diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d554bf0d1..621021161 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Impeccable
 
-Design guidance for AI coding agents. 1 skill, 23 commands, live browser iteration, and 56 deterministic detector rules for AI-generated frontend design.
+Design guidance for AI coding agents. 1 skill, 23 commands, live browser iteration, and 57 deterministic detector rules for AI-generated frontend design.
 
 > **Quick start:** From your project root, run `npx impeccable install`, then run `/impeccable init` inside your AI coding tool. Full docs: [impeccable.style](https://impeccable.style).
 
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Every model trained on the same SaaS templates. Skip the guidance and you get th
 Impeccable adds:
 - **One setup flow.** `/impeccable init` writes `PRODUCT.md` and offers `DESIGN.md`, so later commands know the audience, brand/product lane, voice, anti-references, colors, type, and components.
 - **23 commands.** A shared design vocabulary with your AI: `polish`, `audit`, `critique`, `distill`, `animate`, `bolder`, `quieter`, and more.
-- **56 deterministic detector rules** plus LLM-only critique checks. The CLI and browser extension run the deterministic rules with no LLM and no API key.
+- **57 deterministic detector rules** plus LLM-only critique checks. The CLI and browser extension run the deterministic rules with no LLM and no API key.
 
 ## What's Included
 
diff --git a/README.npm.md b/README.npm.md
index 030651f0c..ece80d914 100644
--- a/README.npm.md
+++ b/README.npm.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Impeccable CLI
 
-Detect UI anti-patterns and design quality issues from the command line. Scans HTML, CSS, JSX, TSX, Vue, and Svelte files for 56 deterministic rules, including AI-generated UI tells, accessibility violations, and general design quality problems.
+Detect UI anti-patterns and design quality issues from the command line. Scans HTML, CSS, JSX, TSX, Vue, and Svelte files for 57 deterministic rules, including AI-generated UI tells, accessibility violations, and general design quality problems.
 
 ## Quick Start
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ npx impeccable detect --fast src/
 
 **Quality**: tiny body text, cramped padding, long line lengths, small touch targets
 
-56 deterministic detector rules in total. See the full catalog at [impeccable.style/slop](https://impeccable.style/slop).
+57 deterministic detector rules in total. See the full catalog at [impeccable.style/slop](https://impeccable.style/slop).
 
 ## Exit Codes
 
diff --git a/cli/engine/browser/injected/index.mjs b/cli/engine/browser/injected/index.mjs
index a3d2ff8a3..6adf7c8fb 100644
--- a/cli/engine/browser/injected/index.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/browser/injected/index.mjs
@@ -1222,7 +1222,7 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
         return {
           type: f.type || f.id,
           category: ap ? ap.category : 'quality',
-          severity: ap?.severity || 'warning',
+          severity: f.severity || ap?.severity || 'warning',
           detail: f.detail || f.snippet,
           ignoreValue: f.ignoreValue || f.value || '',
           name: ap ? ap.name : (f.type || f.id),
@@ -1489,7 +1489,7 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
         ...checkElementClippedOverflowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
         ...checkElementGptBorderShadowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
         ...checkElementTextOverflowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
-        ...checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
+        ...checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet, ...(f.severity ? { severity: f.severity } : {}) })),
         ...checkElementDesignSystemDOM(el, designSystem, designSeen),
       ].filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
 
@@ -1588,7 +1588,25 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
     }
     const htmlPatternFindings = checkHtmlPatterns(docClone.outerHTML);
     if (htmlPatternFindings.length > 0) {
-      const mapped = htmlPatternFindings.map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })).filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
+      const mapped = htmlPatternFindings.map(f => {
+        const item = { type: f.id, detail: f.snippet };
+        if (f.severity) {
+          item.severity = f.severity;
+        } else if (f.id === 'pulsing-dot' && f.selector) {
+          // The string scan promotes header/nav dots on its own; with a live
+          // layout also promote dots resting in the first ~900px of the page
+          // (the hero region), which the source scan cannot measure.
+          try {
+            const dotEl = document.querySelector(f.selector);
+            if (dotEl) {
+              const rect = dotEl.getBoundingClientRect();
+              const pageTop = rect.top + (window.scrollY || 0);
+              if (pageTop <= 900) item.severity = 'error';
+            }
+          } catch { /* unresolvable selector: keep registry severity */ }
+        }
+        return item;
+      }).filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
       pageLevelFindings.push(...mapped);
       addBrowserFindings(groupMap, document.body, mapped);
     }
diff --git a/cli/engine/detect-antipatterns-browser.js b/cli/engine/detect-antipatterns-browser.js
index d29463790..453b260c8 100644
--- a/cli/engine/detect-antipatterns-browser.js
+++ b/cli/engine/detect-antipatterns-browser.js
@@ -224,6 +224,15 @@ const ANTIPATTERNS = [
       'A blinking text cursor animated into a hero or landing section simulates typing where no input exists. It borrows the dev-tool aesthetic as decoration. Real editable fields draw their own caret; anywhere else, let the composition hold attention without a fake prompt.',
     skillSection: 'Motion',
   },
+  {
+    id: 'shape-assembled-illustration',
+    category: 'slop',
+    severity: 'advisory',
+    name: 'Shape-assembled illustration',
+    description:
+      'A large inline SVG that builds a pictorial scene from a pile of primitive shapes reads as placeholder clip art, not illustration. Icons, logos, and data graphics are fine at their scale; a hero-sized visual deserves real artwork, a photograph, or a deliberately drawn graphic.',
+    skillSection: 'Imagery',
+  },
   {
     id: 'dark-glow',
     category: 'slop',
@@ -853,7 +862,13 @@ function checkColors(opts) {
     // 1.2:1; the old a/button-only exception never looked at it.) The 9px
     // font floor keeps sub-text decorations out.
     const isStyledControl = hasDirectText
-      && bgColor && bgColor.a > 0.5
+      && ((bgColor && bgColor.a > 0.5)
+        // A gradient painted on the element itself is an own surface the
+        // same way a solid background is. Without this branch a nav CTA
+        // built as `<a>` with `background: linear-gradient(…)` and a text
+        // color that fails against every stop sails through on the
+        // SAFE_TAGS suppression (the shipped escape).
+        || (bgImage && /gradient/i.test(bgImage)))
       && fontSize >= 9;
     if (!isStyledControl) return [];
   }
@@ -1805,22 +1820,129 @@ function isRoundDotRadius(radiusValue, w, h) {
   return px >= 999 || px >= 0.4 * Math.min(w, h);
 }
 
