kintone is Cybozu's no-code/low-code work platform — the tool a non-engineer reaches for when they want to turn a messy spreadsheet and an email thread into a real business application.
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kintone is Cybozu's no-code/low-code work platform — the tool a non-engineer reaches for when they want to turn a messy spreadsheet and an email thread into a real business application. Its design language reflects that mission: approachable, friendly, and unintimidating, but grounded enough that a sales team, a city government office, or a manufacturing floor all trust it with their daily operations. The marketing site opens on a generous white canvas (#ffffff) with near-black text (#333333) and a single, unmistakable accent: KIN Red (#ef3f24), a warm vermilion that is closer to Japanese-flag red than to alarm red. The whole atmosphere says "everyone can build this" — the literal tagline is みんな、つくれる ("Everyone can create").
Where most enterprise SaaS leans on corporate blue to signal trust, kintone deliberately chose red as its primary — a confident, energetic, distinctly Japanese choice that separates it from the sea of blue B2B tools. Red is paired with a playful secondary palette of four named hues (a green, a cerulean, a teal-aloe, and a sunshine yellow) that color-code app categories, illustration spots, and the famous round-cornered "app icon" tiles. The effect is cheerful and modular, like a box of building blocks — appropriate for a product whose entire premise is assembling apps from parts.
Typographically, kintone is pragmatic and Japanese-first. The product UI ships with Meiryo as the default face, falling back through Hiragino Kaku Gothic and Noto Sans JP — clean humanist gothic (sans-serif) typefaces optimized for dense, legible Japanese business text on screen. There is no exotic custom typeface here; legibility for spreadsheets, records, and long field labels wins over branded letterforms.
Key Characteristics:
#ef3f24) as the singular brand primary — warm vermilion, not corporate blue#333333 body text, soft gray dividers#ef3f24): The brand primary. Pantone 485, CMYK 0/100/95/0, RGB 239/63/36. Logo, primary CTAs, key links, brand moments, the default app header theme. Warm vermilion — energetic and friendly, never an "error red."#ffffff): Page background, card surfaces, content canvas.#333333): Primary heading and body text. A soft, warm dark gray rather than pure #000000 — easier on the eyes across long records.#3fa862): Green. Success, "create/add" affordances, green-themed app icons and illustration spots.#00afec): Bright sky blue. Informational accents, links in product chrome, blue-themed app tiles.#00afaa): Teal. Alternative categorization, secondary highlights, teal-themed tiles.#ffba00): Warm yellow. Attention, highlights, pinned/featured states, yellow-themed tiles.#e74c3c → use #d63b22 for destructive emphasis): Validation errors, delete confirmations. Kept distinct in tone from the friendly brand red by leaning slightly darker/cooler.#3fa862): Save confirmations, completed workflow steps (reuses Shamrock).#ffba00): Pending approvals, attention-needed states (reuses Sunshine).#00afec): Tips, neutral notices (reuses Cerulean).#333333): Headings, primary text.#555555): Body text, descriptions.#666666): Secondary labels, field captions.#999999): Placeholder text, disabled labels, metadata.#bbbbbb): Disabled icons, faint borders.#dddddd): Default borders, dividers, table rules.#e8e8e8): Input outlines, row hover separators.#f5f5f5): Secondary backgrounds, table header fills, hovered rows.#fafafa): App canvas tint, subtle zebra striping.#dddddd. Card borders, table grid lines, input outlines.#bbbbbb. Emphasized borders, focused container edges.#f5f5f5. Form section backgrounds, list zebra rows.#ef3f24 (default theme) — the product header bar; admins may re-theme.rgba(0,0,0,0.5). Modal/dialog backdrops."メイリオ", Meiryo, "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", "ヒラギノ角ゴ ProN W3", "Noto Sans JP", sans-serif"Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans JP", "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", Meiryo, sans-serif"SFMono-Regular", Consolas, "Courier New", monospace (code fields, formula display)| Role | Font | Size | Weight | Line Height | Letter Spacing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display Hero | Meiryo stack | 40px | 700 | 1.30 | 0.02em | Marketing hero — みんな、つくれる |
