The signature moment
Every answer is already open, hung from a hairline with a ruled aside
Each question hangs from a full-width hairline: a tracked topic label, the question at heading size, the answer at reading size, then a short note set off by a vertical rule on its left. The two columns read like facing pages; the aside is the second voice, the thing a publisher would pencil in the margin.
Full pattern notes
Why it works, and how it is built
Open a topic for the complete design reasoning, editing guidance and implementation notes.
Design rationaleComposition, intent and nearest alternatives
Overview
A reading-room FAQ in which nothing is folded away. A centred masthead (tracked label, display title, short introduction) stands over a two-column grid of four questions, and a band inverted to your contrast closes the section with one line and a button.
The signature moment: every answer is already open, hung from a hairline with a ruled aside
Each question hangs from a full-width hairline: a tracked topic label, the question at heading size, the answer at reading size, then a short note set off by a vertical rule on its left. The two columns read like facing pages; the aside is the second voice, the thing a publisher would pencil in the margin.
Make it yoursVariations and the edits to make first
The variations
- Open book (base): your base and contrast, hairlines in
currentColor. - Margin press: states its own colours, forest green on warm paper with sage hairlines and a green band. Like the Designed original, the body uses Arial and the title and questions use Georgia.
Theme behaviourInheritance, fixed decisions and contrast
Contrast
Text is contrast on base (4.5:1 in any theme honouring the pair), the band the inverse. Margin press is #294337 on #f3f0e7 and the reverse, above 9:1.
Technical notesBlock mechanics, responsive behaviour and constraints
Mechanics worth knowing
- The grid is
core/groupin grid layout, two columns with a 17rem minimum, so it holds two columns at tablet width and drops to one on a phone. - The display title is off the ladder on purpose (a bare
clamp()), because its size is the composition; the questions sit onx-large, the answers onmedium. - The closing band inverts to your contrast and its button inverts back to your base, so it reads in every theme.
Questions
Open book: common questions
Does Open book need a plugin?
No. It is built only from core WordPress blocks (button, buttons, group, heading and paragraph), so it pastes into the block editor with nothing to install.
Will Open book match my theme?
Choose by variation. Open book takes your theme’s palette; Margin press brings its own colours.
How many variations does Open book have?
2: Open book and Margin press. Each is its own markup; choose one in the toolbar above the preview before you copy.
Is Open book free?
It is included with a subscription, with every Core Pattern and variation. 50 Core Patterns are free to copy without one.
Which WordPress version does it need?
Requires a block theme on WordPress 7.0. Classic themes and page builders are outside our supported setup. Adaptive patterns use the block theme’s colour, spacing and typography presets; styled variations declare their own colours or type.
The markup
Core block markup and nothing else. Copy it, then paste it straight into the block editor: WordPress reads the delimiters and rebuilds the blocks.
Fetching the markup…
Variation: Margin press
Fetching the markup…