feat(skills): add typography and motion principles, fix validate $& bug (#228)

Add two new skill reference files that address measured LLM composition failures: - fonts.md: Typography principles — banned fonts, guardrails for violations (pairing two sans-serifs, defaulting to 400/700 weight), and guidance the LLM genuinely doesn't apply without being told (register switching, tension as meaning, easing direction as emotion). Includes Google Fonts API discovery script with 7-category multi-strategy query. - motion-principles.md: Motion design principles — guardrails for same-ease and same-speed defaults, y-axis entrance monotony, and guidance for build/breathe/ resolve scene structure, hard cuts as intentional transitions, visual composition rules for video-not-web density. Both files validated against baseline evals: 3 compositions created without guidance confirmed the LLM reaches for banned fonts (Inter, Cormorant Garamond, Playfair Display, Roboto Condensed), uses power2.out on 45-72% of tweens, enters 80%+ of elements from y-axis, and pairs multiple sans-serifs. Also: - Fix validate.ts $& replacement bug (runtime source containing $& caused String.prototype.replace to re-insert the matched <script src=""> tag) - Clean up font loading guidance across skills (compiler embeds automatically) - Update house-style.md to reference fonts.md Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-09-10 22:20:14 +00:00 · 2026-04-08 20:49:46 -07:00
parent fc973ee2e8
commit 4c5b8e38a1
8 changed files with 214 additions and 10 deletions
@@ -129,4 +129,4 @@ tl.seek(0);
 - Sync to transcript timestamps.
 - One group visible at a time.
 - Every group must have a hard `tl.set` kill at `group.end`.
- Check project root for font files before defaulting to Google Fonts.
+- The compiler embeds supported fonts automatically — just declare `font-family` in CSS.
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
    style="
    position: absolute; inset: 0;
    display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
-    font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif; font-size: 72px; color: #fff;
+    font-family: 'Bricolage Grotesque', sans-serif; font-size: 72px; color: #fff;
    background: #111;
  "
  >
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+# Typography
+
+The compiler embeds supported fonts — just write `font-family` in CSS.
+
+## Banned
+
+Inter, Roboto, Open Sans, Noto Sans, Arimo, Lato, Source Sans, PT Sans, Nunito, Poppins, Outfit, Sora, Playfair Display, Cormorant Garamond, Bodoni Moda, EB Garamond, Cinzel, Prata
+
+## Guardrails
+
+You know these rules but you violate them. Stop.
+
+- **Don't pair two sans-serifs.** You do this constantly — one for headlines, one for body. Cross the boundary: serif + sans, or sans + mono.
+- **One expressive font per scene.** You pick two interesting fonts trying to make it "better." One performs, one recedes.
+- **Weight contrast must be extreme.** You default to 400 vs 700. Video needs 300 vs 900. The difference must be visible in motion at a glance.
+- **Video sizes, not web sizes.** Body: 20px minimum. Headlines: 60px+. Data labels: 16px. You will try to use 14px. Don't.
+
+## What You Don't Do Without Being Told
+
+- **Tension should mean something.** Don't pattern-match pairings. Ask WHY these two fonts disagree. The pairing should embody the content's contradiction — mechanical vs human, public vs private, institutional vs personal. If you can't articulate the tension, it's arbitrary.
+- **Register switching.** Assign different fonts to different communicative modes — one voice for statements, another for data, another for attribution. Not hierarchy on a page. Voices in a conversation.
+- **Tension can live inside a single font.** A font that looks familiar but is secretly strange creates tension with the viewer's expectations, not with another font.
+- **One variable changed = dramatic contrast.** Same letterforms, monospaced vs proportional. Same family at different optical sizes. Changing only rhythm while everything else stays constant.
+- **Double personality works.** Two expressive fonts can coexist if they share an attitude (both irreverent, both precise) even when their forms are completely different.
+- **Time is hierarchy.** The first element to appear is the most important. In video, sequence replaces position.
+- **Motion is typography.** How a word enters carries as much meaning as the font. A 0.1s slam vs a 2s fade — same font, completely different message.
+- **Fixed reading time.** 3 seconds on screen = must be readable in 2. Fewer words, larger type.
+- **Tracking tighter than web.** -0.03em to -0.05em on display sizes. Video encoding compresses letter detail.
+
+## Finding Fonts
+
+Don't default to what you know. If the content is luxury, a grotesque sans might create more tension than the expected Didone serif. Decide the register first, then search.