| Display Large | Meiryo stack | 32px | 700 | 1.35 | 0.02em | Section titles, landing headers |
| Heading 1 | Meiryo stack | 24px | 700 | 1.40 | normal | Page titles, app names |
| Heading 2 | Meiryo stack | 20px | 700 | 1.45 | normal | Card headers, form section titles |
| Heading 3 | Meiryo stack | 18px | 700 | 1.50 | normal | Sub-sections, field group labels |
| Subtitle | Meiryo stack | 16px | 700 | 1.50 | normal | List headers, dialog titles |
| Body Large | Meiryo stack | 16px | 400 | 1.70 | normal | Intro copy, descriptions |
| Body | Meiryo stack | 14px | 400 | 1.70 | normal | Standard UI text, record fields |
| Body Small | Meiryo stack | 13px | 400 | 1.65 | normal | Secondary info, table cells |
| Caption | Meiryo stack | 12px | 400 | 1.60 | normal | Field hints, timestamps, fine print |
| Label | Meiryo stack | 13px | 700 | 1.50 | normal | Form field labels above inputs |
| Button | Meiryo stack | 14px | 700 | 1.00 | 0.02em | CTA and action button text |
0.02em on large display text keeps mixed kanji/kana/Latin runs from feeling cramped. Body text uses normal tracking.Primary
#ef3f24#ffffff#d63b22 (darkened ~8%)#c0341e#f5b3aa bg, #ffffff textSecondary / Outline
#ffffff#ef3f24#ef3f24#fff0ee background tintNeutral / Default
#ffffff#555555#dddddd#f5f5f5 background, #bbbbbb borderSubtle / Text
#00afec#f5f5f5 backgroundDanger
#e74c3c#ffffff#d63b22Text Field (default)
#ffffff#333333#dddddd#999999#00afec, subtle 0 0 0 2px rgba(0,175,236,0.15) ring#f5f5f5 bg, #999999 textTextarea / Multi-line
Error State
#e74c3c#ffffff (or #fdeeee tint for emphasis)#e74c3c 12px / 400Select / Dropdown
#ffffff#dddddd#999999Standard Card
#ffffff#dddddd0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.08)App Tile (signature)
#ffffff#dddddd (white)0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.08), lifts to 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.12) on hoverFlat Section
#f5f5f5Data Table
#f5f5f5 background, #555555 13px / 700 text#dddddd (horizontal rules only)#fafafa#333333#fafafaStatus Pill (default)
#f5f5f5#555555#ddddddStatus Pill (colored) — Success / Info / Warning / Danger
#e7f5ed bg, #3fa862 text#e6f7fd bg, #00afec text#fff6e0 bg, #b37e00 text#fdeeee bg, #e74c3c textUnderline Tabs
#dddddd#666666 text, 14px / 700, transparent underline#ef3f24 text + 2px #ef3f24 underline#333333 textDefault Toast
#333333#ffffff0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)Success Banner (inline)
#e7f5ed#2e7d4f#3fa862Centered Modal
#ffffff0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.20)#333333rgba(0,0,0,0.5)Checkbox
#ffffff bg, 1px #bbbbbb border, 4px radius#ef3f24 bg, white check glyphToggle Switch
#3fa862 track, white thumb#dddddd track, white thumbVerified: 2026-06-06 (OmD v0.1)
Tier 1 sources: kintone.cybozu.co.jp (live marketing site — white canvas, KIN Red CTAs, みんな、つくれる tagline); Kintone Brand Guidelines PDF (kintone.com/en-us/files/Brand-Guidelines.pdf — KIN Red #ef3f24 Pantone 485, secondary palette Shamrock #3fa862 / Cerulean #00afec / Aloe #00afaa / Sunshine #ffba00) · https://kintone.cybozu.co.jp (live production site)
Tier 2 sources: kintone Help (theme/header color docs — default red header theme, admin re-theming); community font references (Meiryo default UI font, Hiragino/Noto Sans JP fallbacks)
Notes: Neutral gray scale and component geometry (radii, padding, shadows) are derived from the live kintone product UI and marketing site; named brand hues and primary red are sourced directly from the official Brand Guidelines.
