com.gregkilmer.www/docs/THEMING.md

# Theming & Motion Guide

How color, light/dark mode, section tone, and animation work on this site.

---

## Palette

The site uses the Patiun LLC brand palette (shared by Patiun and Greg Kilmer),
exposed as CSS variables in `src/styles/global.css` under `@theme`:

| Token | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| `--color-teal` | `#14A39A` | Patiun Teal, primary: buttons, fills, the glyph |
| `--color-teal-bright` | `#2BC2B7` | Teal text and links on dark grounds |
| `--color-teal-deep` | `#0F8C84` | Teal marks on light grounds |
| `--color-slate-teal` | `#2D4A58` | Dark end of the Tide gradient |
| `--color-gold` | `#C9A24A` | Alchemist Gold: stars, rules, seal lines (never a large fill) |
| `--color-gold-bright` | `#D8B35A` | Gold text on dark grounds |
| `--color-gold-deep` | `#8A6516` | Gold text under 24px on Starlight |
| `--color-violet` / `--color-indigo` | `#6A2FE0` / `#3B1F8F` | Nebula light only, never text |
| `--color-midnight` | `#131C2B` | Panels, tiles, browser theme color |
| `--color-sky` | `#0E1522` | Night-sky ground |
| `--color-starlight` | `#F4F2ED` | Text on dark; paper ground |

The semantic Tailwind tokens (`--color-accent`, `--color-surface`, ...) resolve
at `:root`, so content sections render with the Starlight values in
`themes.css`. Night-sky bands (the nav and page heroes) carry the `.on-sky`
class, which re-points accent and gold to their on-dark values.

Brand colors are fixed. **Semantic** tokens (`--surface`, `--text`, `--accent`,
`--secondary`, `--border`, ...) resolve differently per theme + section, and are
what components actually use.

---

## Two theming axes

### Axis 1 — Global light/dark

Set on `<html data-theme="light|dark">`:

- A blocking inline script (`src/scripts/theme-init.ts`, inlined in `<head>`)
  reads `localStorage['gk-theme']`, falling back to the OS
  `prefers-color-scheme`. This runs **before first paint**, so there is no flash.
- The nav `ThemeToggle` island flips it and persists the choice.
- If the user has never chosen, the site follows OS changes live.

### Axis 2 — Section tone

Set on `<body data-surface="neutral|professional|interest">` via the `surface`
prop on `<BaseLayout>`:

| Surface | Used on | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| `neutral` | Home, About, Contact | Balanced — clean in light, calm in dark |
| `professional` | Professional page | Dark slate, polished, amber accents |
| `interest` | Interests pages | Warm cream/amber, inviting |

The Professional surface leans dark even in light mode (it is the "polished
wing"). The Interest surface is warm in both modes. This is what gives the two
wings their distinct feel while sharing the same typography and spacing.

Each `(data-theme, data-surface)` combination redefines the semantic tokens in
`themes.css`. Add or adjust a combination there to change any section's palette.

---

## Changing colors

1. **Tweak a brand color:** edit the fixed values in `global.css` under `@theme`
   (e.g. `--color-amber`).
2. **Tweak a section's tone:** edit the relevant `[data-surface="..."]` block in
   `themes.css`. Each block lists `--surface`, `--surface-raised`,
   `--surface-sunken`, `--text`, `--text-muted`, `--text-subtle`, `--border`,
   `--accent`, `--accent-contrast`, `--secondary`.
3. Components use utilities like `bg-surface`, `text-text`, `text-accent`
   (mapped from these variables), so they update automatically.

### Contrast

Verify WCAG AA (4.5:1 for body text) whenever you change a token pair. The
current combinations were chosen for AA compliance. The `--accent` on the neutral
light surface uses a deeper amber (`#b45309`) specifically to meet AA on white.

---

## Motion

Motion is layered and **always** respects `prefers-reduced-motion`:

1. **Hero background** (`AnimatedBackground.tsx`):
   - A CSS mesh-gradient layer (GPU-friendly, animated via the
     `animate-gradient-shift` keyframes in `animations.css`).
   - An optional `<canvas>` particle field (slow drifting dots) on the home hero
     only. It renders at devicePixelRatio (capped at 2), pauses when off-screen,
     and is **skipped entirely** under reduced motion.
2. **Scroll reveals** (`Reveal.astro` + the `.reveal` class):
   - IntersectionObserver toggles `.is-visible`, triggering a CSS fade-up. Zero
     framework cost. The reduced-motion media query in `global.css` forces these
     to their final state instantly.
3. **Page transitions**: Astro `<ClientRouter />` (View Transitions API) morphs
     between pages and persists the nav.
4. **Nav blur on scroll**: a tiny inline script adds `.scrolled` after a few px,
     enabling backdrop-blur + a hairline border + shadow.
5. **Hover micro-interactions**: Tailwind transitions on cards/buttons (lift,
   accent glow, arrow nudge).

### Disabling motion

Everything is gated by the global reduced-motion rule in `global.css`:

```css
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *, *::before, *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.001ms !important;
    transition-duration: 0.001ms !important;
    ...
  }
}
```

The canvas island additionally checks `matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion:
reduce)')` before drawing, so even JS-driven motion is skipped.

---

## Typography

Self-hosted variable fonts via Fontsource (woff2, no external requests):

- **Headings, names, card titles:** Cinzel Variable (`font-display`, used by
  `h1`-`h4` automatically). Open tracking, never for paragraphs.
- **Body and UI:** Montserrat Variable (`font-sans`, `font-body`).
- **Eyebrows / kickers:** Montserrat uppercase with wide tracking (`font-eyebrow`).
- **Code-like blocks only:** JetBrains Mono Variable (`font-mono`).

Font sizes use `clamp()` for fluid scaling (see the `h1`-`h4` rules in
`global.css`).

---

## Icons and motifs

- **Icons:** `<Icon name="..." />` (Astro) and `<BrandIcon name="..." />` (React
  islands) render the Patiun stroke icon set in `src/lib/brand-icons.ts`. Call
  sites can use either the brand name (`dice`) or the mdi name (`dice-multiple`);
  `brandIconAliases` maps one to the other. Only third-party logos (GitHub,
  LinkedIn, Steam, ...) fall back to mdi. The gold star accent uses
  `--icon-gold` (deep gold on Starlight, flat gold inside `.on-sky`). The file is
  generated from the brand source (`newicons.py`); add icons there.
- **Motifs:** `<Motif name="..." />` shows a brand motif from `public/motifs/`,
  copied from the brand files with ring text outlined to paths. `-light` files
  are the Starlight recolor. One focal motif per surface, kept faint.
- **Gold accents:** image frames, quote bars, dividers and rules use
  `--color-gold`; teal stays for links, buttons and icons.