Elevation and Depth Elevation uses shadow and layering to communicate that an element sits above the base surface — giving UI a sense of physical depth. Combined with border-radius, it creates the tactile quality that makes cards graspable, modals clearly floating, and dropdowns feel like they've appeared on top of content. The Elevation Scale Define a small set of elevation levels as tokens. Each level maps to a specific UI role. | Level | Token | Shadow | Role | |---|---|---|---| | 0 | | none | Flat surface, inline elements | | 1 | | | Subtle card, table row hover | | 2 | | | Card, input fo…