# Open letter

> A statement set as a letter: a centred eyebrow, headline and short rule open it, the body runs left-aligned at a generous size and line height down one narrow measure, and it closes with a sign-off set in italic at display size. States no colour and no font of its own.

Canonical: https://patternpaste.com/pattern/open-letter.html
Section: Editorial
Access: Free, and free to keep.
Needs: Requires a block theme on WordPress 7.0 to 7.1. 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.
Blocks: group, heading, paragraph, separator
Keywords: editorial, letter, statement, founders, centred, sign-off, long-form

Promise: Identical markup in every theme.

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## The signature moment: centred head, ragged body

The only centred composition in the editorial section, and it is centred
exactly as far as a letter is: the heading block is symmetrical, the short
rule under it is core's default 100px separator sitting on the centre line,
and then the body turns left-aligned, because a centred paragraph is a thing
nobody can read. The switch from symmetry to a ragged right edge is what makes
it read as a letter rather than an announcement. The sign-off is the other
half of the signature: a name at up to 36px in the theme's italic, weight 400,
which is the closest core markup gets to a signature without a font.

## How the widths work

One measure, 36rem, the band's `contentSize`. Nothing is wider. The body is
`clamp(1.125rem, 1.55vw, 1.3125rem)` on a 1.8 line height, larger and looser
than the other editorial bodies because a letter is short and is meant to be
read slowly; at 36rem and 19px that is 60 to 65 characters.

The short rule is a `core/separator` with no `is-style-wide`, which core and
both stock themes render at 100px, centred. It states no colour.

## What happens at 390

The measure fills the width. The headline floors at 32px on 1.05 and centres
over three or four lines. The sign-off floors at 26px. There are no links, so
no tap targets.

## What it inherits from your theme

- **Typeface, including the italic.** None stated. The sign-off uses
  `fontStyle: italic`, so it takes your theme's italic where the face has one
  and the browser's synthesised slant where it does not; in a serif theme it
  is the closest thing to a signature this catalogue can make.
- **Palette.** `base` ground, `contrast` text, two-rung chains. The heading
  carries its colour explicitly.
- **The rule.** Your separator style, at core's default short width.
- **Spacing rhythm.** Core spacing presets.

## What it decides for itself

- **The measure**: 36rem.
- **Body proportion**: `clamp(1.125rem, 1.55vw, 1.3125rem)` on 1.8.
- **The sign-off**: `clamp(1.625rem, 2.8vw, 2.25rem)`, italic, weight 400,
  -0.02em, line-height 1.2.
- **The eyebrow and the dateline**: `max(0.875rem, 14px)`, uppercase, tracked.

## What you change first

1. **The headline.** One sentence, said plainly.
2. **The body.** Three paragraphs is a letter; six is an essay. Copy a
   paragraph to add one.
3. **The sign-off.** A name or names. Keep it to one line at 390, about 20
   characters.
4. **The dateline.** Where and when; keep it at or above 14px.

## Contrast

Every pair is `contrast` on `base`. The headline and the sign-off are large
text at 3:1; the body, the eyebrow and the dateline are held to 4.5:1.

## Display type

Off the theme's ladder on purpose, because the size is the composition:
- paragraph at clamp(1.625rem, 2.8vw, 2.25rem)