PR-2: pilot renders the full page, styled per D1 (−85.6% CSS)

.okf/log.md

@@ -51,6 +51,36 @@ make it green: restructure same-day entries under one heading, and add
 `timestamp` to the 23 concepts missing it (anchored to each file's last commit
 time, which is verifiable - never invented).
 
+## 2026-08-21 - PR-2 pilot: two CSS traps and a claims fix, from adversarial review
+
+The styled D1 pilot shipped through author -> verifier -> fixes. Three durable
+learnings from the verifier's HOLD:
+
+**`.parent a { }` outranks single-class components.** `.next-article a` (0,1,1)
+beat both `.np-link-cta` and `.np-button` (0,1,0) - the page's ONE filled CTA
+shipped black-on-ruby at 3.33:1, an AA failure, verified in pixels (385px of ink
+glyphs where ruby was intended). The fix is one token: scope descendant link
+rules as `:where(a)` so they carry (0,1,0) and components win on order. Applies
+to every future rail page.
+
+**A rendered guard can be non-discriminating NOW and still be right.** The
+tenure assertion (np-stat-value == now.Year - foundingYear) cannot distinguish
+derived from frozen until 2027, because this year they are equal - documented in
+the test rather than pretended away.
+
+**The rail sat outside both copy ratchets.** marketing_copy_test globbed
+`themes/beaver/layouts/**` (not root `layouts/`) and its RENDERED_GLOBS had no
+`next/**` - the one surface with template-authored marketing copy was the one
+neither pass read. Both globs extended.
+
+Also: the composition swap (FAQs in, clients/testimonials out) silently dropped
+every trust signal on the page - restored as a minimal canon-exact proof line
+(4.8/5 on Clutch, profile linked, no review count). And FAQ 5 carried an
+unsourced "15+ years of industry experience" CONTRADICTING the derived 18+ stat
+on the same screen - removed at the frontmatter source, which also fixes the
+LIVE page's JSON-LD. Measured payoff of the rail, per the repo's own evidence
+form: next-pilot 3.1 KB gzip vs single-service 21.6 KB - minus 85.6%.
+
 ## 2026-08-21 - Phase 2.3 shipped: course module eyebrow, dual derivation
 
 The course lesson eyebrow ships with a detail worth keeping: **the module number

content/services/fractional-cto/index.md

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ faqs:
   - question: "How does the engagement model work?"
     answer: "We offer flexible engagement models including part-time (10-20 hours/week), project-based contracts, interim CTO roles during transitions, and strategic consulting relationships. Most clients start with a part-time arrangement that can scale up or down based on your needs and growth stage."
   - question: "What experience do your Fractional CTOs have?"
-    answer: "Our Fractional CTOs average 8+ years of development experience with 15+ years of industry experience. They've led technical teams, managed complex software projects, and helped companies scale from startup to enterprise level. All have hands-on experience with modern technology stacks and proven track records of successful product delivery."
+    answer: "Our Fractional CTOs average 8+ years of development experience. They've led technical teams, managed complex software projects, and helped companies scale from startup to enterprise level. All have hands-on experience with modern technology stacks and proven track records of successful product delivery."
 
 overview:
   headline: The power of a CTO at a fraction of the cost

docs/projects/2608-site-design-system/20-29-strategy/20.07-design-competition-brief.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ course system, which is exactly what this competition steps back from.
 | Direction 1 "Artifact Editorial" (stitch) | DONE — project `4487418121858436329` (disclosure: generated under a ruby-locked brief, before fully-open) |
 | Direction 2 "Institutional Authority" (stitch) | DONE 2026-08-21 — same project, screen `7cbde8e2e694438d82138be4d6f7f3f9`. Dark midnight-navy/charcoal, IBM Plex Sans, blue accent `#3B82F6`, forensic-artifact narrative (audit report, accountability dashboard, recovery timeline). **Canon flags for judging:** invents a "90-day stabilization guarantee" (no such claim in canon — copy must not ship as-is); dark chrome contradicts the peer-set evidence ADR-0003 cited (all services peers light) — the panel weighs, not auto-rejects, since the brief was fully open. |
 | Claude Design run (Paul) | Project **created and seeded via DesignSync** from this session: "JetThoughts — From-Scratch Competition (2608)", id `a5f25203-6dd9-45c6-a978-5842152d1389` — contains BRIEF.md, both directions' DESIGN.md + full-page renders as preview cards. Paul opens claude.ai/design and iterates there. |
-| Judging board (fable critic + ICP panel) | BLOCKED on the above |
+| Judging board | **RUN 2026-08-21 — D1 wins 4–1** (tally below). Paul's Claude Design pass can still override; until then D1 is the working winner and PR-2 styles against it (reversible: CSS on a noindexed staging page). |
 