+// Remove @media blocks whose condition is prefers-reduced-motion: reduce.
+// Those blocks describe the accessibility fallback, not the default
+// experience that ships — an `animation: none` reset inside one must not
+// mask the resting-state animation the page plays for everyone else.
+function stripReducedMotionBlocks(content) {
+  const re = /@media[^{]*prefers-reduced-motion\s*:\s*reduce[^{]*\{/gi;
+  let out = '';
+  let last = 0;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = re.exec(content)) !== null) {
+    let depth = 1;
+    let i = re.lastIndex;
+    while (i < content.length && depth > 0) {
+      const ch = content.charCodeAt(i);
+      if (ch === 0x7b /* { */) depth++;
+      else if (ch === 0x7d /* } */) depth--;
+      i++;
+    }
+    out += content.slice(last, m.index);
+    last = i;
+    re.lastIndex = i;
+  }
+  return out + content.slice(last);
+}
+
+// Source-index ranges of <header> and <nav> landmark elements in an HTML
+// string. Lets string-level scans decide whether a matched element sits in
+// the page chrome (the hero/nav region) without needing a DOM.
+function landmarkSourceRanges(content) {
+  const ranges = [];
+  for (const tag of ['header', 'nav']) {
+    const re = new RegExp(`<${tag}\\b|</${tag}\\s*>`, 'gi');
+    const stack = [];
+    let m;
+    while ((m = re.exec(content)) !== null) {
+      if (m[0].charAt(1) === '/') {
+        const start = stack.pop();
+        if (start != null) ranges.push([start, m.index]);
+      } else {
+        stack.push(m.index);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return ranges;
+}
+
+function indexInSourceRanges(index, ranges) {
+  return ranges.some(([start, end]) => index >= start && index < end);
+}
+
+// Does any element targeted by the final compound of `selector` appear
+// inside a header/nav landmark range of the HTML source? Resolves the last
+// .class or #id token of the selector against class/id attributes; a
+// tag-only compound is never resolvable this way and returns false
+// (conservative: no promotion without placement evidence).
+function selectorHitsLandmark(content, selector, ranges) {
+  if (!ranges || ranges.length === 0) return false;
+  const last = selector.split(/[\s>+~]+/).filter(Boolean).pop() || '';
+  const idMatch = last.match(/#([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)/);
+  const classMatch = last.match(/\.([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)/);
+  let attrRe = null;
+  if (idMatch) {
+    const id = idMatch[1].replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+    attrRe = new RegExp(`<[a-zA-Z][^>]*\\bid\\s*=\\s*["']${id}["']`, 'gi');
+  } else if (classMatch) {
+    const cls = classMatch[1].replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+    attrRe = new RegExp(`<[a-zA-Z][^>]*\\bclass\\s*=\\s*["'][^"']*(?<![\\w-])${cls}(?![\\w-])[^"']*["']`, 'gi');
+  }
+  if (!attrRe) return false;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = attrRe.exec(content)) !== null) {
+    if (indexInSourceRanges(m.index, ranges)) return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 // Small circular indicator bound to an infinite pulse animation — the
 // decorative "live" dot. Gates: tiny (<= 16px square-ish), round
 // (border-radius >= 40% or pill values), and an infinite animation whose
 // keyframes vary opacity/scale/box-shadow (or a pulse/blink/ping name when
 // the keyframes aren't in the scanned text). Rotation-only animations
 // (spinners) never flag.
+//
+// Declarations for one selector are merged across rule blocks before the
+// predicate runs: size in the base rule plus the animation added in a
+// second block (or inside a matching @media block) is the construction
+// that ships. prefers-reduced-motion: reduce overrides are stripped first
+// so their animation resets don't mask the default experience. A dot whose
+// element sits inside a header/nav landmark is the hero liveness cliché
+// and is promoted to error severity; occurrences elsewhere keep the
+// registry default severity.
 function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
   const customProps = collectCssCustomProps(content);
   const keyframes = collectPulseKeyframes(content);
+  const heroRanges = landmarkSourceRanges(content);
   const findings = [];
   const seen = new Set();
+
+  // Merge declarations per selector across rule blocks, approximating the
+  // cascade: later declarations for the same property win. Comma lists are
+  // split so `.a, .b { … }` contributes to both selectors. Comments are
+  // stripped first so they neither pollute selector keys nor smuggle a
+  // comma into the selector-list split.
+  const scanText = stripReducedMotionBlocks(content).replace(/\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//g, ' ');
+  const merged = new Map();
   const ruleRe = new RegExp(CSS_RULE_BLOCK_SOURCE, 'g');
   let m;
-  while ((m = ruleRe.exec(content)) !== null) {
-    const selector = m[1].trim();
+  while ((m = ruleRe.exec(scanText)) !== null) {
     const decls = parseCssDeclBlock(m[2]);
+    if (decls.size === 0) continue;
+    for (const rawSelector of m[1].split(',')) {
+      const selector = rawSelector.trim();
+      if (!selector || selector.startsWith('@')) continue;
+      let acc = merged.get(selector);
+      if (!acc) {
+        acc = new Map();
+        merged.set(selector, acc);
+      }
+      for (const [prop, value] of decls) acc.set(prop, value);
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (const [selector, decls] of merged) {
     const names = infiniteAnimationNames(decls);
     if (names.length === 0) continue;
     const pulseName = names.find(n => {
@@ -1841,9 +1963,12 @@ function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
 
     if (seen.has(selector)) continue;
     seen.add(selector);
+    const inLandmark = selectorHitsLandmark(content, selector, heroRanges);
     findings.push({
       id: 'pulsing-dot',
-      snippet: `${selector} — ${w}x${h}px dot with infinite "${pulseName}" animation`,
+      snippet: `${selector} — ${w}x${h}px dot with infinite "${pulseName}" animation${inLandmark ? ' in header/nav' : ''}`,
+      selector,
+      ...(inLandmark ? { severity: 'error' } : {}),
     });
   }
 
@@ -1860,15 +1985,78 @@ function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
     const key = `tw:${cls}`;
     if (seen.has(key)) continue;
     seen.add(key);
+    const inLandmark = indexInSourceRanges(cm.index, heroRanges);
     findings.push({
       id: 'pulsing-dot',
-      snippet: `animate-${anim[1]} on tiny rounded-full element`,
+      snippet: `animate-${anim[1]} on tiny rounded-full element${inLandmark ? ' in header/nav' : ''}`,
+      ...(inLandmark ? { severity: 'error' } : {}),
     });
   }
 
   return findings;
 }
 
+// Shape-assembled illustration: a large inline SVG composing a pictorial
+// scene from many primitive shapes (rect / circle / ellipse / polygon) in
+// several fill colors — the clip-art hero mascot. Gates keep the legitimate
+// SVG population out:
+//   • icons and logos: intrinsic size gate (>= 200px on both axes, from
+//     width/height attributes or the viewBox when no explicit size is set)
+//   • charts / labeled diagrams: more than two <text>/<tspan> nodes exempts
+//     the graphic (axis labels, callouts)
+//   • line drawings / technical diagrams: primitive count < 8 or fewer
+//     than 3 distinct fills never qualifies (stroke-only art has no fills)
+//   • tiling background textures: any <pattern> definition exempts
+function scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html) {
+  const findings = [];
+  const svgRe = /<svg\b[^>]*>[\s\S]*?<\/svg>/gi;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = svgRe.exec(html)) !== null) {
+    const block = m[0];
+    const openTag = (block.match(/^<svg\b[^>]*>/i) || [''])[0];
+
+    // Data-bearing or annotated graphics: axis labels and callout text
+    // mark a chart or diagram, not a mascot.
+    const textCount = (block.match(/<(?:text|tspan)\b/gi) || []).length;
+    if (textCount > 2) continue;
+    // Tiling texture definitions are decorative backgrounds, not scenes.
+    if (/<pattern\b/i.test(block)) continue;
+
+    const primitives = (block.match(/<(?:rect|circle|ellipse|polygon)\b/gi) || []).length;
+    if (primitives < 8) continue;
+
+    // Intrinsic size: explicit width/height attributes win; fall back to
+    // the viewBox box. Percentage or missing sizes stay unresolvable on
+    // that axis and the viewBox speaks for them.
+    const attrDim = (name) => {
+      // (?<![-\w]) keeps compound attributes like stroke-width from
+      // masquerading as the svg's own width.
+      const am = openTag.match(new RegExp(`(?<![-\\w])${name}\\s*=\\s*["']\\s*([\\d.]+)(?:px)?\\s*["']`, 'i'));
+      return am ? parseFloat(am[1]) : null;
+    };
+    const vb = openTag.match(/\bviewBox\s*=\s*["']\s*[-\d.]+[\s,]+[-\d.]+[\s,]+([\d.]+)[\s,]+([\d.]+)\s*["']/i);
+    const w = attrDim('width') ?? (vb ? parseFloat(vb[1]) : null);
+    const h = attrDim('height') ?? (vb ? parseFloat(vb[2]) : null);
+    if (w == null || h == null || w < 200 || h < 200) continue;
+
+    // Distinct fill paints (attributes and inline styles), excluding
+    // non-paints. Multiple fills are what turn a shape pile into a scene.
+    const fills = new Set();
+    for (const fm of block.matchAll(/\bfill\s*[:=]\s*["']?\s*([^"';>}\s]+)/gi)) {
+      const paint = fm[1].trim().toLowerCase();
+      if (!paint || ['none', 'transparent', 'currentcolor', 'inherit'].includes(paint)) continue;
+      fills.add(paint);
+    }
+    if (fills.size < 3) continue;
+
+    findings.push({
+      id: 'shape-assembled-illustration',
+      snippet: `inline <svg> scene: ${primitives} primitive shapes, ~${Math.round(w)}x${Math.round(h)}px, ${fills.size} fill colors`,
+    });
+  }
+  return findings;
+}
+
 /**
  * Regex-on-HTML checks shared between browser and Node page-level detection.
  * These don't need DOM access, just the raw HTML string.
@@ -1990,6 +2178,9 @@ function checkHtmlPatterns(html) {
   // Pulsing status dots (tiny circular elements on infinite pulse animations)
   findings.push(...scanCssTextForPulsingDot(html));
 