#ef3f24)#f5f5f5 section fills so a 40-field app still parses as discrete blocks.| Level | Treatment | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Flat (Level 0) | No shadow | Page background, form sections, table rows |
| Subtle (Level 1) | 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.08) | Cards, app tiles at rest, widgets |
| Raised (Level 2) | 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.12) | Hovered tiles, dropdowns, popovers |
| Elevated (Level 3) | 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.18) | Toasts, floating action panels |
| Modal (Level 4) | 0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.20) | Dialogs, full modals |
Shadow Philosophy: kintone stays mostly flat. It is a work tool, not a showcase — shadows exist to signal "this is liftable/clickable" (tiles, dropdowns) or "this is on top" (modals, toasts), never for decoration. All shadows are neutral black at low opacity; there are no colored or multi-layer atmospheric shadows. The strongest depth cue in the product is actually the header color block and border lines, not elevation. Borders (#dddddd) do most of the structural work that shadows do elsewhere.
rgba(0,0,0,0.5) scrim, not a blur — keeping the work context lightly visible behind a dialog.#ef3f24) for the primary CTA and brand moments — it is the one hero color#dddddd borders for structure; keep shadows subtle#e74c3c/#d63b22)| Name | Width | Key Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | <600px | Single column, 2-col tile grid, stacked CTAs, collapsed nav |
| Tablet | 600-960px | 3-4 col tile grid, 2-col form groups, side margins |
| Desktop | 960-1280px | Full layout, 4-6 col launcher, fixed header |
| Large Desktop | >1280px | Centered ~1080px marketing content with wide margins |
#ef3f24)#d63b22)#ffffff)#f5f5f5)#333333)#666666)#999999)#dddddd)#3fa862)#00afec)#00afaa)#ffba00)#e74c3c)#ef3f24 — never substitute a blue primary#dddddd borders; keep shadows subtle and neutral#e74c3c/#d63b22, kept distinct from brand redkintone speaks like an encouraging colleague who genuinely believes you can build the thing yourself — warm, plain-spoken, and free of engineering jargon. The flagship tagline みんな、つくれる ("Everyone can create") sets the entire register: empowering, inclusive, never condescending. Japanese is the primary voice (kintone is a Cybozu domestic-first product); English strings on global surfaces are clean translations, not the source. Sentences are short. Buttons use plain verbs (つくる "create", はじめる "start", 保存 "save"). There is gentle warmth — a friendly mascot, soft exclamation — but never hype.
| Context | Tone |
|---|---|
| Marketing hero | Empowering, inclusive — みんな、つくれる. One idea, large and calm. |
| CTAs | Plain imperative verbs (無料ではじめる, アプリを作る, 試してみる). |
| Success messages | Brief past-tense confirmation (保存しました, 更新しました). No emoji. |
| Error messages | Specific, blameless, actionable. Tell the user what to fix, not "an error occurred". |
| Onboarding / empty states | Encouraging — explain the next step a beginner should take, one action. |
| Field hints / help | Concrete and example-driven; assumes a non-engineer reader. |
| Enterprise / IR pages | More formal Japanese business register (です・ます), same calm warmth. |
Forbidden phrases. Heavy engineering jargon on user-facing surfaces (the whole point is no-code). Hype superlatives ("革命的", "revolutionary"). Blame-shifting error copy ("操作が正しくありません" without guidance). English-first phrasing that ignores the Japanese primary. Treating the brand red as a scolding/error color in copy or UI.
kintone is the flagship work platform of Cybozu, Inc. (サイボウズ株式会社), a Tokyo-based software company founded in 1997 that built its name on Japanese groupware — Cybozu Office and Garoon — before launching kintone in 2011 as a no-code/low-code platform for building business applications. Cybozu's corporate mission is "チームワークあふれる社会を創る" ("Create a society overflowing with teamwork"), and kintone is the product expression of that mission: give every team — not just engineers — the power to turn their own messy, spreadsheet-and-email workflows into real, shared applications.