 ---
 
@@ -77,3 +77,18 @@ action, not six.
 - Paul sees ONE side-by-side board per direction: homepage + single-service
   screens, 3-line verdict per lens, one "what this says about us" sentence.
 - **Paul picks.** Rejection feedback, if both fail, seeds direction 3.
+
+
+---
+
+## The vote — 2026-08-21 (four personas on sonnet, fable critic in main loop)
+
+| Voter | Vote | Decisive reason | Objection to own pick |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Alex, burned founder | **D2** | "Vague empathy is what the last shop gave me" — D2's specific failure-naming (Opaque Box, Misaligned Clock, Debt Spiral) reads as competence | dark enterprise-navy is the aesthetic of the shops that burn founders; slick dashboards are cheap to fake |
+| CFO skeptic | **D1** | D2's fabricated "90-day guarantee" is a due-diligence disqualifier — one invented promise poisons every other number on the page. "Vague survives a diligence call; fabrication survives it with a lie or a retraction." | D1's informality is itself a red flag at a five-figure monthly spend |
+| Mobile commuter | **D1** | D2's failure is structural (illegible dashboard hero, fixed-1280 grid rework); D1's is cosmetic (headline reflow) | D1's flat-lay photography reads as agency gloss |
+| Brand strategist | **D1** | D1 is a *reading system* that carries blog/course/case-studies; D2 is a landing-page costume that fights body text everywhere else | evidentiary calm might read slow to a founder bleeding runway |
+| **Fable critic** (render inspection) | **D1** | D2 has visible execution defects: hero + Phase-01 + final-CTA text renders washed-out pale on WHITE (near-invisible), and the page alternates white/black bands — the exact background-switch disease 2.4 exists to cure. D1's defects (staged wood styling ×2, two CTA idioms) are cosmetic. | D1's tablet "weekly report" mock is its weakest artifact — replace with a real report render |
+
+**Synthesis worth grafting regardless of winner:** D2's *problem-naming specificity* (Opaque Box / Misaligned Clock / Debt Spiral) is the single thing Alex trusted most — port that COPY register into D1's visual system, minus the fabricated guarantee. And D1's "VIEW A REAL AUDIT" link-as-primary-action is the best trust move on either page — keep it.