+  // Shape-assembled illustrations (large pictorial SVGs built from primitives)
+  findings.push(...scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html));
+
   // Auto-scrolling marquees (<marquee> or infinite horizontal loop animations)
   findings.push(...scanCssTextForMarquee(html));
 
@@ -2382,6 +2573,28 @@ function checkElementPseudoStripeDOM(el) {
   return findings;
 }
 
+// Full-cover surface pseudo (browser): a ::before/::after positioned
+// absolute/fixed whose box covers (nearly) the whole host and carries an
+// opaque background. That pseudo is the element's visible surface even
+// though the element's own background-color reads transparent — the nav-CTA
+// construction that otherwise escapes every own-background contrast gate.
+function readPseudoSurfaceDOM(el, rect) {
+  for (const which of ['::before', '::after']) {
+    let ps;
+    try { ps = getComputedStyle(el, which); } catch { continue; }
+    if (!ps || ps.content === 'none' || ps.content === '') continue;
+    if (ps.position !== 'absolute' && ps.position !== 'fixed') continue;
+    if (ps.display === 'none' || (parseFloat(ps.opacity) || 1) < 0.9) continue;
+    const w = parseFloat(ps.width) || 0;
+    const h = parseFloat(ps.height) || 0;
+    if (w < rect.width - 4 || h < rect.height - 4) continue;
+    const bg = parseRgb(ps.backgroundColor) || parseAnyColor(ps.backgroundColor);
+    if (!bg || (bg.a ?? 1) < 0.9) continue;
+    return bg;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
   const tag = el.tagName.toLowerCase();
   // No early SAFE_TAGS bail here — checkColors() does its own gating that
@@ -2392,7 +2605,15 @@ function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
   const style = getComputedStyle(el);
   const directText = [...el.childNodes].filter(n => n.nodeType === 3).map(n => n.textContent).join('');
   const hasDirectText = directText.trim().length > 0;
-  const effectiveBg = resolveBackground(el);
+  let effectiveBg = resolveBackground(el);
+  let ownBg = readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style);
+  if (!ownBg || (ownBg.a ?? 1) <= 0.5) {
+    const pseudoSurface = readPseudoSurfaceDOM(el, rect);
+    if (pseudoSurface) {
+      ownBg = pseudoSurface;
+      effectiveBg = pseudoSurface;
+    }
+  }
   return checkColors({
     tag,
     // Chrome serializes computed colors specified in modern spaces as
@@ -2401,7 +2622,7 @@ function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
     // silently never run (the shipped miss: a nav CTA whose text color was
     // an oklch token near its own oklch background).
     textColor: parseRgb(style.color) || parseAnyColor(style.color),
-    bgColor: readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style),
+    bgColor: ownBg,
     effectiveBg,
     effectiveBgStops: effectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el),
     fontSize: parseFloat(style.fontSize) || 16,
@@ -3773,15 +3994,28 @@ function checkElementColors(el, style, tag, window, customPropMap, hasAnchorInhe
   // map first (mirrors the textColor path above). Without this a chip whose
   // background is `var(--sev)` reads as no-own-bg in the static engine and
   // the styled-control contrast exception never engages.
-  const ownBg = (customPropMap ? parseColorResolved(style.backgroundColor, customPropMap) : null)
+  let ownBg = (customPropMap ? parseColorResolved(style.backgroundColor, customPropMap) : null)
     || readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style);
 
+  // Full-cover surface pseudo (static): the cascade pass marks elements
+  // whose ::before/::after paints an opaque covering surface. When the
+  // element itself has no usable own background, that pseudo is the real
+  // surface for contrast purposes.
+  let finalEffectiveBg = effectiveBg;
+  if ((!ownBg || (ownBg.a ?? 1) <= 0.5) && typeof window.getPseudoSurface === 'function') {
+    const pseudoSurface = window.getPseudoSurface(el);
+    if (pseudoSurface) {
+      ownBg = pseudoSurface;
+      finalEffectiveBg = pseudoSurface;
+    }
+  }
+
   return checkColors({
     tag,
     textColor,
     bgColor: ownBg,
-    effectiveBg,
-    effectiveBgStops: effectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el, window),
+    effectiveBg: finalEffectiveBg,
+    effectiveBgStops: finalEffectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el, window),
     fontSize: parseFloat(style.fontSize) || 16,
     fontWeight: parseInt(style.fontWeight) || 400,
     hasDirectText,
@@ -5037,9 +5271,16 @@ function checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el) {
   }
   if (!glyphCursor && !blockCursor) return [];
 
+  // Hero-region promotion: a fake caret blinking in the first ~900px or
+  // inside the page chrome is the shipped hero cliché, not an incidental
+  // flourish. Promote those from the registry's advisory to warning;
+  // lower first-viewport occurrences keep the default severity.
+  const inHeroRegion = pageTop <= 900
+    || !!(el.closest && el.closest('header, nav, [role="banner"], [role="navigation"]'));
   return [{
     id: 'blinking-cursor',
     snippet: `${classSelector(el)} — ${Math.round(rect.width)}x${Math.round(rect.height)}px blinking cursor (animation "${blinkName}") in the first viewport`,
+    ...(inHeroRegion ? { severity: 'warning' } : {}),
   }];
 }
 
@@ -6423,7 +6664,7 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
         return {
           type: f.type || f.id,
           category: ap ? ap.category : 'quality',
-          severity: ap?.severity || 'warning',
+          severity: f.severity || ap?.severity || 'warning',
           detail: f.detail || f.snippet,
           ignoreValue: f.ignoreValue || f.value || '',
           name: ap ? ap.name : (f.type || f.id),
@@ -6690,7 +6931,7 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
         ...checkElementClippedOverflowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
         ...checkElementGptBorderShadowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
         ...checkElementTextOverflowDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
-        ...checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })),
+        ...checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el).map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet, ...(f.severity ? { severity: f.severity } : {}) })),
         ...checkElementDesignSystemDOM(el, designSystem, designSeen),
       ].filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
 
