Badge Delete Button — Iteration on Var 10

White circle with float shadow. 6 sub-variations (10a–10f) iterating on centering, position nudge, circle size, × weight, and shadow intensity. Vars 1–9 from round 1 kept for context. Each card shows full-size (top) and margin-size (bottom).

Current (production)

REF
Current production style
bg: --bn-colour-text (#1a1a1a) — near black
size: 0.75rem (12px) • × weight: 700 • no shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion

Variations

1
Muted grey, same size
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.75rem (12px) • × weight: 700 • no shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
2
Muted grey + subtle shadow recommended
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.75rem (12px) • × weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 3px --bn-colour-shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
3
Muted grey, larger circle (14px)
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.875rem (14px) • × size: 0.65rem • weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 3px --bn-colour-shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
4
Muted grey, larger, heavier shadow
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.875rem (14px) • × size: 0.65rem • weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.18) + 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.08)
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
5
Light grey circle, dark ×
bg: --bn-colour-border-hover (#d1d5db)
× colour: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.75rem (12px) • weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 3px --bn-colour-shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
6
Light grey, larger, heavy shadow
bg: --bn-colour-border-hover (#d1d5db)
× colour: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.875rem (14px) • × size: 0.6rem • weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.18)
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
7
Muted grey, thin × (weight 500)
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.75rem (12px) • × size: 0.65rem • weight: 500
shadow: 0 1px 3px --bn-colour-shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
8
Muted grey, larger, thin ×, gentle shadow
bg: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
size: 0.875rem (14px) • × size: 0.6rem • weight: 500
shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.12)
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
9
White circle with grey border
bg: --bn-colour-bg (#ffffff)
× colour: --bn-colour-muted (#6b7280)
border: 1px solid --bn-colour-border
size: 0.875rem (14px) • weight: 700
shadow: 0 1px 3px --bn-colour-shadow
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10a
Baseline (original var 10)
White circle, grey ×, 14px, bold 700
Position: top -0.3rem, right -0.3rem
No centering fix • no nudge
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10b
Nudged 1px up+right, × centred
Position: calc(-0.3rem - 1px) both axes
padding-top: 0.5px to drop × into optical centre
Same 14px circle, bold 700
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10c
+ half-pixel larger circle (14.5px) recommended
Circle: calc(0.875rem + 0.5px) ≈ 14.5px
Same nudge + centering fix as 10b
Sub-pixel rendering — yes, browsers handle 0.5px
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10c-fix
× centred via transform(0.1px, 0.5px) recommended
line-height: 0 to collapse metric offset
::after { transform: translate(0.1px, 0.5px) }
Button text node hidden; × drawn by pseudo-element
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10c-fix2
× via text node, flexbox only (no transform)
Standard align-items/justify-content: center
line-height: 1, padding: 0
Control: does flexbox alone centre it?
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10c-fix3
× centred via transform(0, 1px) — stronger nudge
Same as 10c-fix but translate(0, 1px)
In case 0.5px isn't enough on your display
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10d
+ slightly larger × (0.625rem)
Same as 10c but × at 0.625rem (10px) vs 0.6rem (9.6px)
Fills the circle a bit more
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10e
+ medium × weight (600)
Same as 10c but font-weight: 600 vs 700
Slightly thinner stroke, more refined
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion
10f
+ heavier shadow (more float)
Same as 10c but shadow: 0 1px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.2)
More pronounced floating effect
usability emotion frustration
navigation confusion

Design system tokens for consistency

Token Value (light) Role Use here?
--bn-colour-text #1a1a1a Primary text, current delete circle bg Current — too heavy / near-black
--bn-colour-muted #6b7280 Secondary text, icons, timestamps, add-tag borders Best fit for circle bg — already used for other de-emphasised interactive elements (search clear, modal close text)
--bn-colour-border-hover #d1d5db Interactive border hover state, toolbar hover border Option for lighter circle bg (vars 5, 6)
--bn-colour-icon-idle #c9ccd1 Toolbar dropdown arrows at rest Too light for a filled circle — low contrast
--bn-colour-shadow rgba(0,0,0,0.1) Standard shadow colour throughout the design system Use as shadow colour — consistent with existing elevations
--bn-colour-bg #ffffff Page background, white surfaces Option for white-circle approach (vars 9, 10)
--bn-colour-border #e5e7eb Borders, dividers, subtle lines Option for circle border ring (var 9)
--bn-transition-fast 0.15s ease Hover, opacity transitions Keep for opacity fade-in — already used
--bn-focus-shadow 0 3px 12px rgba(0,0,0,0.12) Keyboard-nav focus state Reference for shadow intensity — our delete shadow should be lighter than this

Observations