CH 02 Reading the Shore 07 / 14  ·  Basalt Field Notes

How the wet shore reads.

01

Darker than dry, by design.

Wet basalt deepens about two stops past the dry grain. We hold the page at that wet step, never the cream of a sunlit beach.

Base #1A1B1D
02

Iron and magnetite, not soot.

The grain reads cool — slate, gunmetal, a little blue under cloud — because the shore is ground basalt with magnetite, not burnt wood.

Body #2C2D30
03

One color, kept for the surf.

Slate-teal is reserved for the sheen where water meets sand. Used once per view it stays a reflection; used twice it becomes décor.

Sheen #3B4A52
04

Grotesque type, low contrast.

Archivo and Inter Tight at medium weight, set tight. No serifs, no script — the shore is quiet and the typography agrees with it.

Type Archivo · Inter Tight
Basalt — Field Guide to a Dark Shore Volume I · Reading the Shore 07 / 14
This is the Tongan Black Sand design system, applied by Curio Design — a design-style library for AI agents. Full Tongan Black Sand guide → designbycurio.com/learn/tongan-volcanic-black-sand