@@ -6789,7 +7030,25 @@ if (IS_BROWSER) {
     }
     const htmlPatternFindings = checkHtmlPatterns(docClone.outerHTML);
     if (htmlPatternFindings.length > 0) {
-      const mapped = htmlPatternFindings.map(f => ({ type: f.id, detail: f.snippet })).filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
+      const mapped = htmlPatternFindings.map(f => {
+        const item = { type: f.id, detail: f.snippet };
+        if (f.severity) {
+          item.severity = f.severity;
+        } else if (f.id === 'pulsing-dot' && f.selector) {
+          // The string scan promotes header/nav dots on its own; with a live
+          // layout also promote dots resting in the first ~900px of the page
+          // (the hero region), which the source scan cannot measure.
+          try {
+            const dotEl = document.querySelector(f.selector);
+            if (dotEl) {
+              const rect = dotEl.getBoundingClientRect();
+              const pageTop = rect.top + (window.scrollY || 0);
+              if (pageTop <= 900) item.severity = 'error';
+            }
+          } catch { /* unresolvable selector: keep registry severity */ }
+        }
+        return item;
+      }).filter(f => _ruleOk(f.type));
       pageLevelFindings.push(...mapped);
       addBrowserFindings(groupMap, document.body, mapped);
     }
diff --git a/cli/engine/engines/browser/detect-url.mjs b/cli/engine/engines/browser/detect-url.mjs
index 33eb9fa38..09523e541 100644
--- a/cli/engine/engines/browser/detect-url.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/engines/browser/detect-url.mjs
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ async function detectUrl(url, options = {}) {
         return window.impeccableDetect({ decorate: false, serialize: true });
       });
       return serializedGroups.flatMap(({ findings }) =>
-        findings.map(f => ({ id: f.type, snippet: f.detail, ignoreValue: f.ignoreValue || '' }))
+        findings.map(f => ({ id: f.type, snippet: f.detail, ignoreValue: f.ignoreValue || '', severity: f.severity || '' }))
       );
     });
     // Content invisible at rest: reveal sweep, then re-measure. Runs after
@@ -298,6 +298,9 @@ async function detectUrl(url, options = {}) {
   return filterByProviders(results.map(f => {
     const item = finding(f.id, url, f.snippet);
     if (f.ignoreValue) item.ignoreValue = f.ignoreValue;
+    // Per-finding severity promotion (e.g. hero-region pulsing dot)
+    // overrides the registry default carried by finding().
+    if (f.severity && f.severity !== item.severity) item.severity = f.severity;
     return item;
   }), options.providers);
 }
diff --git a/cli/engine/engines/static-html/css-cascade.mjs b/cli/engine/engines/static-html/css-cascade.mjs
index 9be4c343d..c0f96f60f 100644
--- a/cli/engine/engines/static-html/css-cascade.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/engines/static-html/css-cascade.mjs
@@ -850,6 +850,11 @@ class StaticDocument {
     this._styleMap = new WeakMap();
     this._hoverStyleMap = new WeakMap();
     this._accentDashPseudo = new WeakSet();
+    // Elements whose ::before/::after paints a full-cover opaque surface
+    // (position absolute/fixed + inset 0 + solid background). The pseudo is
+    // the element's visible background for contrast purposes even though it
+    // never joins the element cascade.
+    this._pseudoSurface = new WeakMap();
   }
   wrap(node) {
     let wrapped = this._wrappers.get(node);
@@ -898,6 +903,12 @@ class StaticDocument {
   hasAccentDashPseudo(el) {
     return this._accentDashPseudo.has(el.node);
   }
+  setPseudoSurface(node, color) {
+    this._pseudoSurface.set(node, color);
+  }
+  getPseudoSurface(el) {
+    return this._pseudoSurface.get(el.node) || null;
+  }
 }
 
 function makeStaticStyle(values = {}) {
@@ -915,6 +926,7 @@ function buildStaticWindow(staticDoc) {
     getComputedStyle: (el) => staticDoc.getStyle(el),
     getHoverStyle: (el) => staticDoc.getHoverStyle(el),
     hasAccentDashPseudo: (el) => staticDoc.hasAccentDashPseudo(el),
+    getPseudoSurface: (el) => staticDoc.getPseudoSurface(el),
   };
 }
 
@@ -991,6 +1003,33 @@ function buildStaticStyleMap(root, staticDoc, cssText, modules, profile, filePat
               } catch { /* unsupported base selector */ }
             }
           }
+          // Full-cover surface pseudo: the CTA construction where the
+          // element itself stays transparent and a ::before/::after with
+          // position absolute/fixed + inset 0 (or all four sides 0, or
+          // 100% width and height) plus an opaque background paints the
+          // visible surface. Mark base-selector matches so the contrast
+          // checks measure text against the surface the browser renders.
+          const pseudoPos = String(decls.get('position') || '').toLowerCase();
+          if (pseudoPos === 'absolute' || pseudoPos === 'fixed') {
+            const zeroLen = v => v != null && /^0(?:px)?$/.test(String(v).trim());
+            const insetRaw = String(decls.get('inset') || '').trim();
+            const coversBox = (insetRaw !== '' && insetRaw.split(/\s+/).every(t => /^0(?:px)?$/.test(t)))
+              || ['top', 'right', 'bottom', 'left'].every(side => zeroLen(decls.get(side)))
+              || (String(decls.get('width') || '').trim() === '100%'
+                && String(decls.get('height') || '').trim() === '100%');
+            if (coversBox && decls.has('content')) {
+              const surfRaw = String(resolveVarRefs(decls.get('background-color') || decls.get('background') || '', rootCustomProps));
+              const surfToken = surfRaw.match(/(?:rgba?|hsla?|oklch|oklab|lab|lch|hwb|color-mix)\([^)]*(?:\([^)]*\))?[^)]*\)|#[0-9a-f]{3,8}\b/i);
+              const surf = parseAnyColor(surfToken ? surfToken[0] : surfRaw);
+              if (surf && (surf.a ?? 1) >= 0.9 && !/gradient/i.test(surfRaw)) {
+                try {
+                  for (const node of modules.selectAll(pm[1], root.children || [])) {
+                    staticDoc.setPseudoSurface(node, surf);
+                  }
+                } catch { /* unsupported base selector */ }
+              }
+            }
+          }
           continue;
         }
       }
diff --git a/cli/engine/engines/static-html/detect-html.mjs b/cli/engine/engines/static-html/detect-html.mjs
index 513b5928e..dc1e9f8e6 100644
--- a/cli/engine/engines/static-html/detect-html.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/engines/static-html/detect-html.mjs
@@ -222,7 +222,12 @@ async function detectHtml(filePath, options = {}) {
     for (const f of runPageCheck('html-patterns', () => checkHtmlPatterns(html).filter(item =>
       item.id !== 'bounce-easing' && item.id !== 'layout-transition'
     ))) {
-      findings.push(finding(f.id, filePath, f.snippet));
+      const item = finding(f.id, filePath, f.snippet);
+      // Position-aware severity promotion: checks may attach a per-finding
+      // severity (e.g. a pulsing dot inside a header/nav landmark) that
+      // overrides the registry default.
+      if (f.severity) item.severity = f.severity;
+      findings.push(item);
     }
     // Text-content analyzers (em-dash overuse, marketing buzzwords,
     // numbered section markers, aphoristic cadence) live in the regex
diff --git a/cli/engine/registry/antipatterns.mjs b/cli/engine/registry/antipatterns.mjs
index 1a8913ed4..da1709acc 100644
--- a/cli/engine/registry/antipatterns.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/registry/antipatterns.mjs
@@ -122,6 +122,15 @@ const ANTIPATTERNS = [
       'A blinking text cursor animated into a hero or landing section simulates typing where no input exists. It borrows the dev-tool aesthetic as decoration. Real editable fields draw their own caret; anywhere else, let the composition hold attention without a fake prompt.',
     skillSection: 'Motion',
   },
+  {
+    id: 'shape-assembled-illustration',
+    category: 'slop',
+    severity: 'advisory',
+    name: 'Shape-assembled illustration',
+    description:
+      'A large inline SVG that builds a pictorial scene from a pile of primitive shapes reads as placeholder clip art, not illustration. Icons, logos, and data graphics are fine at their scale; a hero-sized visual deserves real artwork, a photograph, or a deliberately drawn graphic.',
+    skillSection: 'Imagery',
+  },
   {
     id: 'dark-glow',
     category: 'slop',
diff --git a/cli/engine/rules/checks.mjs b/cli/engine/rules/checks.mjs
index d096134a4..81890b2a6 100644
--- a/cli/engine/rules/checks.mjs
+++ b/cli/engine/rules/checks.mjs
@@ -91,7 +91,13 @@ function checkColors(opts) {
     // 1.2:1; the old a/button-only exception never looked at it.) The 9px
     // font floor keeps sub-text decorations out.
     const isStyledControl = hasDirectText
-      && bgColor && bgColor.a > 0.5
+      && ((bgColor && bgColor.a > 0.5)
+        // A gradient painted on the element itself is an own surface the
+        // same way a solid background is. Without this branch a nav CTA
+        // built as `<a>` with `background: linear-gradient(…)` and a text
+        // color that fails against every stop sails through on the
+        // SAFE_TAGS suppression (the shipped escape).
+        || (bgImage && /gradient/i.test(bgImage)))
       && fontSize >= 9;
     if (!isStyledControl) return [];
   }
@@ -1043,22 +1049,129 @@ function isRoundDotRadius(radiusValue, w, h) {
   return px >= 999 || px >= 0.4 * Math.min(w, h);
 }
 
