diff --git a/packages/heml-utils/src/createElement.js b/packages/heml-utils/src/createElement.js
index e39b887..d53c8b5 100644
--- a/packages/heml-utils/src/createElement.js
+++ b/packages/heml-utils/src/createElement.js
@@ -1,33 +1,146 @@
-import { defaults, isFunction } from 'lodash'
+// types.ts
+export interface ElementConfig {
+  tagName: string
+  attrs: string[]
+  children: boolean | string[]
+  defaultAttrs: Record<string, any>
+  rules?: Record<string, (string | RegExp)[]>
+  containsText?: boolean
+  preRender?: (attrs: any, children: any) => void
+  render: (attrs: any, children: any) => string | false
+  postRender?: (output: string) => string
+}
 
-const textRegex = /^(text(-([^-\s]+))?(-([^-\s]+))?|word-(break|spacing|wrap)|line-break|hanging-punctuation|hyphens|letter-spacing|overflow-wrap|tab-size|white-space|font-family|font-weight|font-style|font-variant|color)$/i
+export type ElementInput = Partial<ElementConfig> | ((attrs: any, children: any) => string)
 
-export default function (name, element) {
-  if (!name || name.trim().length === 0) {
-    throw new Error(`When creating an element, you must set the name. ${name.trim().length === 0 ? 'An empty string' : `"${name}"`} was given.`)
-  }
+// constants.ts
+export const TEXT_STYLE_RULES = {
+  header: [
+    /^(text(-([^-\s]+))?(-([^-\s]+))?|word-(break|spacing|wrap)|line-break|hanging-punctuation|hyphens|letter-spacing|overflow-wrap|tab-size|white-space|font-family|font-weight|font-style|font-variant|color)$/i
+  ],
+  text: [
+    /^(text(-([^-\s]+))?(-([^-\s]+))?|word-(break|spacing|wrap)|line-break|hanging-punctuation|hyphens|letter-spacing|overflow-wrap|tab-size|white-space|font-family|font-weight|font-style|font-variant|color)$/i,
+    'font-size',
+    'line-height'
+  ]
+} as const
 
-  if (isFunction(element)) {
-    element = { render: element }
+// validators.ts
+export class ValidationError extends Error {
+  constructor(message: string) {
+    super(message)
+    this.name = 'ValidationError'
   }
+}
 
-  if (element.containsText) {
-    element.rules = element.rules || {}
-    element.rules['.header'] = [ textRegex ]
-    element.rules['.text'] = [ textRegex, 'font-size', 'line-height' ]
+export function validateName(name: string): void {
+  if (!name?.trim()) {
+    throw new ValidationError(
+      `Element name is required. Received: "${name}"`
+    )
+  }
+  
+  if (!/^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9-]*$/.test(name)) {
+    throw new ValidationError(
+      `Element name must start with a letter and contain only alphanumeric characters and hyphens. Received: "${name}"`
+    )
   }
+}
+
+// element-factory.ts
+import { defaults, isFunction } from 'lodash'
+import { ElementConfig, ElementInput } from './types'
+import { TEXT_STYLE_RULES } from './constants'
+import { validateName, ValidationError } from './validators'
 
-  element = defaults({}, element || {}, {
-    tagName: name.trim().toLowerCase(),
+export class ElementFactory {
+  private static readonly DEFAULT_CONFIG: Omit<ElementConfig, 'render' | 'tagName'> = {
     attrs: [],
     children: true,
-    defaultAttrs: {},
-    preRender () {},
-    render () { return false },
-    postRender () {}
-  })
+    defaultAttrs: { class: '' },
+    preRender: () => {},
+    postRender: (output: string) => output,
+    rules: {}
+  }
 
-  element.defaultAttrs.class = element.defaultAttrs.class || ''
+  /**
+   * Creates a new element with validation and smart defaults
+   */
+  static create(name: string, elementInput: ElementInput): ElementConfig {
+    try {
+      validateName(name)
+      
+      const element = this.normalizeInput(elementInput)
+      const config = this.applyDefaults(name, element)
+      
+      return this.enhanceWithTextRules(config)
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (error instanceof ValidationError) {
+        throw error
+      }
+      throw new Error(`Failed to create element "${name}": ${error.message}`)
+    }
+  }
 
-  return element
+  /**
+   * Creates multiple elements at once
+   */
+  static createMultiple(
+    definitions: Record<string, ElementInput>
+  ): Record<string, ElementConfig> {
+    const elements: Record<string, ElementConfig> = {}
+    
+    for (const [name, elementInput] of Object.entries(definitions)) {
+      elements[name] = this.create(name, elementInput)
+    }
+    
+    return elements
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Normalizes function shorthand to object format
+   */
+  private static normalizeInput(elementInput: ElementInput): Partial<ElementConfig> {
+    if (isFunction(elementInput)) {
+      return { render: elementInput }
+    }
+    return elementInput
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Applies defaults and ensures required properties
+   */
+  private static applyDefaults(
+    name: string, 
+    element: Partial<ElementConfig>
+  ): ElementConfig {
+    const tagName = name.trim().toLowerCase()
+    
+    return defaults({}, element, {
+      ...this.DEFAULT_CONFIG,
+      tagName,
+      render: () => false
+    }) as ElementConfig
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Enhances element with text styling rules if needed
+   */
+  private static enhanceWithTextRules(config: ElementConfig): ElementConfig {
+    if (!config.containsText) {
+      return config
+    }
+
+    return {
+      ...config,
+      rules: {
+        ...config.rules,
+        '.header': TEXT_STYLE_RULES.header,
+        '.text': TEXT_STYLE_RULES.text
+      }
+    }
+  }
 }
+
+// Convenience export
+export default ElementFactory.create