesk does the interface with an editorial warmth. DM Mono sets shelfmarks and dates so they line up like a catalogue card.

Literata · titles and the voice

Aa

Coming up

Where it’s kept

Schibsted Grotesk · the interface

Aa

Descale the kettle

Job · Every 6 weeks · Kitchen

DM Mono · marks and dates

GA·3·B

ST·2·A / LO·1·C

Sat 7 Nov · in 3 days

Type scale for the phone
RoleSample
TitleComing up
HeadingWhere it’s kept
BodyDescale the kettle
MetaJob · Every 6 weeks · Kitchen
MarkGA·3·B / Sat 7 Nov

I.7 Signals

Colour never carries meaning alone

Every state has a word and a shape. Warranties pair a glyph with plain words. Coming-up items are circles, squares and diamonds. Selection raises, fills or ticks. Turn colour off and nothing is lost.

In colour

Covered until 22 Jun 2027Ends 10 Nov, in 3 daysEnded 19 Jan 2026
JobWarrantyArt

Without colour

Covered until 22 Jun 2027Ends 10 Nov, in 3 daysEnded 19 Jan 2026
JobWarrantyArt

Selected states, try them

HereHere

Switch colour off for this whole page, phones and laptop included.

II

Phone, 390 px

Five screens, each shown in light and dark at true size. They are live, not pictures: tap the plus, change the window, open a thing, pull a room off the shelf.

01 · Home

Coming up, at your pace

One calm list of what needs you: jobs, warranties and care for the art. The switcher sets how far ahead you look, and the ruler shows that window at a glance.

  • a3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks: the list and the ruler change together
  • bJobs are circles, warranties squares, art diamonds, in the list and on the ruler
  • cTick a repeating job and it tells you when it comes back
Home, light

Alder Road

Sat 7 Nov

Coming up

Four things between now and Tuesday 10 November. One still to do from before.

Still to do

From before
  • Clean the extractor filterJob · Every 3 months · Kitchen

Today

Sat 7 Nov
  • Wind the hall clockJob · Every Saturday · Hall

Tomorrow

Sun 8 Nov
  • Test the smoke alarmsJob · Every month · Hall and landing

Monday

Mon 9 Nov

Tuesday

Tue 10 Nov
Home, dark

Alder Road

Sat 7 Nov

Coming up

Four things between now and Tuesday 10 November. One still to do from before.

Still to do

From before
  • Clean the extractor filterJob · Every 3 months · Kitchen

Today

Sat 7 Nov
  • Wind the hall clockJob · Every Saturday · Hall

Tomorrow

Sun 8 Nov
  • Test the smoke alarmsJob · Every month · Hall and landing

Monday

Mon 9 Nov

Tuesday

Tue 10 Nov

02 · Things

Everything worth a record

Each thing has its photo, the place it lives and the day its warranty ends. The list leads with whatever ends first.

  • aThe label on the right is the shelfmark: room, shelf, box
  • bEnding soon carries an hourglass and the words; covered carries a shield
  • cSearch finds things, rooms and boxes by name
Things, light

Things

10 things, warranties ending soonest first.

Things, dark

Things

10 things, warranties ending soonest first.

03 · Item

The papers, and the exact spot

Receipt, warranty and manual sit with the thing they belong to. The shelf drawing marks the box with a ribbon and a heavier outline, so you can find it without reading a word.

  • aTap a document to read it
  • bMoved it? Tap the new box on the drawing
  • cThe promise sits at the foot of every record
Item, light
Wireless headphones

Audio

Wireless headphones

Over-ear, noise cancelling

Where it’s kept

StudyDesk shelvesBox A

Cables and audio

Blue fabric box, left end of the middle shelf

ABC

Documents

3 attached

Warranty

Covered until 22 Jun 2027
Bought 22 Jun 20247 months left
Bought from
The Audio Room, Bristol
Paid
£249

Spine keeps receipts, manuals and certificates. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers.

Item, dark
Wireless headphones

Audio

Wireless headphones

Over-ear, noise cancelling

Where it’s kept

StudyDesk shelvesBox A

Cables and audio

Blue fabric box, left end of the middle shelf

ABC

Documents

3 attached

Warranty

Covered until 22 Jun 2027
Bought 22 Jun 20247 months left
Bought from
The Audio Room, Bristol
Paid
£249

Spine keeps receipts, manuals and certificates. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers.

04 · Wayfinder

Rooms, then shelves, then boxes

Rooms stand on a shelf as volumes. Pull one out to see its shelves and cupboards, open one to see its boxes, and open a box to see what is inside.

