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NL Design System Assets Guide

This document explains where to find official and community fonts, logos, and other assets for implementing the NL Design System in Nextcloud.

Overview​

The Rijkshuisstijl Community provides both:

  1. Open-source alternatives (free to use, no permission needed)
  2. Documentation on how to use official proprietary assets (requires permission)

Repository: nl-design-system/rijkshuisstijl-community

Fonts​

Open Source Alternative (Included)​

The @rijkshuisstijl-community/font package provides Fira Sans as an open-source alternative to the proprietary RijksoverheidSansWebText fonts.

Installation:

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/font

Implementation:

// Import the fonts
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/400.css" as FiraSansRegular;
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/400-italic.css" as FiraSansItalic;
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/700.css" as FiraSansBold;
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/700-italic.css" as FiraSansBoldItalic;

The package includes:

  • Regular (400 weight)
  • Regular Italic
  • Bold (700 weight)
  • Bold Italic

Why Fira Sans?

  • Free and open-source
  • Good alternative to RijksoverheidSansWebText
  • Similar readability and professional appearance
  • No permission/licensing required

Official Proprietary Fonts (Optional)​

Font Name: RijksoverheidSansWebText

License: Proprietary - Requires permission from Ministerie van Algemene Zaken

How to Obtain:

  1. Visit rijkshuisstijl.nl
  2. Create an account (requires government affiliation)
  3. Request access through your organization's communication department
  4. Download fonts from the Rijkshuisstijl website

Usage After Permission:

@font-face {
  font-family: 'RijksoverheidSansWebText';
  src: url('../fonts/RijksoverheidSansWebText-Regular.woff2') format('woff2'),
       url('../fonts/RijksoverheidSansWebText-Regular.woff') format('woff');
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: normal;
  font-display: swap;
}

Important: Only use if you have explicit permission from the Dutch government.

Logos​

Open Source Alternative (nederland-map icon)​

The Rijkshuisstijl Community uses the nederland-map icon as a logo placeholder since the official Rijkslogo cannot be used outside official Rijksoverheid media.

From README:

Omdat buiten officiële Rijksoverheids-media het logo van de Rijksoverheid niet mag worden gebruik, wordt binnen dit project standaard het icoon met id nederland-map gebruiken, met een witte achtergrond.

Implementation:

<!-- Use the nederland-map icon from the icon set -->
<rhc-icon icon="nederland-map"></rhc-icon>

Official Rijkslogo (Requires Permission)​

What it is: The official crown logo with organization name

License: Copyright - Strict usage restrictions

Quote from Community:

"Logo en stijlgids: Copyright geldt voor het Rijkshuisstijl-logo en merkidentiteit. Gebruik hiervan is strikt verboden, behalve voor het ontwikkelen van websites en apps voor de Rijksoverheid."

How to Obtain:

  1. Contact Ministerie van Algemene Zaken
  2. Provide proof of government affiliation
  3. Explain use case (developing for Rijksoverheid)
  4. Download from Rijkshuisstijl website after approval

Formats Available:

  • SVG (recommended for web)
  • PNG (various sizes)
  • Variations for light/dark backgrounds

Icons​

The Rijkshuisstijl Community uses open-source icons from:

1. Tabler Icons (Default)​

Source: https://tabler.io/icons

License: MIT (free to use)

Usage: Most icons come from this set by default

2. Custom Community Icons​

Contributors can add custom icons to the icon set.

Documentation: See the Icon component Storybook page

Custom icon implementation example:

// Add custom icon to the set
import { registerIcon } from '@rijkshuisstijl-community/web-components';

registerIcon('custom-icon', '<svg>...</svg>');

Design Tokens​

All color, spacing, typography, and other design tokens are available as npm packages.

