# Ferese visual direction: quiet structure

Reference reviewed on 2026-10-28: the user supplied a 9.78-second, 60 fps
2168 × 2160 screen recording. It is an edited design progression, not a recording
of a working desktop's interaction latency or animation timings. Local analysis
frames and the source fingerprint live in `.artifacts/visual-reference-20261028/`.

## What the reference changes

| Segment | Observed change | Ferese application |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0–3 s | Spacing guides replace uneven navigation and card offsets. | A 4 px spacing scale; 24 px page/section rhythm, 12 px card gutters, 36 px navigation rows. |
| 3–5 s | Purple glows and saturated surfaces recede into neutral planes. | A selectable Graphite family, paired dark and light appearances; near-opaque surfaces and restrained tint/shadow. |
| 5–7 s | Outline icons, a smaller brand, consistent insets and quieter selection. | 24 px brand mark, small outline icons, neutral navigation selection plus an accent marker. Keyboard focus stays explicit. |
| 7–9.78 s | Typography and content become the hierarchy; color remains on meaningful data. | MiSans retained; medium-weight page/card titles, readable secondary text, color reserved for active state and status. |

## Implemented layout

Appearance is a configuration overview, with no invented metrics or dashboard
content. Quick access puts language/general preferences and the complete editor
on the first row. Desktop, interaction and system settings follow as grouped,
equal-width cards. The card text owns the flexible space; chevrons align to the
far edge. Above 680 logical pixels of content width the overview has two columns;
below that it becomes one column. Card height follows the text, including Chinese
and English line wrapping.

Normal settings use thin section boundaries instead of large colored blocks.
Each 36 px navigation hit area centers the complete content row vertically; the
row then centers its text, icon and indicator internally. Both layers are necessary
because the native custom button places its child at the top padding.
Navigation selection and keyboard focus are independent: the former uses a quiet
fill and a small accent marker, while keyboard focus has a clear outline. Stronger
boundaries remain available through the existing high-contrast preference.
Explicit gradient theme choices still apply to theme controls and window focus.

Graphite is an ordinary registered theme family (`graphite`, `graphite-light`),
so the Shell, Settings, locker and native Rime candidate popup receive it through
the existing theme protocol. Theme selection changes only in the isolated preview
for this review; choosing another family remains available in Appearance → Theme.
No new configuration keys or input gestures are introduced by the visual update.

## Acceptance

Check both Graphite appearances and all existing presets, keyboard focus and text
contrast, a narrow single-column view and a wide two-column view, card boundaries
and reachability, the complete editor's scrolling, and a native Rime candidate.
The edited video does not provide evidence for copying an easing curve or duration;
existing motion and Reduce motion settings continue to own those behaviors.

Validation completed in this fork: 115 Settings tests, 32 shared theme/control
tests, 247 Shell tests and 46 configuration tests; optional profiling tests remain
ignored. Native captures cover dark/light appearances and a 631 px window.
All 15 navigation items have a centering regression check, including the three
Interaction destinations selected in turn; a hover-only native probe confirms
Windows aligns inside its highlighted hit area. Native Rime input, horizontal
candidates, paging, theme changes and service recovery also passed.