Principles · Design
Calm enough to think in.
Life-management software has to hold complexity without handing that complexity back to the person. Pamplemousse uses clear hierarchy, deliberate separation, and a little botanical warmth to make a full life easier to read.
Make the system legible
Pamplemousse has its own vocabulary, but every term should make the underlying structure easier to understand.
A Grove is an enduring area. A Grapefruit is a project. A Segment is a phase. A Seed is a task. A Sprout is a smaller step. The metaphor is useful only when it helps someone form a clear mental model.
Where accuracy matters — errors, access, privacy, permissions, destructive actions — the product should prefer plain language over personality.
Delight may invite; clarity must complete.
Reduce noise without hiding truth
A calm interface should not be an empty interface.
Due dates, blocked work, capacity, recurrence health, and supporting evidence should remain visible when they matter. The design task is to establish hierarchy: what needs attention now, what provides context, and what can wait until requested.
Zest follows the same rule. Its cards are limited in number and designed around selected evidence rather than an unbounded stream of generated advice.
Restraint is not omission.Show less at once, but do not make consequential information difficult to find.
Design for tending, not streaks
Many parts of life do not have a final status.
Pamplemousse treats health, relationships, finances, learning, and other ongoing responsibilities as areas to revisit rather than levels to complete. Projects can finish. Seeds can be harvested. A Grove can remain active for years.
This makes room for progress without pretending that every valuable practice should become a score, streak, or race.
Completion is useful where it is honest.
Let people organize differently
The twelve suggested Life Groves are a starting point, not a prescribed model of a good life. People can rename, add, archive, or ignore them and combine Pamplemousse with methods they already trust.
The product should offer defaults that reduce setup without making those defaults difficult to change. Opinionated design is most helpful when it provides a confident first step and an obvious way to choose another.
Defaults should guide, not govern.
Build accessibly, then verify
Pamplemousse should work across screen sizes, input methods, visual preferences, and motion preferences. Semantic structure, keyboard access, readable contrast, clear focus states, reduced-motion support, and understandable error messages belong in the definition of done.
Accessibility is not established by intent or a settings toggle. It requires testing with automated tools, keyboards, screen readers, magnification, and people with different access needs.
Accessibility is a practice, not a badge.
Stated as a principle, not a result. No assistive-technology audit has been completed, and Pamplemousse does not claim conformance to any accessibility standard. The section above describes how the product is being built, not a verified outcome.
See how the pieces fit together.
Explore the Pamplemousse model, from Groves to Seeds, and the design decisions that keep everything connected without putting everything in one pile.