| Do | Ask "could I reorder or remove this independently?" If yes, it's a card. If no, it's just a section of the page: use a heading + Stack or Section. |
| Do | Use cards for discrete items: a single user profile, a single notification, a single metric, a product in a grid. Each card represents one "thing" with clear interaction boundaries. |
| Do | Spacing and alignment alone create visual grouping. Not everything needs a container; try removing the card and see if the grouping is still clear from whitespace and typography. |
| Do | Keep padding consistent across sibling cards so they align visually in a grid or list. |
| Do | Pair a card with Layout when you need a structured header, scrollable content, and footer with actions. |
| Don't | Default to cards for visual grouping. A heading + Stack with proper spacing creates hierarchy without adding borders everywhere. Cards should be the exception, not the default. |
| Don't | Wrap page sections in cards. "General Settings", "Notification Preferences", form groups: these are page regions, use Section or heading + stack. |
| Don't | Create identical card grids (icon + heading + text, repeated). Vary the layout or question whether cards are needed at all. |
| Don't | Nest cards inside other cards; flatten the hierarchy or use spacing and dividers instead. |
| Don't | Use color variants for status; use Banner or Badge for that. Color cards are for categorization. |