Should flag

Invitation protocol

"A Single Kicker Still Flags"

One tracked uppercase label above one heading is enough. No repetition required.

Output model

"Standard Tracking Kicker"

Uppercase at 12px with 0.08em tracking is the most common authored kicker and must flag.

Preview sequence

"Kicker Above An H3"

Subsection headings get no eyebrow either.

Access window

"Kicker Above An H4"

The ban runs down to h4.

Platform notes

"Sub Hero Heading"

A 32px h1 is below hero scale, so this pair belongs to the general ban.

materials briefing

"Small Caps Kicker"

Small-caps styling is the same label in a different costume.

Field studies
"Heading Role Kicker"

Elements carrying a heading role are headings for this rule.

Should pass

Home / Journal / Archive

"Breadcrumb Trail Outside Nav"

A path with separators is wayfinding, not a kicker, even without a nav wrapper.

News · Jan 12, 2026

"Dateline Above Headline"

Editorial category-and-date meta lines are content metadata.

Field report

"Editorial Card Meta"

Category labels inside an article card are structured metadata for scanning.

"Form Heading Is Separate"

Plate study

"Figure Caption Label"

Section 4.2

"Limitation Of Liability"

Legal and document numbering identifies the clause; it is not decoration.

§ 12.3

"Indemnification Clause"

Statutory references keep their marker.

Chapter Four

"Chapter Numbering Passes"

Spelled-out chapter numbering is document structure, like legal numbering.

Next from

"Application Panel Context"

Context labels inside application panels describe state, not decoration.

"Page Title After Nav"

A navigation landmark preceding the page title is chrome, not a kicker.

"48%"

Growth yoy

Stat callouts put the small label below the number. That direction is legal.

A quiet lead-in sentence

"Sentence Case Lead In"

Not uppercase, not small-caps: an ordinary standfirst.

New arrivals

"Untracked Caps Label"

Uppercase without tracking lacks the kicker styling signature.

Archive code

"Intentional Brand Label"

Deliberate brand systems can opt out with an explicit marker.

Platform overview

"Hero Owned By Hero Rule"

Hero-scale h1 eyebrows stay with hero-eyebrow-chip; this rule stands down.

Suite

"Garden Suite"

Category labels inside sibling cards are metadata for comparison.

Suite

"Sea Loft"

The label is useful because the user is scanning sibling cards.

  1. Step 01

    "Step Indicator"

    Step indicators in ordered flows are sequence markers.