+// Remove @media blocks whose condition is prefers-reduced-motion: reduce.
+// Those blocks describe the accessibility fallback, not the default
+// experience that ships — an `animation: none` reset inside one must not
+// mask the resting-state animation the page plays for everyone else.
+function stripReducedMotionBlocks(content) {
+  const re = /@media[^{]*prefers-reduced-motion\s*:\s*reduce[^{]*\{/gi;
+  let out = '';
+  let last = 0;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = re.exec(content)) !== null) {
+    let depth = 1;
+    let i = re.lastIndex;
+    while (i < content.length && depth > 0) {
+      const ch = content.charCodeAt(i);
+      if (ch === 0x7b /* { */) depth++;
+      else if (ch === 0x7d /* } */) depth--;
+      i++;
+    }
+    out += content.slice(last, m.index);
+    last = i;
+    re.lastIndex = i;
+  }
+  return out + content.slice(last);
+}
+
+// Source-index ranges of <header> and <nav> landmark elements in an HTML
+// string. Lets string-level scans decide whether a matched element sits in
+// the page chrome (the hero/nav region) without needing a DOM.
+function landmarkSourceRanges(content) {
+  const ranges = [];
+  for (const tag of ['header', 'nav']) {
+    const re = new RegExp(`<${tag}\\b|</${tag}\\s*>`, 'gi');
+    const stack = [];
+    let m;
+    while ((m = re.exec(content)) !== null) {
+      if (m[0].charAt(1) === '/') {
+        const start = stack.pop();
+        if (start != null) ranges.push([start, m.index]);
+      } else {
+        stack.push(m.index);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return ranges;
+}
+
+function indexInSourceRanges(index, ranges) {
+  return ranges.some(([start, end]) => index >= start && index < end);
+}
+
+// Does any element targeted by the final compound of `selector` appear
+// inside a header/nav landmark range of the HTML source? Resolves the last
+// .class or #id token of the selector against class/id attributes; a
+// tag-only compound is never resolvable this way and returns false
+// (conservative: no promotion without placement evidence).
+function selectorHitsLandmark(content, selector, ranges) {
+  if (!ranges || ranges.length === 0) return false;
+  const last = selector.split(/[\s>+~]+/).filter(Boolean).pop() || '';
+  const idMatch = last.match(/#([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)/);
+  const classMatch = last.match(/\.([A-Za-z_][\w-]*)/);
+  let attrRe = null;
+  if (idMatch) {
+    const id = idMatch[1].replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+    attrRe = new RegExp(`<[a-zA-Z][^>]*\\bid\\s*=\\s*["']${id}["']`, 'gi');
+  } else if (classMatch) {
+    const cls = classMatch[1].replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+    attrRe = new RegExp(`<[a-zA-Z][^>]*\\bclass\\s*=\\s*["'][^"']*(?<![\\w-])${cls}(?![\\w-])[^"']*["']`, 'gi');
+  }
+  if (!attrRe) return false;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = attrRe.exec(content)) !== null) {
+    if (indexInSourceRanges(m.index, ranges)) return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 // Small circular indicator bound to an infinite pulse animation — the
 // decorative "live" dot. Gates: tiny (<= 16px square-ish), round
 // (border-radius >= 40% or pill values), and an infinite animation whose
 // keyframes vary opacity/scale/box-shadow (or a pulse/blink/ping name when
 // the keyframes aren't in the scanned text). Rotation-only animations
 // (spinners) never flag.
+//
+// Declarations for one selector are merged across rule blocks before the
+// predicate runs: size in the base rule plus the animation added in a
+// second block (or inside a matching @media block) is the construction
+// that ships. prefers-reduced-motion: reduce overrides are stripped first
+// so their animation resets don't mask the default experience. A dot whose
+// element sits inside a header/nav landmark is the hero liveness cliché
+// and is promoted to error severity; occurrences elsewhere keep the
+// registry default severity.
 function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
   const customProps = collectCssCustomProps(content);
   const keyframes = collectPulseKeyframes(content);
+  const heroRanges = landmarkSourceRanges(content);
   const findings = [];
   const seen = new Set();
+
+  // Merge declarations per selector across rule blocks, approximating the
+  // cascade: later declarations for the same property win. Comma lists are
+  // split so `.a, .b { … }` contributes to both selectors. Comments are
+  // stripped first so they neither pollute selector keys nor smuggle a
+  // comma into the selector-list split.
+  const scanText = stripReducedMotionBlocks(content).replace(/\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//g, ' ');
+  const merged = new Map();
   const ruleRe = new RegExp(CSS_RULE_BLOCK_SOURCE, 'g');
   let m;
-  while ((m = ruleRe.exec(content)) !== null) {
-    const selector = m[1].trim();
+  while ((m = ruleRe.exec(scanText)) !== null) {
     const decls = parseCssDeclBlock(m[2]);
+    if (decls.size === 0) continue;
+    for (const rawSelector of m[1].split(',')) {
+      const selector = rawSelector.trim();
+      if (!selector || selector.startsWith('@')) continue;
+      let acc = merged.get(selector);
+      if (!acc) {
+        acc = new Map();
+        merged.set(selector, acc);
+      }
+      for (const [prop, value] of decls) acc.set(prop, value);
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (const [selector, decls] of merged) {
     const names = infiniteAnimationNames(decls);
     if (names.length === 0) continue;
     const pulseName = names.find(n => {
@@ -1079,9 +1192,12 @@ function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
 
     if (seen.has(selector)) continue;
     seen.add(selector);
+    const inLandmark = selectorHitsLandmark(content, selector, heroRanges);
     findings.push({
       id: 'pulsing-dot',
-      snippet: `${selector} — ${w}x${h}px dot with infinite "${pulseName}" animation`,
+      snippet: `${selector} — ${w}x${h}px dot with infinite "${pulseName}" animation${inLandmark ? ' in header/nav' : ''}`,
+      selector,
+      ...(inLandmark ? { severity: 'error' } : {}),
     });
   }
 
