# VISUAL-STANDARDS.md — Screenshot & Visual Curation Standards
# Anton reads this when reviewing ANY visual content, cards, or pages with images.

## Last Updated: 2026-02-26

## The Rule
**Every image must earn its place.** A default crop, a lazy 16:9 grab, a generic full-page screenshot — these are failures. Every visual should make the viewer understand something they couldn't from text alone.

## Screenshot Curation Standards

### What Makes a Good Screenshot/Crop
1. **It shows THE THING.** Not the whole page — the specific element that matters
2. **It's cropped with intent.** Tight enough to focus, wide enough for context
3. **It tells a story at a glance.** If someone sees it for 2 seconds, they get the point
4. **It's the BEST representation.** Not the first screenshot you took — the one that actually shows why this matters

### What Makes a Bad Screenshot
- Full-page grab with no focus → REJECT
- Default 16:9 crop that cuts off the interesting part → REJECT
- Generic hero section when the insight is in the details → REJECT
- Blurry, low-res, or text-illegible at display size → REJECT
- Cookie banners, popups, loading states visible → REJECT

### The Crop Decision Process
Before cropping, answer:
1. **What's the point?** What argument does this visual support?
2. **What element proves it?** Which specific part of the page/image?
3. **How much context?** Enough to understand, not more
4. **Would I stop scrolling?** If no, find a better crop or a better source

### Card Images Specifically
When creating cards (Notion, web, decks):
- **Don't use the default first-fold screenshot.** Scroll. Find what's actually interesting.
- **If the card says "BK Coffee Shop"** → find a striking image of their actual visual identity, not their cookie banner
- **If the card is about a design pattern** → crop to show THAT pattern, not the whole page
- **If the work speaks, SHOW the work.** The visual should be the hook, not the title.

## CE Taste DNA (Visual Instinct)

### What CE Likes
- Warm palettes: coral, golden yellow, sage, deep navy, warm cream
- High-contrast typography: bold sans-serifs + elegant serifs
- Illustration over stock photography
- Texture and materiality — surfaces you want to touch
- Playful confidence — serious craft that doesn't take itself too seriously

### What CE Avoids
- Cool grays and corporate blues (sterile)
- Pure primary colors without context (childish)
- Neon/synthetic fluorescents (cheap)
- Black backgrounds as default (too tech)
- Generic stock photography (soulless)

## Visual Quality Checklist
Before approving ANY visual content:
- [ ] Does the image show something specific, not generic?
- [ ] Is the crop intentional? (not default/arbitrary)
- [ ] Is it legible at display size?
- [ ] Does it support the content's argument?
- [ ] Would Assaf look at this and say "yes, that's what I mean"?
- [ ] Is it the BEST available image, not just the first one found?

## Approved Visual References
Pages/projects where the visual curation met Assaf's standard:

1. **CE Taste Board** — `/public/taste/` — curated visual entries
2. **FlowRx v2** — `/public/flowrx/v2/` — strategy page with intentional visuals
3. **CE Taste DNA** — `/public/visual-research/ce-taste-dna.md` — 296-entry analysis

*(Add new approved examples as Assaf signs off on them)*