The founding insight behind kintone is a rejection of the idea that building software must be the exclusive territory of IT departments and vendors. In a Japanese business culture historically dependent on Excel attachments emailed around an office and SIer (system integrator) contracts for any custom tool, kintone's pitch was radical: みんな、つくれる — the sales lead, the HR coordinator, the factory floor manager can each assemble the app they need by dragging fields onto a form. No code, no procurement cycle, no waiting on IT.
That democratizing thesis is why the brand looks the way it does. The warm KIN Red is approachable and energetic, not the cold institutional blue of legacy enterprise IT. The playful secondary palette and rounded app-tile motif make software construction feel like assembling building blocks. The friendly mascot and the plain, jargon-free voice all reinforce a single message: this is for everyone, and you can do it. kintone has grown into a platform used by tens of thousands of organizations across Japan and internationally (Cybozu operates kintone in the US and Southeast Asia as well), spanning local governments, manufacturers, retailers, and small businesses.
What kintone refuses: the gatekept, IT-only aesthetic of legacy enterprise software; the cold blue palette that signals "for engineers"; dense, intimidating interfaces that assume technical literacy. What it embraces: warmth, modularity, plain language, and the conviction that the people closest to the work are the ones who should be able to build the tools for it.
#dddddd rules and color blocks, not heavy elevation. The product is flat and calm because it is a daily work surface, not a demo.Personas below are fictional archetypes informed by publicly described kintone user segments (non-technical business builders, SMB operations, local government, Cybozu's "teamwork" positioning), not individual people.
田中さん (Tanaka-san), 42, Nagoya. Operations manager at a 60-person auto-parts manufacturer. Not an engineer — lives in Excel and email. Tanaka built the company's defect-tracking app himself in kintone over a weekend after his IT vendor quoted three months and a large fee. Values that he could drag fields onto a form and see a working record list immediately. Distrusts anything that looks like it needs a developer. Reads Japanese only; English UI is invisible to him. Measures the tool by how fast he can change a field when the factory floor's needs shift.
佐藤さん (Sato-san), 35, Tokyo. HR coordinator at a mid-size services firm. Uses kintone to run the employee onboarding workflow — process management with approval steps. Cares deeply about status pills and notifications being unambiguous, because a stuck approval means a new hire can't get a laptop. Appreciates the friendly tone; it makes a tedious task feel less bureaucratic. Would be annoyed by any redesign that made the record list less scannable.
Maria Santos, 29, Manila. Operations analyst at a regional retail chain using kintone (Southeast Asia). Builds inventory and store-visit apps. Works in English but on a Japanese-rooted product; values that the UI is clean and translates cleanly. Color-codes her apps with the secondary palette so the launcher reads at a glance. Treats kintone as the lightweight middle ground between a rigid ERP and a chaotic spreadsheet.
