A weight ladder is the typographic equivalent of a spacing scale: choose a small set of weights and never use anything outside them. Linear's signature is its 400/510/590 ladder (not 400/500/600 — the optical micro-corrections are intentional). Stripe and Vercel use 400/500/700. The brief's `constraints` field locks in the captured ladder so AI agents can't accidentally introduce 600 where 590 belongs.
Glossary · typography
Type Weight Ladder
The set of font weights (e.g. 400 / 500 / 700) a typographic system commits to — the discipline that anchors hierarchy.
Catalogued examples
3 catalogued sites demonstrate type weight ladder in production.