Late nineteenth century
Pointillism
An image-making technique using discrete dots of color. It is related to Divisionism, but the terms are not interchangeable: dots are a particular way of separating color.
What defines it
- Discrete color dots
- Optical mixture
- Distance-dependent detail
What it asks of the project
- Reading & layout
- Open spacing for a slower reading pace
- Visual emphasis
- bold · illustrated
- Implementation
- Custom artwork or lettering is central to the full expression.
- Images & assets
- An actual dotted illustration is needed beyond the neutral interface layer.
Color in use
An art lesson showing a dotted image beside a zoomed detail and a readable explanation.
Accent labelOpaque text/surface: 19.23:1 · Text/accent: 5.26:1.
These pairs meet the normal-text minimum; check other surfaces separately.
Context
This board mainly uses halftone and stippled print effects. Those are useful comparisons, but they do not demonstrate the color-separation technique of painted Pointillism; use the linked museum source for that distinction.
View collected reference imagesBuild it
- Use dots within illustration
- Preview at actual display sizes
- Preserve clean typography and controls
Typography
Use clean text as a contrast to the dotted illustration. Pixel fonts would imply a different construction method.
Watch out for
Calling any dotted texture pointillism or using dense live particles where a static image would work.
A working interpretation
Original CSS composition with the same content and controls used in every direction. Image-led styles need additional artwork for their full expression.
Open the full example →Hand it to an agent
Point your agent at this guide, or save the files below.
Check the result
- Confirm: use dots within illustration.
- Confirm: preview at actual display sizes.
- Confirm: preserve clean typography and controls.
- Review specifically for: Calling any dotted texture pointillism or using dense live particles where a static image would work.