Marks
Four small marks carry most of the meaning in Palette: three reach marks that say what the model may do, and the model mark that says the model is here.
Reach marks
A reach mark sits before a control’s label and says what the model may do with it. The shapes differ, not only the colours, so they read in greyscale and with Still on.
| Mark | Name | The model may… | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty ring | Nothing. Person only. | Release a deposit, sign a lease | |
| Half ring | Prepare it for a person to confirm. | Book a viewing, fill in a form | |
| Full ring | Do it on its own, and report it. | Draft a reply, summarise a clause |
- Mark every action in a screen that the model can see, including the ones it can’t take.
- Put the mark before the label, 8 px from it. The mark is part of the button, not a badge beside it.
- Use the same mark in a field’s header to say who may write in it.
The model mark
The model mark is a disc of pigment. It labels model regions: a summary, a murmur from the model, the guide’s answers, the dock’s Ask button. It turns only while the model is working, and rests when it is done.
- Place it at the start of a model region, aligned with the first line.
- Don’t use it as a generic “AI” badge on features. It marks output, not marketing.
Carets
Each writer has a caret in its own colour. The person’s caret is the system caret, in ink. The model’s caret is a bar of pigment: it blinks while the model thinks, holds steady while it writes, and leaves when it is done. A field that only the model writes has no ink caret at all.
The agent cursor
When an agent operates the interface, its cursor is drawn in tyrian with an “agent” label, so people can see what it is pointing at. It never borrows the person’s cursor.