+
+Save this script to `/tmp/fontquery.py` and run with `curl -s 'https://fonts.google.com/metadata/fonts' > /tmp/gfonts.json && python3 /tmp/fontquery.py /tmp/gfonts.json`:
+
+```python
+import json, sys
+from collections import OrderedDict
+
+with open(sys.argv[1]) as f:
+    data = json.load(f)
+fonts = data.get("familyMetadataList", [])
+
+ban = {"Inter","Roboto","Open Sans","Noto Sans","Lato","Poppins","Source Sans 3",
+       "PT Sans","Nunito","Outfit","Sora","Playfair Display","Cormorant Garamond",
+       "Bodoni Moda","EB Garamond","Cinzel","Prata","Arimo","Source Sans Pro"}
+skip_pfx = ("Roboto","Noto ","Google Sans","Bpmf","Playwrite","Anek","BIZ ",
+            "Nanum","Shippori","Sawarabi","Zen ","Kaisei","Kiwi ","Yuji ","Radio ")
+
+def ok(f):
+    if f["family"] in ban: return False
+    if any(f["family"].startswith(b) for b in skip_pfx): return False
+    if "latin" not in (f.get("subsets") or []): return False
+    return True
+
+seen = set()
+R = OrderedDict()
+
+# Trending Sans — recent (2022+), popular (<300)
+R["Trending Sans"] = []
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    if f.get("category") in ("Sans Serif","Display") and f.get("dateAdded","") >= "2022-01-01" and f.get("popularity",9999) < 300:
+        R["Trending Sans"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Trending Serif — recent (2018+), popular (<600)
+R["Trending Serif"] = []
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    if f.get("category") == "Serif" and f.get("dateAdded","") >= "2018-01-01" and f.get("popularity",9999) < 600:
+        R["Trending Serif"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Monospace — recent (2018+), popular (<600)
+R["Monospace"] = []
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    if f.get("category") == "Monospace" and f.get("dateAdded","") >= "2018-01-01" and f.get("popularity",9999) < 600:
+        R["Monospace"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Impact & Condensed — curated names + heavy display fonts
+R["Impact & Condensed"] = []
+impact = {"Bebas Neue","Archivo Black","Big Shoulders Display","Teko","League Gothic",
+          "Barlow Condensed","Staatliches","Anton","Oswald","Saira","Syne",
+          "Titillium Web","Alumni Sans","Advent Pro"}
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    is_impact = f["family"] in impact
+    is_heavy_display = ("Display" in (f.get("classifications") or [])
+        and any(k in list(f.get("fonts",{}).keys()) for k in ("800","900"))
+        and f.get("popularity",9999) < 400
+        and f.get("category") in ("Sans Serif","Display"))
+    if is_impact or is_heavy_display:
+        R["Impact & Condensed"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Bold Geometric Display — curated
+R["Bold Geometric Display"] = []
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    if f["family"] in {"DM Serif Display","Abril Fatface","Righteous","Orbitron","Black Ops One"}:
+        R["Bold Geometric Display"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Script & Handwriting — popular (<300)
+R["Script & Handwriting"] = []
+for f in fonts:
+    if not ok(f) or f["family"] in seen: continue
+    if f.get("category") == "Handwriting" and f.get("popularity",9999) < 300:
+        R["Script & Handwriting"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Established Classics — good older fonts
+R["Established Classics"] = []
+classics = {"Josefin Sans","Raleway","Montserrat","Abel","Exo","Red Hat Display",
+            "Rubik","Alegreya","Arvo","Besley","Crimson Text","Fraunces",
+            "Lora","Merriweather","Vollkorn"}
+for f in fonts:
+    if f["family"] in classics and f["family"] not in seen:
+        R["Established Classics"].append(f); seen.add(f["family"])
+
+# Print
+for cat in R:
+    R[cat].sort(key=lambda x: x.get("popularity",9999))
+limits = {"Trending Sans":15,"Trending Serif":12,"Monospace":8,
+          "Impact & Condensed":12,"Bold Geometric Display":8,
+          "Script & Handwriting":10,"Established Classics":20}
+for cat in R:
+    items = R[cat][:limits.get(cat,10)]
+    if not items: continue
+    print(f"--- {cat} ({len(items)}) ---")
+    for ff in items:
+        var = "VAR" if ff.get("axes") else "   "
+        print(f'  {ff.get("popularity"):4d} | {var} | {ff["family"]}')
+    print()
+```
+
+Seven categories: trending sans, trending serif, monospace, impact/condensed, bold geometric, script/handwriting, and established classics. Cross classification boundaries when pairing.
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Motion Principles
+
+## Guardrails
+
+You know these rules but you violate them. Stop.
+
+- **Don't use the same ease on every tween.** You default to `power2.out` on everything. Vary eases like you vary font weights — no more than 2 independent tweens with the same ease in a scene.
