# Self-Corrections

Design and implementation findings from weekly audits and research.

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## 2026-02-23 Weekly Design Audit

### Liquid Glass UI Trend
**Source:** research
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** taste-protocol
**Finding:** 2026 sees return of depth, translucency, and motion inspired by Apple's evolving design language. "Liquid Glass" aesthetic combines frosted glass effects with fluid animations, creating interfaces that feel dimensional. This contrasts with the flat minimalism that dominated 2020-2024.
**Recommendation:** Update glassmorphism implementation in landing pages. Use `backdrop-filter: blur(20px)` with subtle gradients and smooth transitions. Avoid overuse—apply strategically to hero sections, floating cards, or navigation elements where depth communicates hierarchy.
**Status:** pending

### Scroll Storytelling Evolution
**Source:** research
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** frontend-design
**Finding:** Scroll interactions evolving beyond basic parallax. 2026 trends show "scroll storytelling" where page sections animate, transform, and reveal content in narrative sequences. Users expect scroll to guide them through experiences, not just move content vertically.
**Recommendation:** Implement scroll-triggered reveals using CSS `animation-timeline: scroll()` or Intersection Observer. Create multi-stage animations where hero elements transform as users scroll (e.g., text scaling, image parallax, color transitions). Test at 0.25x speed to ensure smooth motion curves.
**Status:** pending

### Sustainable Performance Design
**Source:** research
**Severity:** high
**Protocol:** frontend-design-excellence
**Finding:** Sustainability becoming central to 2026 web design. Leaner code, optimized images, and low-impact hosting reduce carbon footprint. Bloated JavaScript bundles and unoptimized assets are now design failures, not just performance issues.
**Recommendation:** Audit all landing pages for bundle size and image optimization. Use Next.js Image component with WebP/AVIF formats. Implement code-splitting and lazy loading. Remove unused CSS/JS. Target: <1.8s First Contentful Paint, <2.5s Largest Contentful Paint. Run Lighthouse audits before every deploy.
**Status:** pending

### Earthy Color Palette Shift
**Source:** research
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** taste-protocol
**Finding:** 2026 color trends favor grounding, natural tones: terracotta, clay, rust, warm ochre, deep merlot. Move away from electric blues and purples. Balance between boldness and restraint—earthy bases with strategic accent pops.
**Recommendation:** Review current landing page palettes. Consider warm neutrals (cream #fef7ed, warm grays) with terracotta or rust accents for products targeting trust/stability. Reserve electric colors for tech/innovation-focused products. Update design-system-prompt.md files with earthy palette options.
**Status:** pending

### Typography: Oversized Display Fonts
**Source:** research
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** frontend-design
**Finding:** 2026 typography trends emphasize oversized sans-serifs, bubbly/puffy letterforms, and handwritten scripts. Hero headlines now use clamp(4rem, 8vw, 8rem) or larger. Personal touch through loopy cursives in branding.
**Recommendation:** Increase hero text scale on landing pages. Use clamp() for responsive scaling. Pair oversized display fonts (Syne, Space Grotesk, Clash Display) with readable body fonts. Tighten letter-spacing on headlines (-0.03em to -0.05em). Update typography scale in design systems.
**Status:** pending

### Dimensional Design for Spatial Computing
**Source:** research
**Severity:** low
**Protocol:** taste-protocol
**Finding:** AR/VR devices (Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest) driving "thinking in space, not screens." Design increasingly considers depth, layering, and 3D-aware interactions even on 2D screens.
**Recommendation:** Introduce subtle 3D transforms on hover/scroll. Use CSS `transform: perspective()` and `rotateX/Y` for card interactions. Layer elements with z-index and shadows to create spatial hierarchy. Avoid flat stacking—elements should "float" at different depths.
**Status:** pending

### AI-Native Interface Patterns
**Source:** research
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** frontend-design
**Finding:** Frontend developers now building systems that expect AI input/output as normal operation. Interfaces generate UI variations, adapt content dynamically, support AI-driven features directly in product. Static layouts insufficient.
**Recommendation:** Design landing pages with content variation in mind. Use component-based architecture that supports dynamic content injection. Build reusable hero/feature sections that adapt to different copy lengths and image styles. Document content slots in design systems for AI-generated variants.
**Status:** pending

### Emoji Icons Anti-Pattern Violation
**Source:** self-audit
**Severity:** high
**Protocol:** frontend-design
**Finding:** Multiple landing pages likely using emoji as icons (🚀, ✨, 💡) instead of Lucide React icons. This violates frontend-design skill mandate: "CRITICAL: Use Lucide React icons exclusively. Never use emoji as icons."
**Recommendation:** Audit all landing pages and replace emoji icons with Lucide React equivalents (Rocket, Sparkles, Lightbulb). Ensure consistent icon stroke weight (1.5px) and color treatment across pages. Update component libraries to prevent emoji usage.
**Status:** pending

### Missing Hero Imagery
**Source:** self-audit
**Severity:** high
**Protocol:** frontend-design-excellence
**Finding:** Based on quality gate checklist, landing pages without custom hero visuals fail baseline quality. Text-only heroes or generic gradient backgrounds signal incomplete design work.
**Recommendation:** Generate custom hero imagery for all products using nano-banana-pro skill. Default to geometric illustration style: sharp angles, clean lines, brand colors, flat design, mathematical precision. Minimum 1200x630px. Reference images in design-system-prompt.md so coding agents use generated images, not placeholders.
**Status:** pending

### Inconsistent Animation Implementation
**Source:** self-audit
**Severity:** medium
**Protocol:** taste-protocol
**Finding:** Animation quality varies across landing pages. Missing transform-origin specifications, using ease-in instead of ease-out, animating from scale(0), no prefers-reduced-motion support—all violations of taste-protocol animation rules.
**Recommendation:** Standardize animation patterns across all landing pages. Use ease-out (fast start, slow end), never ease-in. Minimum scale 0.9+ for enter animations. Always set transform-origin to match trigger position. Implement prefers-reduced-motion media query (spatial → opacity-only). Test all animations at 0.25x speed.
**Status:** pending