@@ -1098,15 +1214,78 @@ function scanCssTextForPulsingDot(content) {
     const key = `tw:${cls}`;
     if (seen.has(key)) continue;
     seen.add(key);
+    const inLandmark = indexInSourceRanges(cm.index, heroRanges);
     findings.push({
       id: 'pulsing-dot',
-      snippet: `animate-${anim[1]} on tiny rounded-full element`,
+      snippet: `animate-${anim[1]} on tiny rounded-full element${inLandmark ? ' in header/nav' : ''}`,
+      ...(inLandmark ? { severity: 'error' } : {}),
     });
   }
 
   return findings;
 }
 
+// Shape-assembled illustration: a large inline SVG composing a pictorial
+// scene from many primitive shapes (rect / circle / ellipse / polygon) in
+// several fill colors — the clip-art hero mascot. Gates keep the legitimate
+// SVG population out:
+//   • icons and logos: intrinsic size gate (>= 200px on both axes, from
+//     width/height attributes or the viewBox when no explicit size is set)
+//   • charts / labeled diagrams: more than two <text>/<tspan> nodes exempts
+//     the graphic (axis labels, callouts)
+//   • line drawings / technical diagrams: primitive count < 8 or fewer
+//     than 3 distinct fills never qualifies (stroke-only art has no fills)
+//   • tiling background textures: any <pattern> definition exempts
+function scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html) {
+  const findings = [];
+  const svgRe = /<svg\b[^>]*>[\s\S]*?<\/svg>/gi;
+  let m;
+  while ((m = svgRe.exec(html)) !== null) {
+    const block = m[0];
+    const openTag = (block.match(/^<svg\b[^>]*>/i) || [''])[0];
+
+    // Data-bearing or annotated graphics: axis labels and callout text
+    // mark a chart or diagram, not a mascot.
+    const textCount = (block.match(/<(?:text|tspan)\b/gi) || []).length;
+    if (textCount > 2) continue;
+    // Tiling texture definitions are decorative backgrounds, not scenes.
+    if (/<pattern\b/i.test(block)) continue;
+
+    const primitives = (block.match(/<(?:rect|circle|ellipse|polygon)\b/gi) || []).length;
+    if (primitives < 8) continue;
+
+    // Intrinsic size: explicit width/height attributes win; fall back to
+    // the viewBox box. Percentage or missing sizes stay unresolvable on
+    // that axis and the viewBox speaks for them.
+    const attrDim = (name) => {
+      // (?<![-\w]) keeps compound attributes like stroke-width from
+      // masquerading as the svg's own width.
+      const am = openTag.match(new RegExp(`(?<![-\\w])${name}\\s*=\\s*["']\\s*([\\d.]+)(?:px)?\\s*["']`, 'i'));
+      return am ? parseFloat(am[1]) : null;
+    };
+    const vb = openTag.match(/\bviewBox\s*=\s*["']\s*[-\d.]+[\s,]+[-\d.]+[\s,]+([\d.]+)[\s,]+([\d.]+)\s*["']/i);
+    const w = attrDim('width') ?? (vb ? parseFloat(vb[1]) : null);
+    const h = attrDim('height') ?? (vb ? parseFloat(vb[2]) : null);
+    if (w == null || h == null || w < 200 || h < 200) continue;
+
+    // Distinct fill paints (attributes and inline styles), excluding
+    // non-paints. Multiple fills are what turn a shape pile into a scene.
+    const fills = new Set();
+    for (const fm of block.matchAll(/\bfill\s*[:=]\s*["']?\s*([^"';>}\s]+)/gi)) {
+      const paint = fm[1].trim().toLowerCase();
+      if (!paint || ['none', 'transparent', 'currentcolor', 'inherit'].includes(paint)) continue;
+      fills.add(paint);
+    }
+    if (fills.size < 3) continue;
+
+    findings.push({
+      id: 'shape-assembled-illustration',
+      snippet: `inline <svg> scene: ${primitives} primitive shapes, ~${Math.round(w)}x${Math.round(h)}px, ${fills.size} fill colors`,
+    });
+  }
+  return findings;
+}
+
 /**
  * Regex-on-HTML checks shared between browser and Node page-level detection.
  * These don't need DOM access, just the raw HTML string.
@@ -1228,6 +1407,9 @@ function checkHtmlPatterns(html) {
   // Pulsing status dots (tiny circular elements on infinite pulse animations)
   findings.push(...scanCssTextForPulsingDot(html));
 
+  // Shape-assembled illustrations (large pictorial SVGs built from primitives)
+  findings.push(...scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html));
+
   // Auto-scrolling marquees (<marquee> or infinite horizontal loop animations)
   findings.push(...scanCssTextForMarquee(html));
 
@@ -1620,6 +1802,28 @@ function checkElementPseudoStripeDOM(el) {
   return findings;
 }
 
+// Full-cover surface pseudo (browser): a ::before/::after positioned
+// absolute/fixed whose box covers (nearly) the whole host and carries an
+// opaque background. That pseudo is the element's visible surface even
+// though the element's own background-color reads transparent — the nav-CTA
+// construction that otherwise escapes every own-background contrast gate.
+function readPseudoSurfaceDOM(el, rect) {
+  for (const which of ['::before', '::after']) {
+    let ps;
+    try { ps = getComputedStyle(el, which); } catch { continue; }
+    if (!ps || ps.content === 'none' || ps.content === '') continue;
+    if (ps.position !== 'absolute' && ps.position !== 'fixed') continue;
+    if (ps.display === 'none' || (parseFloat(ps.opacity) || 1) < 0.9) continue;
+    const w = parseFloat(ps.width) || 0;
+    const h = parseFloat(ps.height) || 0;
+    if (w < rect.width - 4 || h < rect.height - 4) continue;
+    const bg = parseRgb(ps.backgroundColor) || parseAnyColor(ps.backgroundColor);
+    if (!bg || (bg.a ?? 1) < 0.9) continue;
+    return bg;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
   const tag = el.tagName.toLowerCase();
   // No early SAFE_TAGS bail here — checkColors() does its own gating that
@@ -1630,7 +1834,15 @@ function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
   const style = getComputedStyle(el);
   const directText = [...el.childNodes].filter(n => n.nodeType === 3).map(n => n.textContent).join('');
   const hasDirectText = directText.trim().length > 0;
-  const effectiveBg = resolveBackground(el);
+  let effectiveBg = resolveBackground(el);
+  let ownBg = readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style);
+  if (!ownBg || (ownBg.a ?? 1) <= 0.5) {
+    const pseudoSurface = readPseudoSurfaceDOM(el, rect);
+    if (pseudoSurface) {
+      ownBg = pseudoSurface;
+      effectiveBg = pseudoSurface;
+    }
+  }
   return checkColors({
     tag,
     // Chrome serializes computed colors specified in modern spaces as
@@ -1639,7 +1851,7 @@ function checkElementColorsDOM(el) {
     // silently never run (the shipped miss: a nav CTA whose text color was
     // an oklch token near its own oklch background).
     textColor: parseRgb(style.color) || parseAnyColor(style.color),
-    bgColor: readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style),
+    bgColor: ownBg,
     effectiveBg,
     effectiveBgStops: effectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el),
     fontSize: parseFloat(style.fontSize) || 16,
@@ -3011,15 +3223,28 @@ function checkElementColors(el, style, tag, window, customPropMap, hasAnchorInhe
   // map first (mirrors the textColor path above). Without this a chip whose
   // background is `var(--sev)` reads as no-own-bg in the static engine and
   // the styled-control contrast exception never engages.
-  const ownBg = (customPropMap ? parseColorResolved(style.backgroundColor, customPropMap) : null)
+  let ownBg = (customPropMap ? parseColorResolved(style.backgroundColor, customPropMap) : null)
     || readOwnBackgroundColor(el, style);
 