layouts/next/single.html

@@ -22,10 +22,64 @@
     {{- with site.GetPage . -}}{{- $src = . -}}{{- end -}}
   {{- end -}}
   <article class="next-article">
-    <h1>{{ $src.Params.headline | default $src.Title }}</h1>
-    {{- with $src.Params.excerpt }}
-    <p class="next-lede">{{ . }}</p>
+    <header class="np-hero">
+      <h1>{{ $src.Params.headline | default $src.Title }}</h1>
+      {{- with $src.Params.excerpt }}
+      <p class="np-lede">{{ . }}</p>
+      {{- end }}
+      <a class="np-link-cta" href="{{ relURL "free-consultation/" }}">Talk to an expert <span aria-hidden="true">&rarr;</span></a>
+    </header>
+
+    {{- with $src.Params.overview }}
+    <section class="np-section">
+      <p class="np-label">Service overview</p>
+      <h2>{{ .headline }}</h2>
+      {{- range .list }}
+      <div class="np-block">
+        <h3>{{ .name }}</h3>
+        {{ .value | markdownify }}
+      </div>
+      {{- end }}
+      {{- with .outcome }}
+      <ul class="np-stats">
+        {{- range . }}
+        {{/* tenure derives from foundingYear (claims canon) - frontmatter values rot */}}
+        {{- $value := .value }}
+        {{- if eq .name "Years of Industry Experience" }}
+          {{- $value = sub now.Year (int site.Params.foundingYear) }}
+        {{- end }}
+        <li>
+          <span class="np-stat-value">{{ $value }}+</span>
+          <span class="np-stat-label">{{ .name }}</span>
+        </li>
+        {{- end }}
+      </ul>
+      {{/* Minimal proof line (review F3): the composition swap dropped every
+           trust signal; this restores the one that is canon-exact - 4.8/5 on
+           Clutch with the profile linked, NO review count (claims-canon). */}}
+      <p class="np-proof">Rated <strong>4.8/5 on Clutch</strong> &mdash; <a href="https://clutch.co/profile/jetthoughts" rel="noopener">read the verified reviews</a>.</p>
+      {{- end }}
+    </section>
+    {{- end }}
+
+    {{- with $src.Params.faqs }}
+    <section class="np-section">
+      <h2 class="np-label">Common questions</h2>
+      <dl class="np-faq">
+        {{- range . }}
+        <dt>{{ .question }}</dt>
+        <dd>{{ .answer | markdownify }}</dd>
+        {{- end }}
+      </dl>
+    </section>
     {{- end }}
+
     {{ $src.Content }}
+
+    <section class="np-close">
+      <h2>Let&rsquo;s get started now</h2>
+      <p>Get in touch with one of our experts to get a technical strategy &amp; planning session for your project at no cost.</p>
+      <a class="np-button" href="{{ relURL "contact-us/" }}">Contact Us</a>
+    </section>
   </article>
 {{ end }}

test/unit/marketing_copy_test.rb

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ class MarketingCopyTest < Minitest::Test
     "content/pages/**/*.md",
     "content/services/**/*.md",
     "content/use-cases/**/*.md",
+    "layouts/next/**/*.html", # the v2 rail is template-authored marketing copy on root layouts
     "themes/beaver/layouts/home.html",
     "themes/beaver/layouts/page/*.html",
     # Blog CHROME (list hero, section furniture) is a marketing surface even
@@ -119,7 +120,7 @@ def test_every_declared_surface_matches_at_least_one_file
   # original authors and are governed by the separate dev.to ICP gate, not this
   # ratchet. The excluded set is DERIVED from `source: dev_to` frontmatter, so
   # it tracks the imports instead of rotting as a hand-typed list.
-  RENDERED_GLOBS = %w[blog/**/*.html course/**/*.html services/**/*.html].freeze
+  RENDERED_GLOBS = %w[blog/**/*.html course/**/*.html services/**/*.html next/**/*.html].freeze
 
   # Paginated list views (/blog/page/7/, /blog/tags/startup/page/4/) only
   # re-print excerpts from posts this pass already counts, so every hit on them

test/unit/next_rail_test.rb

@@ -28,6 +28,19 @@ def test_next_pages_are_absent_from_the_sitemap
 
   # The stub mirrors a real page; the copy lives there, so that URL is the
   # canonical one - and exactly one canonical may ship.
+  # HONEST LIMIT: in 2026 the derived value equals the frozen frontmatter 18,
+  # so this assertion cannot distinguish them until 2027-01-01 - from then on
+  # it bites forever. Kept rendered-level per repo doctrine (no template greps).
+  def test_tenure_stat_is_derived_not_frozen
+    doc = parse_html_file(PILOT)
+    tenure = doc.css(".np-stat-value").map(&:text).find { |t| t.include?("+") }
+    expected = "#{Time.now.year - 2008}+"
+    assert_includes doc.css(".np-stat-value").map(&:text), expected,
+      "tenure stat must derive from foundingYear (#{expected}), not the frozen frontmatter 18 - " \
+      "the label-keyed branch in layouts/next/single.html silently falls back if the label is renamed"
+    refute_nil tenure
+  end
+
   def test_next_pages_canonicalise_to_their_source_page
     canonicals = parse_html_file(PILOT).css("link[rel='canonical']")