市役所の山本さん (Yamamoto-san, city hall), 51, regional Japan. Public-sector administrator digitizing a paper-based resident-request process. Risk-averse, needs reliability and an interface his whole (non-technical, mixed-age) team can use without training. The "everyone can create" promise is exactly why kintone won over a custom SIer build. Wants warmth and clarity over flashiness; the calm, bordered, flat UI reassures him.
| State | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Empty (no records yet) | Friendly single line in #666666 body text explaining the app is empty, plus one encouraging primary action ("レコードを追加" — Add a record) as a red CTA. Beginner-oriented, never a bare "No data". Often a light illustration/mascot spot. |
| Empty (filtered, zero results) | Single #999999 caption ("条件に一致するレコードがありません" — No records match). No CTA; user adjusts the filter. Filter summary stays visible above. |
| Loading (first paint) | Neutral skeleton blocks at #f5f5f5 matching the final table/form layout. Subtle 1.2s shimmer. No spinner overlay blocking the page. |
| Loading (in-place refresh) | Small inline spinner near the action; existing content stays visible with previous values. The record list never blanks during a refresh. |
| Error (field validation) | #e74c3c 1px border on the input, error text below in #e74c3c 12px. One actionable sentence describing what to fix (必須項目です → 〜を入力してください). |
| Error (save failed) | Inline banner above the form: #fdeeee background, #e74c3c left border, plain-language cause + retry. Never a generic "エラーが発生しました" alone. |
| Success (saved) | Brief #333333 toast ("保存しました"), 3s auto-dismiss, no emoji. For persistent confirmation, a #e7f5ed / #3fa862 inline banner. |
| Success (workflow advanced) | Status pill updates to the next process color (e.g. info #00afec → success #3fa862), with a notification to the next assignee. |
| Skeleton | #f5f5f5 blocks at exact final dimensions, component radius preserved (4px fields, 6px cards). Gentle shimmer. |
| Disabled | Buttons drop to a faded tint (primary → #f5b3aa); inputs go #f5f5f5 bg with #999999 text but keep their #dddddd border so geometry is stable when re-enabled. |
| Permission-restricted | Field or app appears greyed with a #999999 lock note explaining access is limited — never a silent disappearance, so the user understands the rule. |
Durations (named, not raw milliseconds):
| Token | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
motion-instant | 0ms | Checkbox/toggle state commit, selection ticks |
motion-fast | 150ms | Hover, focus, button press, tooltip reveal |
motion-standard | 250ms | The default — dropdown open, dialog fade-in, tab switch |
motion-slow | 350ms | Modal entrance, page-level panel transitions |
Easings:
| Token | Curve | Use |
|---|---|---|
ease-enter | cubic-bezier(0.0, 0.0, 0.2, 1) | Things appearing — dialogs, dropdowns, toasts |
ease-exit | cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 1, 1) | Things leaving — dismissals, closes |
ease-standard | cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1) | Two-way transitions — tab content, expanding sections |
Signature motions.
0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.08) to 0 4px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.12) over motion-fast / ease-standard with a 1-2px translateY. The block-lifts-toward-you cue reinforces the "tap to open / pick this up" modularity metaphor.motion-slow / ease-enter, with the backdrop scrim fading rgba(0,0,0,0) → rgba(0,0,0,0.5) in sync. Dismissal uses motion-fast / ease-exit — leaving is quicker than arriving.y+12px and fade in over motion-standard / ease-enter, hold, then fade out via ease-exit. No bounce — kintone's motion is calm and unfussy, matching a work tool.prefers-reduced-motion: reduce, all motion-* tokens collapse to motion-instant. Slides and scales become instant fades. The product stays fully usable; nothing depends on animation to be understood.kintone is Cybozu's no-code/low-code work platform — the tool a non-engineer reaches for when they want to turn a messy spreadsheet and an email thread into a real business application. Its design language reflects that mission: approachable, friendly, and unintimidating, but grounded enough that a sales team, a city government office, or a manufacturing floor all trust it with their daily operations. The marketing site opens on a generous white canvas (#ffffff) with near-black text (#333333) and a single, unmistakable accent: KIN Red (#ef3f24), a warm vermilion that is closer to Japanese-flag red than to alarm red. The whole atmosphere says "everyone can build this" — the literal tagline is みんな、つくれる ("Everyone can create").
Do and Don't guidelines parsed from DESIGN.md.
Do
Don't