elevation
klera is mostly flat. depth is reserved for two cases: telegraphing affordance on hover, and pulling the patient dashboard portal cards forward against the deep-blue ground.
not tokenized — these are the four shapes shadows can take. if you need a fifth, propose adding it to DESIGN.md first.
variants
flat
the default. no shadow. used for inputs, status cards, status rows, buttons at rest.
hover lift
interactive elements rise 2px on hover with a soft shadow. signals affordance without committing to a depth system.
portal card
the only persistent shadow in the system. used for the elevated 560px tiles on the patient dashboard.
popover / menu
dropdowns and autocomplete menus. heavier shadow for clear separation from the page.