Dropdown menu component — mobile, brutalist style

Dropdown menu UI component for websites and web apps, shown in Fernway, a fictional productivity product. Shows a menu button on a file row that opens an actions menu with icons, a disabled item and a separator, plus every state (default, hover, focus-visible, open, disabled). Brutalist style: high contrast, Space Grotesk, uppercase headings, thick black borders and hard offset shadows. Comes with copyable HTML, CSS and a few lines of plain JavaScript (keyboard support and ARIA per the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices), a live demo, and a DESIGN.md with light and dark colour tokens.

Open live HTML ↗ Download DESIGN.md

Pattern: Dropdown menu
Device: Mobile
Style: Brutalist
Product (fictional): Fernway
Category: Productivity

Spec

Colours (light): background #fbfbfb · surface #ffffff · text #15181e · muted #5f636c · primary #7d6800 · accent #4565c7
Colours (dark): background #111316 · surface #22252a · text #ececec · muted #aeb1b8 · primary #c9aa24 · accent #afc6ff
Fonts: Space Grotesk (headings and body), JetBrains Mono (code) · Google Fonts, under their own licences
Light and dark: Both included; follows the system setting
ARIA pattern: Menu button (WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices)
Keyboard: Arrows, Home and End, type-ahead; Escape closes
States: default, hover, focus-visible, open, disabled

dropdown-menumobileproductivitydropdownmenubutton

Code

Paste the HTML where the component goes, the CSS into your stylesheet and the script before </body>. The tokens block holds the light and dark colours; swap in your own.

HTML

<div class="mgd-file">
  <svg class="i" width="22" height="22" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M6 3h8l4 4v14H6zM14 3v4h4M9 12h6M9 16h6"/></svg><div class="mgd-file__name"><b>launch-brief.pdf</b><span>2 MB · edited by Priya Nair</span></div>
  <div class="mgd-menu">
    <button class="mgd-btn" type="button" id="file-menu-btn" aria-haspopup="menu" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="file-menu">Actions <svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M5 9l7 7 7-7"/></svg></button>
    <ul class="mgd-menu__list" id="file-menu" role="menu" aria-labelledby="file-menu-btn" hidden>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 20h4L19 9l-4-4L4 16z"/></svg>Rename</li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M6 3h8l4 4v14H6zM14 3v4h4M9 12h6M9 16h6"/></svg>Duplicate</li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M3 6a1 1 0 0 1 1-1h5l2 2h9a1 1 0 0 1 1 1v10a1 1 0 0 1-1 1H4a1 1 0 0 1-1-1z"/></svg>Move to…</li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M10 14a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 0l3-3a4 4 0 0 0-5.7-5.7l-1 1M14 10a4 4 0 0 0-5.7 0l-3 3a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 5.7l1-1"/></svg>Copy link</li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><rect x="5" y="11" width="14" height="10" rx="2"/><path d="M8 11V8a4 4 0 0 1 8 0v3"/></svg>Change owner</li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__sep" role="separator"></li>
      <li class="mgd-menu__item" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1"><svg class="i" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M4 7h16M9 7V4h6v3M6 7l1 13h10l1-13"/></svg>Delete</li>
    </ul>
  </div>
</div>
<p class="mgd-menu-out" aria-live="polite"></p>

CSS

/* Tokens (light + dark) */
:root{--bg:#fbfbfb;--surface:#ffffff;--border:#d7dae1;--text:#15181e;--muted:#5f636c;--primary:#7d6800;--on-primary:#ffffff;--accent:#4565c7;--font-h:"Space Grotesk",Georgia,serif;--font-b:"Space Grotesk",system-ui,sans-serif;--hw:700;
--c-bw:2px;--c-line:var(--text);--c-r:0;--c-pill:0;--c-sh:3px 3px 0 var(--text);--c-pop:6px 6px 0 var(--text);--c-tt:uppercase;--c-ls:.02em;--c-fw:700;--c-fs:13px;--c-ring:3px solid var(--text);--c-ind:4px;color-scheme:light}
@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){:root:not([data-theme="light"]){--bg:#111316;--surface:#22252a;--border:#393b41;--text:#ececec;--muted:#aeb1b8;--primary:#c9aa24;--on-primary:#111111;--accent:#afc6ff;color-scheme:dark}
}
:root[data-theme="dark"]{--bg:#111316;--surface:#22252a;--border:#393b41;--text:#ececec;--muted:#aeb1b8;--primary:#c9aa24;--on-primary:#111111;--accent:#afc6ff;color-scheme:dark}