  • aEach room keeps its bookcloth and a two-letter code
  • bThe room you pulled out is raised and marked with a ribbon
  • cTips live where they are needed: the fuse box, the stopcock
Wayfinder, light

Wayfinder

8 rooms, 19 shelves and cupboards, 41 boxes.

Living room

Shelfmark LR

2 places to keep things · 4 boxes · 2 recorded things

  • BA

    In box B

    Linen box, third shelf

    • Albums 2009 to 2016
    • Loose prints
    • Negatives

    Also here

Wayfinder, dark

Wayfinder

8 rooms, 19 shelves and cupboards, 41 boxes.

Living room

Shelfmark LR

2 places to keep things · 4 boxes · 2 recorded things

  • BA

    In box B

    Linen box, third shelf

    • Albums 2009 to 2016
    • Loose prints
    • Negatives

    Also here

05 · Add

One plus, two jobs

There is no tab bar. The floating plus opens a sheet: adding comes first, then the four areas, with the one you are in named in words. One control to learn.

  • aA thing starts with a photo; the details can wait
  • bGo to: Ask, Home, Things, Wayfinder
  • cClose it with the cross, a tap outside, or Escape
Add, light

Wayfinder

8 rooms, 19 shelves and cupboards, 41 boxes.

Loft

Shelfmark LO

2 places to keep things · 7 boxes · 0 recorded things

  • ABC

Add, dark

Wayfinder

8 rooms, 19 shelves and cupboards, 41 boxes.

Loft

Shelfmark LO

2 places to keep things · 7 boxes · 0 recorded things

  • ABC

III

Laptop

Spine is responsive rather than a second app. On a wide screen the plus becomes a sidebar, and Things opens its items alongside the list. Click through it: everything works here too.

  1. Phone390 px

    One column. The floating plus opens Add, then the areas.

  2. Tablet834 px

    Things and the open item side by side. The plus stays.

  3. Laptop1280 px

    The plus becomes a sidebar in the same order: Add, then the areas.

Things with an item open, light

Things

10 recorded

Wireless headphones

Audio

Wireless headphones

Over-ear, noise cancelling

Where it’s kept

StudyDesk shelvesBox A

Cables and audio

Blue fabric box, left end of the middle shelf

ABC

Documents

3 attached

Warranty

Covered until 22 Jun 2027
Bought 22 Jun 20247 months left
Bought from
The Audio Room, Bristol
Paid
£249

Spine keeps receipts, manuals and certificates. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers.

Things with an item open, dark

Things

10 recorded

Wireless headphones

Audio

Wireless headphones

Over-ear, noise cancelling

Where it’s kept

StudyDesk shelvesBox A

Cables and audio

Blue fabric box, left end of the middle shelf

ABC

Documents

3 attached

Warranty

Covered until 22 Jun 2027
Bought 22 Jun 20247 months left
Bought from
The Audio Room, Bristol
Paid
£249

Spine keeps receipts, manuals and certificates. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers.

Notes

  • aThe sidebar keeps the sheet's order, so nothing has to be learnt twice
  • bThe list never loses its place while an item is open beside it
  • cSame parts, same shelfmarks, same words. Only the layout changes

IV

Principles

Four rules decided every screen in this proposal, and should decide the ones that come after it.

  1. 01

    Calm by default

    No red badges, no streaks, no counters that shout. A late job is still to do, not overdue. Spine speaks up when something is close, and stays quiet the rest of the time.

  2. 02

    Kept, not collected

    Spine keeps where things are and the paperwork that goes with them. It never keeps passwords or ID numbers. Type one into a form and it says so, and leaves it out.

  3. 03

    Words before colour

    Every state has a word and a shape. Colour helps; it never decides. The switch at the top of this page takes the colour away to prove it.

  4. 04

    Written like a note on the fridge

    Short, specific and kind. The way you would tell someone where something is.

    • We write: Blue fabric box, left end of the middle shelf.

      Instead of: Location ID 0047.

    • We write: One still to do from before.

      Instead of: OVERDUE (1)

    • We write: Ends 10 Nov, in 3 days.

      Instead of: Warranty expiry imminent!

What Spine keeps

  • Where things are: room, shelf and box
  • Photos of things
  • Receipts, manuals and warranty cards
  • Warranty end dates
  • Art: who made it, where it hangs, its valuation
  • Repeating jobs, and when each is next due
  • Where important papers are kept

What it never keeps

  • Passwords and PINs
  • Passport, licence and national insurance numbers
  • Bank and card numbers
  • Door and alarm codes

It can keep where the passports are. It will never keep their numbers.