// the design genome · full history

Every recommendation.

The control plane recommends design changes with requirements; a human reviews, builds with Claude Code, and records each here. 8 implemented, 0 open.

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🔒 palette: institutional navy + gold🔒 WCAG AA (4.5:1 body, 3:1 large)🔒 LCP < 2s🔒 layout integrity

One-click source on every published metric

implemented · 2026-06-25
zone: statbar + metrics

Make every ledger-backed metric a subtle affordance: hover reveals the source, click opens it (npm/GitHub) — the auditability wedge made tangible on the numbers themselves.

Requirement: Affordance must stay quiet (no underlines-everywhere clutter); only facts with a source.url become links; manual-source facts show provenance text, not a dead link; AA contrast.
grounded in: Positioning wedge: one-click-verifiable proof is the exact auditability you sell.

A genuinely-live number in the hero stat bar

implemented · 2026-06-25
zone: layoutVariants.hero / statbar

Surface one live-grounded figure in the stat bar (e.g. aggregate weekly npm downloads) pulled from the same grounding the control plane uses, with a quiet live marker.

Requirement: Needs a server island on the client homepage (do not block render); ISR/streamed, never fabricated (fail-closed to a verified fact if the fetch is down); no CLS; perf budget held.
grounded in: Living-site north-star + Stage 1 npm grounding already exists; the hero should embody the engine, not just describe it.

Live download badges on product cards

implemented · 2026-06-25
zone: layoutVariants.work / card

Add a quiet live weekly-downloads badge to each npm-backed product card, from the same grounding the control plane uses.

Requirement: Fail-closed — hide the badge entirely if no live number (never fabricate or show 0); no CLS; one shared fetch, not one-per-card; AA contrast.
grounded in: Living-site north-star: the work grid should show real usage, not just labels; extends Stage 1 grounding.

Branded social share card (OG image)

implemented · 2026-06-25
zone: brand / metadata

Generate a navy+gold OG image (logo mark, name, one-line positioning) so links shared on LinkedIn/X read as a premium property.

Requirement: 1200x630; navy+gold invariant; legible at small sizes; static/edge-generated (no per-request cost on the hot path); no claim that is not in the ledger.
grounded in: Cross-property consistency + first-impression on social; the only missing piece of the metadata pass.

Purposeful section-reveal motion

implemented · 2026-06-25
zone: tokens.motion

Add a subtle fade-and-rise on section enter (IntersectionObserver), short and once-only — restraint over flourish.

Requirement: Strictly respect prefers-reduced-motion; no layout shift; bounded duration; must not delay LCP/first paint of above-the-fold content.
grounded in: design-review finding: motion — restrained, purposeful only; current site has no motion language.

Liveness pulse on live signals

implemented · 2026-06-24
zone: tokens.motion + footer/statbar

Add a slow, low-amplitude pulse to the genuinely-live indicators (footer last-evolved mark) so liveness is felt without clutter.

Requirement: Respect prefers-reduced-motion (genome motion.reducedMotionRespect); gold within the navy+gold invariant; no CLS; no perf regression.
grounded in: Living-site north-star: visitors return to see it working — liveness should be perceptible.

Editorial row layout for secondary pages

implemented · 2026-06-24
zone: layoutVariants.work / help

Activate the genome's existing 'index-rows' variant on /founder and /consulting; reserve card-grid for products, where a card is the real unit.

Requirement: Keep responsive integrity at 375/768/1024/1440; AA contrast; no change to the locked nav/hero/footer; product grid stays card-grid.
grounded in: design-review finding: repeated mood-card grid = top AI-slop tell; genome already lists index-rows as available.

Display type ramp with weight contrast

implemented · 2026-06-24
zone: tokens.type

Introduce a larger display step and a heavier weight for section H2s to create executive hierarchy and rhythm.

Requirement: Stay within the Space Grotesk family (type-family invariant); maintain AA; subset the added weight to hold the perf budget (LCP < 2s).
grounded in: design-review finding: flat 36px headings everywhere read as default/templated.