/* Component */
.mgd-sr{position:absolute!important;width:1px;height:1px;padding:0;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;clip:rect(0 0 0 0);white-space:nowrap;border:0}
.mgd-btn{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;gap:8px;min-height:40px;padding:0 16px;border:var(--c-bw) solid var(--c-line);border-radius:var(--c-pill);background:var(--surface);color:var(--text);font:var(--c-fw) var(--c-fs)/1 var(--font-b);text-transform:var(--c-tt);letter-spacing:var(--c-ls);box-shadow:var(--c-sh);cursor:pointer;white-space:nowrap;transition:background-color .12s,border-color .12s}
.mgd-btn:hover,.mgd-btn.is-hover{background:color-mix(in oklab,var(--primary) 9%,var(--surface))}
.mgd-btn:focus-visible,.mgd-btn.is-focus{outline:var(--c-ring);outline-offset:2px}
.mgd-btn[aria-expanded="true"],.mgd-btn.is-open{background:color-mix(in oklab,var(--primary) 15%,var(--surface))}
.mgd-btn--primary{background:var(--primary);border-color:var(--primary);color:var(--on-primary)}
.mgd-btn--primary:hover,.mgd-btn--primary.is-hover{background:color-mix(in oklab,var(--primary) 84%,var(--text))}
.mgd-btn:disabled,.mgd-btn[aria-disabled="true"],.mgd-btn.is-disabled{opacity:.5;cursor:not-allowed;box-shadow:none}
.mgd-btn svg{flex:none}
.mgd-menu{position:relative;display:inline-block}
.mgd-menu__list{position:absolute;z-index:10;top:calc(100% + 6px);right:0;min-width:220px;margin:0;padding:6px;list-style:none;background:var(--surface);border:var(--c-bw) solid var(--c-line);border-radius:var(--c-r);box-shadow:var(--c-pop)}
.mgd-menu__list[hidden]{display:none}
.mgd-menu__item{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;min-height:38px;padding:0 10px;border-radius:calc(var(--c-r) * .6);color:var(--text);font:500 14px var(--font-b);text-transform:var(--c-tt);letter-spacing:var(--c-ls);cursor:pointer;outline:none}
.mgd-menu__item svg{color:var(--muted)}
.mgd-menu__item:hover,.mgd-menu__item.is-hover{background:color-mix(in oklab,var(--primary) 9%,var(--surface))}
.mgd-menu__item:focus-visible,.mgd-menu__item:focus,.mgd-menu__item.is-focus{background:var(--text);color:var(--bg);box-shadow:inset 0 0 0 2px var(--text)}
.mgd-menu__item[aria-disabled="true"],.mgd-menu__item.is-off{opacity:.45;cursor:not-allowed;background:none;box-shadow:none}
.mgd-menu__item kbd{margin-left:auto;font:12px var(--font-b);color:var(--muted)}
.mgd-menu__sep{height:1px;margin:6px 4px;background:var(--border)}
.mgd-file{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:14px;max-width:640px;padding:14px 16px;background:var(--surface);border:var(--c-bw) solid var(--c-line);border-radius:var(--c-r);box-shadow:var(--c-sh)}
.mgd-file__name{flex:1;min-width:0}
.mgd-file__name b{display:block;font-weight:600}
.mgd-file__name span{color:var(--muted);font-size:13px}
.mgd-menu-out{margin:14px 0 0;color:var(--muted);font-size:14px;min-height:1.5em}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){.mgd-menu,.mgd-menu *{transition:none!important;animation-duration:2.4s!important}}