+  // Full-cover surface pseudo (static): the cascade pass marks elements
+  // whose ::before/::after paints an opaque covering surface. When the
+  // element itself has no usable own background, that pseudo is the real
+  // surface for contrast purposes.
+  let finalEffectiveBg = effectiveBg;
+  if ((!ownBg || (ownBg.a ?? 1) <= 0.5) && typeof window.getPseudoSurface === 'function') {
+    const pseudoSurface = window.getPseudoSurface(el);
+    if (pseudoSurface) {
+      ownBg = pseudoSurface;
+      finalEffectiveBg = pseudoSurface;
+    }
+  }
+
   return checkColors({
     tag,
     textColor,
     bgColor: ownBg,
-    effectiveBg,
-    effectiveBgStops: effectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el, window),
+    effectiveBg: finalEffectiveBg,
+    effectiveBgStops: finalEffectiveBg ? null : resolveGradientStops(el, window),
     fontSize: parseFloat(style.fontSize) || 16,
     fontWeight: parseInt(style.fontWeight) || 400,
     hasDirectText,
@@ -4275,9 +4500,16 @@ function checkElementBlinkingCursorDOM(el) {
   }
   if (!glyphCursor && !blockCursor) return [];
 
+  // Hero-region promotion: a fake caret blinking in the first ~900px or
+  // inside the page chrome is the shipped hero cliché, not an incidental
+  // flourish. Promote those from the registry's advisory to warning;
+  // lower first-viewport occurrences keep the default severity.
+  const inHeroRegion = pageTop <= 900
+    || !!(el.closest && el.closest('header, nav, [role="banner"], [role="navigation"]'));
   return [{
     id: 'blinking-cursor',
     snippet: `${classSelector(el)} — ${Math.round(rect.width)}x${Math.round(rect.height)}px blinking cursor (animation "${blinkName}") in the first viewport`,
+    ...(inHeroRegion ? { severity: 'warning' } : {}),
   }];
 }
 
@@ -4462,6 +4694,7 @@ export {
   collectCssCustomProps,
   cssLengthToPx,
   scanCssTextForPulsingDot,
+  scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration,
   checkHtmlPatterns,
   readOwnBackgroundColor,
   resolveBackground,
diff --git a/site/pages/index.astro b/site/pages/index.astro
index 5f3525fe5..ecb3fbd44 100644
--- a/site/pages/index.astro
+++ b/site/pages/index.astro
@@ -498,6 +498,7 @@ import '../styles/testimonials.css';
             <span class="ks-bento-num" data-color="kinpaku">05</span>
             <h3 class="why-panel-title">Brand work is not product UI.</h3>
             <p class="why-panel-body">A landing page and a dashboard play by different rules. Impeccable runs in two registers, <em>brand</em> or <em>product</em>, and every command knows which.</p>
+
               <div class="why-visual why-visual--registers">
                 <div class="why-register why-register--brand">
                   <span class="why-register-label">Brand mode</span>
@@ -515,13 +516,14 @@ import '../styles/testimonials.css';
                   </div>
                 </div>
               </div>
+
           </article>
 
           <!-- T6: medium. CI/CD-ready. -->
           <article class="ks-bento-tile ks-bento-tile--span-6" id="why-ci">
             <span class="ks-bento-num" data-color="patina">06</span>
             <h3 class="why-panel-title">Block slop before it ships.</h3>
-            <p class="why-panel-body">A detector you can wire into PR checks. 56 deterministic rules, no LLM, exit codes the build can read.</p>
+            <p class="why-panel-body">A detector you can wire into PR checks. 57 deterministic rules, no LLM, exit codes the build can read.</p>
               <div class="why-visual why-visual--ci">
                 <div class="why-ci-window">
                   <div class="why-ci-header">
@@ -799,7 +801,7 @@ import '../styles/testimonials.css';
         </li>
         <li>
           <strong>CLI for CI</strong>
-          <span><code>npx impeccable detect src/</code> in a PR check. 56 deterministic rules. JSON output, exit codes for build gates.</span>
+          <span><code>npx impeccable detect src/</code> in a PR check. 57 deterministic rules. JSON output, exit codes for build gates.</span>
           <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/impeccable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View on npm →</a>
         </li>
         <li>
diff --git a/tests/detect-antipatterns.test.js b/tests/detect-antipatterns.test.js
index fab7a7650..23ea9d523 100644
--- a/tests/detect-antipatterns.test.js
+++ b/tests/detect-antipatterns.test.js
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import {
   scanCssTextForPseudoStripe,
   scanCssTextForPulsingDot,
   scanCssTextForRadialHalo,
+  scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration,
 } from '../cli/engine/rules/checks.mjs';
 
 const FIXTURES = path.join(import.meta.dir, 'fixtures', 'antipatterns');
@@ -1539,14 +1540,15 @@ describe('hero-eyebrow dash-prefix branch', () => {
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 describe('pulsing-dot', () => {
-  test('fixture flags the four pulsing dots and none of the passes', async () => {
+  test('fixture flags the five pulsing dots and none of the passes', async () => {
     const f = await detectHtml(path.join(FIXTURES, 'pulsing-dot.html'));
     const dots = f.filter(r => r.antipattern === 'pulsing-dot');
     const snippets = dots.map(r => r.snippet).join(' | ');
-    expect(dots).toHaveLength(4);
+    expect(dots).toHaveLength(5);
     expect(snippets).toContain('.live-dot');
     expect(snippets).toContain('.status .dot');
     expect(snippets).toContain('.beacon');
+    expect(snippets).toContain('.rec-mark');
     expect(snippets).toContain('animate-ping');
     expect(snippets).not.toContain('spinner');
     expect(snippets).not.toContain('fake-pulse');
@@ -1554,6 +1556,57 @@ describe('pulsing-dot', () => {
     expect(snippets).not.toContain('square-badge');
   });
 
