a study of monochrome
02 · september 2026
Resend, Vercel, Linear and Raycast look alike. They aren't built alike.
the black
Two are pure black. Two have blue in them. Raise the exposure.
resend
vercel
linear
raycast
what shows through
Linear and Vercel make their cards solid. Resend and Raycast let the page show through. Raycast does it to its text too, and its faint text gets hard to read.
title 18.43
body 8.37
faint 4.34
resend, see-through
title 17.94
body 8.13
vercel, solid
title 18.73
body 6.13
faint 3.45
linear, solid
title 20.04
body 7.31
faint 3.75
raycast, see-through
the numbers are contrast. under 4.5 is hard to read.
the header
Vercel's is solid black. Linear's and Raycast's are frosted glass. Resend's bottom edge lights up when something passes under it.
the edge
Each one draws the thin line around a card its own way. Look at the corners.
resend
vercel
linear, lit where your pointer is
raycast
the color
None of them puts color on the page itself. Raycast pours all its red into one picture. Resend turns its own 3D gray.
one canvas
a stand-in for raycast's 3D hero
the type
Resend sets its headlines in Domaine, a serif, and is the only one still using gradient text. Vercel uses Geist. Linear and Raycast both use Inter.
Gray on black
resend · domaine
Gray on black
vercel · geist
Gray on black
linear · inter
Gray on black
raycast · inter
the blur
Of the four, only Linear moves with blur. Its headline comes into focus.
The black is the easy part to copy, and it's the one thing all four share.
measured from each homepage on 23/9/2026. the fonts are stand-ins.