JavaScript

document.querySelectorAll(".mgd-menu").forEach(function (wrap) {
  var btn = wrap.querySelector("[aria-haspopup]"), menu = document.getElementById(btn.getAttribute("aria-controls")), out = document.querySelector(".mgd-menu-out");
  var items = [].slice.call(menu.querySelectorAll("[role=menuitem]")), usable = items.filter(function (i) { return i.getAttribute("aria-disabled") !== "true"; });
  function open(at) { menu.hidden = false; btn.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "true"); (at === "last" ? usable[usable.length - 1] : usable[0]).focus(); }
  function close(back) { if (menu.hidden) return; menu.hidden = true; btn.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "false"); if (back) btn.focus(); }
  function choose(item) { if (item.getAttribute("aria-disabled") === "true") return; close(true); if (out) out.textContent = item.textContent.trim() + " chosen."; }
  btn.addEventListener("click", function () { menu.hidden ? open() : close(true); });
  btn.addEventListener("keydown", function (e) {
    if (e.key === "ArrowDown" || e.key === "Enter" || e.key === " ") { e.preventDefault(); open(); }
    else if (e.key === "ArrowUp") { e.preventDefault(); open("last"); }
  });
  menu.addEventListener("click", function (e) { var it = e.target.closest("[role=menuitem]"); if (it) choose(it); });
  menu.addEventListener("keydown", function (e) {
    var i = usable.indexOf(document.activeElement), k = e.key, next = null;
    if (k === "ArrowDown") next = usable[(i + 1) % usable.length];
    else if (k === "ArrowUp") next = usable[(i - 1 + usable.length) % usable.length];
    else if (k === "Home") next = usable[0];
    else if (k === "End") next = usable[usable.length - 1];
    else if (k === "Escape") { e.preventDefault(); close(true); return; }
    else if (k === "Tab") { close(false); return; }
    else if (k === "Enter" || k === " ") { e.preventDefault(); choose(document.activeElement); return; }
    else if (k.length === 1 && /\S/.test(k)) {
      var from = usable.slice(i + 1).concat(usable.slice(0, i + 1));
      next = from.filter(function (it) { return it.textContent.trim().toLowerCase().indexOf(k.toLowerCase()) === 0; })[0] || null;
    }
    if (next) { e.preventDefault(); next.focus(); }
  });
  document.addEventListener("click", function (e) { if (!wrap.contains(e.target)) close(false); });
});

DESIGN.md

Component section (states, ARIA, keyboard)

## Component: Dropdown menu

An actions menu behind a button: arrow keys move through the items, Escape closes, and a disabled item is skipped.

- **Pattern:** WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices, Menu button (https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/menu-button/)
- **Roles and attributes:** A button with aria-haspopup="menu", aria-expanded and aria-controls opens a list with role="menu"; items have role="menuitem" and tabindex="-1" (focus is moved by script); a disabled item has aria-disabled="true"; a separator has role="separator".
- **States drawn:** default, hover, focus-visible, open, disabled
- **Focus:** a visible `:focus-visible` outline (3px solid text), never removed
- **Style knobs (brutalist):** border 2px, corners 0, shadow `3px 3px 0 var(--text)`, labels uppercase, tracked .02em
- **Motion:** transitions are short (≤160ms) and switched off under `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce`
- **Code:** HTML + CSS + a few lines of plain JavaScript (no libraries); colours come only from the tokens above, so light and dark both work

### Keyboard
- **Enter / Space / Down arrow:** open and focus the first item
- **Up arrow:** open and focus the last item
- **Up / Down arrow:** move between items (wraps, skips disabled)
- **Home / End:** first / last item
- **A letter:** jump to the next item starting with it
- **Escape:** close and return focus to the button

### Licence
Original Made Good Designs code: free to use and adapt in any project, including commercial ones, with no credit needed. Fonts are Google Fonts under their own licences.

Build this with your AI

Fonts: Space Grotesk (Google Fonts)

Ask your AIClaude ChatGPT Gemini

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Building with an AI coding agent? Every screen here is also in the free Made Good Designs MCP server: ask Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT to search_ui_screens (e.g. “billing settings, editorial style”), get_ui_flow for a whole journey, and get_ui_screen_code to pull the HTML and DESIGN.md straight into your project.