# lucid.rodeo — Brand Kit

> Lucid's playground. Where the honest engine rides loose.
> This kit makes the rodeo *look* like what it *is* — calm enough to read for hours,
> sharp enough to keep science apart from wonder. White on grey. Easy on the eyes.

## 0. The one rule that outranks the rest

**Accessibility is foundational, not optional.** Every colour pair below meets WCAG AA
contrast for its intended role. Every interactive element has a visible focus ring.
Every image has alt text. Every page works with a keyboard and a screen reader.
If a design choice fights a11y, a11y wins.

**House typeface is Atkinson Hyperlegible — everywhere.** UI, headings, body, EPUB,
PDF, print, diagrams that carry text. No Inter. No system-stack-as-primary. No serif
exception for books unless AJ names one in writing. See §3 and `atkinson-epub.css`.

## 1. Positioning — who we are

lucid.rodeo is a **tenant on CongoSky**, not the platform itself. CongoSky is earth
and gold (veld). The rodeo is **white on grey** — a quiet reading room for hard
science, scripture, and playable maths. Distinct from the platform on purpose.

**One-line:** *Where Lucid rides loose — compute, cite, conflict, refuse.*

## 2. Palette — white on grey, easy on the eyes

No pure black (`#000`) page ground. No pure white (`#FFF`) page ground. Mid greys
carry the surface so long sessions don't glare or crush. Soft white ink on charcoal
is the default; charcoal ink on soft grey is the light twin.

```
DARK (default)
  --bg       #2B2B2E   page ground (soft charcoal)
  --panel    #38383C   cards / panels
  --panel2   #444449   raised / nested surfaces
  --chip     #3F3F44   chips, inputs, pills
  --ink      #F2F2F4   primary text (soft white)
  --dim      #A8A8B0   secondary text (AA on --bg)
  --faint    #8E8E96   placeholder / tertiary
  --line     #55555C   borders / rules

LIGHT
  --bg       #E4E4E7   page ground (soft grey — not white)
  --panel    #F0F0F3   cards / panels
  --panel2   #D8D8DC   nested / inset
  --chip     #EAEAED
  --ink      #1C1C1F   primary text
  --dim      #5A5A62   secondary text (AA on --bg)
  --faint    #787880
  --line     #C4C4CA

ACCENTS (role-locked; never body ink alone)
  --accent   gold    dark:#E8B64C  light:#8A5A12   kickers, focus, gold thread
  --accent2  blue    dark:#6EC4FF  light:#0A5F9E   links, science lane
  --accent3  purple  dark:#C9A0FF  light:#6B2FB5   wonder / scripture lane
  --ok       mint    #3D9B7A (light) / #6EE7B7 (dark)
  --bad      red     #C04545 (light) / #F87171 (dark)
```

**Contrast (verified AA for intended roles):**
- Dark: ink on bg ≈ 12:1 · dim on bg ≈ 5.6:1 · accent2 link on bg ≈ 7:1
- Light: ink on bg ≈ 12:1 · dim on bg ≈ 5.5:1 · accent2 link on bg ≈ 5.5:1
- Gold is for kickers, borders, focus rings, and large text — not small body copy
  on grey (use ink / accent2 for that).

**Usage discipline:** greys carry 90% of the surface. Blue / purple / gold are
lanes (science / wonder / highlight), not wallpaper. If every card is gold-edged,
nothing is highlighted.

**Theme default:** dark. Light is opt-in via `html[data-theme="light"]` (and the
theme toggle). Do **not** auto-flip from `prefers-color-scheme` — dark stays home
unless the reader chooses light. Persist choice in `localStorage` key `lr-theme`.

## 3. Typography — Atkinson Hyperlegible, non-negotiable

| Role | Face | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Body / reading** | **Atkinson Hyperlegible** | Braille Institute; OFL; max legibility |
| **Headings / UI** | **Atkinson Hyperlegible** | same face — a11y over fashion |
| **EPUB / PDF / print** | **Atkinson Hyperlegible** | embedded; gate CSS in `atkinson-epub.css` |
| **Code / mono** | `ui-monospace`, `Menlo`, `Consolas` | only for code, never prose |

Fallbacks after Atkinson: `system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", sans-serif`.
Bundle the four OFL `.otf` files under `/assets/fonts/`. Load with `font-display: swap`.

**Glyph gotcha:** Atkinson lacks some extended Latin (e.g. ǫ U+01EB). Normalise
source text before EPUB/PDF render — tofu in the book is a gate failure.

## 4. Logo & mark

Shared CongoSky / estate marks live in `assets/brand/`:

- `badger-bow-mark.png` — detailed gold badger + bow (large / hero)
- `mark-duotone.svg` — flat stamp (favicon, tiny, recolourable)

Wordmark: **lucid.rodeo** in Atkinson, wide tracking on the brand line
(`letter-spacing: .2–.3em`, uppercase optional for the kicker only).

## 5. Motion & focus

- Respect `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` — kill non-essential transitions.
- Focus rings: `3px solid var(--accent)` with `outline-offset: 2px`.
- Selection: soft purple wash on dark; soft gold wash on light.

## 6. Voice

Plain, honest, unhype. Short sentences. We name limits as readily as claims.
*Compute → cite → conflict → refuse.* No hallucination theatre. Afrikaans /
African code-switch welcome where it lands; never forced.

## 7. The kit in practice

| File | Job |
|---|---|
| `brand/BRAND.md` | this document — the binding brief |
| `brand/SITES.md` | ensemble of themed mains (Religion, 420Code, Physics, …) |
| `brand/tokens.css` | CSS custom properties (dark default + light) |
| `brand/sites.css` | per-world token packs via `html[data-site]` |
| `brand/hub.css` | shared card-hub shell for themed mains |
| `brand/atkinson.css` | `@font-face` for the four weights |
| `brand/atkinson-epub.css` | EPUB/PDF gate — inject into every book render |
| `/theme.css` | site-wide override loaded last on every page |
| `/assets/fonts/AtkinsonHyperlegible-*.otf` | embedded faces |
| `pilgrimage/book.css` | print-first book kit (Atkinson; cream stock for ink) |

**Re-theme rule:** change tokens in `brand/tokens.css` (and the alias map in
`theme.css`). Per-world accents live in `brand/sites.css`. Do not scatter hex
through page `<style>` blocks for new work.

**Ensemble rule:** the root `/` is a gate. Each world owns its library at its
own themed main — see `brand/SITES.md`.

**EPUB / PDF rule:** every book body must pass through a path that embeds
Atkinson via `brand/atkinson-epub.css` (or an equivalent gate). Chromium
print-to-PDF of pilgrimage uses `book.css`, which loads the same face.