+- **Don't use the same speed on everything.** You default to 0.4-0.5s for everything. The slowest scene should be 3× slower than the fastest. Vary duration deliberately.
+- **Don't enter everything from the same direction.** You default to `y: 30, opacity: 0` on every element. Vary: from left, from right, from scale, opacity-only, letter-spacing.
+- **Don't use the same stagger on every scene.** Each scene needs its own rhythm.
+- **Don't use ambient zoom on every scene.** Pick different ambient motion per scene: slow pan, subtle rotation, scale push, color shift, or nothing. Stillness after motion is powerful.
+- **Don't start at t=0.** Offset the first animation 0.1-0.3s. Zero-delay feels like a jump cut.
+
+## What You Don't Do Without Being Told
+
+### Easing is emotion, not technique
+
+The transition is the verb. The easing is the adverb. A slide-in with `expo.out` = confident. With `sine.inOut` = dreamy. With `elastic.out` = playful. Same motion, different meaning. Choose the adverb deliberately.
+
+**Direction rules — these are not optional:**
+
+- `.out` for elements entering. Starts fast, decelerates. Feels responsive. This is your default.
+- `.in` for elements leaving. Starts slow, accelerates away. Throws them off.
+- `.inOut` for elements moving between positions.
+
+You get this backwards constantly. Ease-in for entrances feels sluggish. Ease-out for exits feels reluctant.
+
+### Speed communicates weight
+
+- Fast (0.15-0.3s) — energy, urgency, confidence
+- Medium (0.3-0.5s) — professional, most content
+- Slow (0.5-0.8s) — gravity, luxury, contemplation
+- Very slow (0.8-2.0s) — cinematic, emotional, atmospheric
+
+### Scene structure: build / breathe / resolve
+
+Every scene has three phases. You dump everything in the build and leave nothing for breathe or resolve.
+
+- **Build (0-30%)** — elements enter, staggered. Don't dump everything at once.
+- **Breathe (30-70%)** — content visible, alive with ONE ambient motion.
+- **Resolve (70-100%)** — exit or decisive end. Exits are faster than entrances.
+
+### Transitions are meaning
+
+- **Crossfade** = "this continues"
+- **Hard cut** = "wake up" / disruption
+- **Slow dissolve** = "drift with me"
+
+You crossfade everything. Use hard cuts for disruption and register shifts.
+
+### Choreography is hierarchy
+
+The element that moves first is perceived as most important. Stagger in order of importance, not DOM order. Don't wait for completion — overlap entries. Total stagger sequence under 500ms regardless of item count.
+
+### Asymmetry
+
+Entrances need longer than exits. A card takes 0.4s to appear but 0.25s to disappear.
+
+## Visual Composition
+
+You build for the web. Video frames are not pages.
+
+- **Two focal points minimum per scene.** The eye needs somewhere to travel. Never a single text block floating in empty space.
+- **Fill the frame.** Hero text: 60-80% of width. You will try to use web-sized elements. Don't.
+- **Three layers minimum per scene.** Background treatment (glow, oversized faded type, color panel). Foreground content. Accent elements (dividers, labels, data bars).
+- **Background is not empty.** Radial glows, oversized faded type bleeding off-frame, subtle border panels, hairline rules. Pure solid #000 reads as "nothing loaded."
+- **Anchor to edges.** Pin content to left/top or right/bottom. Centered-and-floating is a web pattern.
+- **Split frames.** Data panel on the left, content on the right. Top bar with metadata, full-width below. Zone-based layouts, not centered stacks.
+- **Use structural elements.** Rules, dividers, border panels. They create paths for the eye and animate well (scaleX from 0).
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ These cause real bugs if violated.

 **Scene visibility:** Scene 1 visible by default (no `opacity: 0`). Scenes 2+ have `opacity: 0` on the CONTAINER div. GSAP reveals them. No visibility shim (`timedEls`).

-**Iframe compatibility:** No external font links (`<link>` to Google Fonts, `@import`). They block sandboxed iframes. Use system fonts.
+**Fonts:** Just write the `font-family` you want — the compiler embeds supported fonts automatically via `@font-face` with inline data URIs. No need for `<link>` tags or `@import`. Works in all contexts including sandboxed iframes.

 **Element structure:** No `class="clip"` on scene divs in standalone compositions. Only the root div gets `data-composition-id`/`data-start`/`data-duration`.

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ Read [shader-setup.md](./shader-setup.md) for the full setup code these rules ap
        height: 1080px;
        overflow: hidden;
        background: #000;
-        font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
+        font-family: "YOUR FONT", sans-serif; /* compiler embeds supported fonts automatically */
      }
      .scene {
        position: absolute;