This is still visual design instead of content driven design. Design is how it works, not what it is supposed to look like when the content has been added after

This is still visual design instead of content driven design. Design is how it works, not what it is supposed to look like when the content has been added after the project has been handed over. From the tools used in the article - Squarespace - I imagine this is how best to make 'div soup' rather than premium content that has excellent document structure and accessibility built in as a consequence. If you get document structure right by starting content first and making sure that a story is told (even if it is just a product page) then you can then go from there to the final visual design relatively easily. If you want to change the thing wholesale for different colours then you can. But you have to be working with CSS Grid and CSS variables instead of 'div soup' with trillions of classes to be able to take this more modern content first design approach. If working content first then you can work on the visuals as you go. For instance you might find that the captions are not always working with images on all device types due to there being too much text. Then you can work on your content to maybe put the captions into a 'details/summary' element that solves that design problem elegantly whilst also improving the document structure. Also, because you are working with real content with real images you can find out what colours work. Because you are merely using CSS variables you can also see what happens when you change the --background-color to Papaya Whip to see if that helps more than the monochrome you started with. At some time some people in this industry have to get off the div soup and the big up front designs that have to be cast in stone and handed over to developers to 'paint by numbers'.