Installation​

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/design-tokens

Usage​

@use "@rijkshuisstijl-community/design-tokens/dist/index.scss";

Or in JavaScript:

import tokens from '@rijkshuisstijl-community/design-tokens';

Token Structure:

{
  "rh": {
    "color": {
      "donkerblauw": {
        "value": "#154273"
      }
    }
  }
}

Components​

The community provides ready-to-use components in multiple formats:

CSS Components​

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/components-css

React Components​

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/components-react

Web Components​

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/web-components

Twig Templates​

npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/components-twig

Implementation for Our Nextcloud App​

Current Status​

✅ Design Tokens - Manually implemented in css/tokens/rijkshuisstijl.css ❌ Fonts - Not using the community package ❌ Logo - Not implemented ❌ Icons - Not integrated

1. Install Font Package​

cd /home/rubenlinde/nextcloud-docker-dev/workspace/server/apps-extra/nldesign
npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/font

2. Create Font CSS File​

Create css/fonts.css:

// Import Fira Sans as Rijkshuisstijl alternative
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/400.css";
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/400-italic.css";
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/700.css";
@use "@fontsource/fira-sans/700-italic.css";

3. Load Font CSS in Application.php​

private function injectThemeCSS($serverContainer): void {
    // ... existing code ...
    
    // Add fonts
    \OCP\Util::addStyle(self::APP_ID, 'fonts');
}

Create css/logo.css:

/* Replace Nextcloud logo with nederland-map icon */
#header .logo {
    background-image: url('data:image/svg+xml,...nederland-map-svg...');
    background-size: contain;
    background-position: center;
}

5. Update Token File to Use Fira Sans​

Update css/tokens/rijkshuisstijl.css:

:root {
    /* Use Fira Sans as alternative */
    --nldesign-font-family: 'Fira Sans', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Cantarell, Ubuntu, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;
}

What You CAN Use (No Permission Needed)​

✅ Design tokens (colors, spacing, etc.) ✅ Fira Sans font (open source alternative) ✅ nederland-map icon as logo replacement ✅ Tabler Icons icon set ✅ CSS/React/Web Components from community ✅ Color palette (#154273, etc.)

What You CANNOT Use (Without Permission)​

❌ Official Rijkslogo (crown logo) ❌ RijksoverheidSansWebText fonts ❌ "Rijksoverheid" wordmark/branding ❌ Official photography/imagery from rijkshuisstijl.nl

Who Needs Permission?​

You NEED permission if:

  • You work for a Dutch central government organization
  • You're a contractor developing for Rijksoverheid
  • Your website will use official Rijksoverheid branding

You DON'T need permission if:

  • Using for demonstrations/prototypes
  • Using community alternatives (Fira Sans, nederland-map)
  • Building for municipalities (use their design systems instead)
  • Educational/learning purposes

Resources​

Official Resources (Require Account)​

Community Resources (Open Access)​

NPM Packages​

  • @rijkshuisstijl-community/font - Fonts (Fira Sans)
  • @rijkshuisstijl-community/design-tokens - Design tokens
  • @rijkshuisstijl-community/components-css - CSS components
  • @rijkshuisstijl-community/components-react - React components
  • @rijkshuisstijl-community/web-components - Web Components
  • @fontsource/fira-sans - Fira Sans web fonts

Quick Start for Nextcloud Implementation​

Step 1: Install Dependencies​

cd nldesign/
npm init -y  # If package.json doesn't exist
npm install @rijkshuisstijl-community/font @fontsource/fira-sans

Step 2: Build Assets​

# If using a build process
npm run build

Step 3: Update CSS​

/* Add to theme.css */
@import url('~@fontsource/fira-sans/400.css');
@import url('~@fontsource/fira-sans/700.css');

Step 4: Enable in Nextcloud​

php occ app:enable nldesign

Step 5: Test​

Navigate to Settings → Administration → Theming and verify the font renders correctly.

Conclusion​

For our Nextcloud app, we should:

  1. ✅ Use the community font package (@rijkshuisstijl-community/font with Fira Sans)
  2. ✅ Use the nederland-map icon as logo (no permission needed)
  3. ✅ Keep using our manually defined design tokens (they match the community tokens)
  4. ❌ Do NOT include proprietary Rijkslogo or RijksoverheidSansWebText fonts

This keeps us compliant, open-source, and legal while still achieving ~90% visual similarity to the official Rijkshuisstijl!