+  test('header dot is promoted to error severity; body dots keep the default', async () => {
+    const f = await detectHtml(path.join(FIXTURES, 'pulsing-dot.html'));
+    const dots = f.filter(r => r.antipattern === 'pulsing-dot');
+    const headerDot = dots.find(r => r.snippet.includes('.rec-mark'));
+    expect(headerDot.severity).toBe('error');
+    expect(headerDot.snippet).toContain('in header/nav');
+    const bodyDot = dots.find(r => r.snippet.includes('.live-dot'));
+    expect(bodyDot.severity).toBe('warning');
+    expect(bodyDot.snippet).not.toContain('in header/nav');
+  });
+
+  test('merges size and animation declared in separate rule blocks for one selector', () => {
+    const css = `
+      .dot { width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%; }
+      .dot { animation: pulse 2s infinite; }
+      @keyframes pulse { 50% { opacity: 0.3; } }
+    `;
+    const f = scanCssTextForPulsingDot(css);
+    expect(f).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(f[0].selector).toBe('.dot');
+  });
+
+  test('descends into matching media queries for the animation half', () => {
+    const css = `
+      .dot { width: 7px; height: 7px; border-radius: 50%; }
+      @media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference) {
+        .dot { animation: pulseDot 2.4s ease-in-out infinite; }
+      }
+      @keyframes pulseDot { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.45; } }
+    `;
+    expect(scanCssTextForPulsingDot(css)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('prefers-reduced-motion: reduce resets never mask the default animation', () => {
+    const css = `
+      .dot { width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%; animation: pulse 2s infinite; }
+      @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) { .dot { animation: none; } }
+      @keyframes pulse { 50% { opacity: 0.3; } }
+    `;
+    expect(scanCssTextForPulsingDot(css)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('a later animation: none outside reduced-motion disables the dot', () => {
+    const css = `
+      .dot { width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%; animation: pulse 2s infinite; }
+      .dot { animation: none; }
+      @keyframes pulse { 50% { opacity: 0.3; } }
+    `;
+    expect(scanCssTextForPulsingDot(css)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
   test('detects tiny circle with infinite opacity-pulse keyframes', () => {
     const css = `
       .dot { width: 8px; height: 8px; border-radius: 50%; animation: pulse 2s infinite; }
@@ -1628,6 +1681,91 @@ describe('pulsing-dot', () => {
   });
 });
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Shape-assembled illustrations
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('shape-assembled-illustration', () => {
+  test('fixture flags only the hero mascot scene', async () => {
+    const f = await detectHtml(path.join(FIXTURES, 'shape-assembled-illustration.html'));
+    const hits = f.filter(r => r.antipattern === 'shape-assembled-illustration');
+    expect(hits).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(hits[0].severity).toBe('advisory');
+    expect(hits[0].snippet).toContain('primitive shapes');
+  });
+
+  test('flags a large multi-fill primitive scene', () => {
+    const shapes = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) =>
+      `<rect x="${i * 30}" y="40" width="24" height="60" fill="#c${i % 4}${i % 8}"/>`).join('');
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 400 300">${shapes}<circle cx="60" cy="40" r="20" fill="#123456"/></svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  test('small explicit size wins over a large viewBox (icons, logos)', () => {
+    const shapes = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) =>
+      `<rect x="${i * 30}" y="40" width="24" height="60" fill="#c${i % 4}${i % 8}"/>`).join('');
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 400 300" width="32" height="32">${shapes}</svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test('axis-labeled charts never flag', () => {
+    const bars = Array.from({ length: 9 }, (_, i) =>
+      `<rect x="${i * 40}" y="${100 + i * 10}" width="30" height="${200 - i * 10}" fill="#${i % 3}${i % 3}${i % 3}abc"/>`).join('');
+    const labels = '<text x="0" y="380">Q1</text><text x="120" y="380">Q2</text><text x="240" y="380">Q3</text>';
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 400 400">${bars}${labels}</svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test('stroke-only line drawings (no fills) never flag', () => {
+    const shapes = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) =>
+      `<circle cx="${40 + i * 30}" cy="150" r="20"/>`).join('');
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 400 300" fill="none" stroke="currentColor">${shapes}</svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test('tiling pattern backgrounds never flag', () => {
+    const shapes = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) =>
+      `<rect x="${i * 30}" y="40" width="24" height="60" fill="#c${i % 4}${i % 8}"/>`).join('');
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 1200 600"><defs><pattern id="p" width="10" height="10"><rect width="5" height="5" fill="#eee"/></pattern></defs>${shapes}</svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test('fewer than eight primitives never flags (path-heavy real illustration)', () => {
+    const html = `<svg viewBox="0 0 600 400">
+      <path d="M0 0 C 10 10, 20 20, 30 30" fill="#111"/>
+      <path d="M5 5 C 15 15, 25 25, 35 35" fill="#222"/>
+      <rect x="10" y="10" width="40" height="40" fill="#333"/>
+      <circle cx="100" cy="100" r="30" fill="#444"/>
+    </svg>`;
+    expect(scanHtmlForShapeAssembledIllustration(html)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Nav CTA contrast construction sweep
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('nav CTA contrast constructions', () => {
+  // One fixture per construction family that has shipped (or could ship) a
+  // low-contrast header CTA past the detector: solid own bg, specificity
+  // cascade, var() indirection, own gradient bg, pseudo-element surface,
+  // inherited color, alpha-composited bg, oklch serialization. The
+  // background-image: url(...) variant stays unflaggable by design (no
+  // computable surface color).
+  test('every computable construction produces a low-contrast finding', async () => {
+    const f = await detectHtml(path.join(FIXTURES, 'nav-cta-constructions.html'));
+    const lows = f.filter(r => r.antipattern === 'low-contrast').map(r => r.snippet).join(' | ');
+    expect(lows).toContain('#e8b84b');  // v1 solid bg + own color
+    expect(lows).toContain('#e5a93f');  // v2 specificity cascade
+    expect(lows).toContain('#f0b64e');  // v3 var() indirection
+    expect(lows).toContain('#f2b854');  // v4 own gradient bg (worst stop)
+    expect(lows).toContain('#efb352');  // v5 pseudo-element surface
+    expect(lows).toContain('#eab04a');  // v6 inherited color
+    expect(lows).toContain('#cf9c48');  // v7 alpha bg composited over header
+    expect(lows).toContain('#fcb442');  // v8 oklch on both sides
+  });
+});
+
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // ANTIPATTERNS registry
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/nav-cta-constructions.html b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/nav-cta-constructions.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..281a27dd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/nav-cta-constructions.html
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta charset="utf-8">
+<title>Nav CTA contrast construction sweep</title>
+<style>
+  :root{
+    --v3bg: #f0b64e;
+    --v3fg: #cfd9e9;
+  }
+  body{ margin:0; font-family: Georgia, serif; color:#1c2430; background:#ffffff; }
+  header{ display:flex; align-items:center; gap:2rem; padding:1rem 2rem; background:#12213a; }
+  .nav{ display:flex; gap:1.5rem; align-items:center; }
+  .nav a{ font-size:0.9rem; text-decoration:none; }
+  .cta{ display:inline-block; padding:0.6em 1.1em; border-radius:6px; font-weight:600; }
+
+  /* v1: solid bg + own low-contrast color, both on the button class */
+  a.cta.v1{ background:#e8b84b; color:#c9d6ea; }
+
+  /* v2: specificity cascade — .nav a (0,1,1) beats .v2 (0,1,0) for color */
+  .nav a{ color:#b7c6de; }
+  .v2{ background:#e5a93f; color:#26313f; }
+
+  /* v3: var() indirection for both colors */
+  a.cta.v3{ background:var(--v3bg); color:var(--v3fg); }
+
+  /* v4: gradient background, low-contrast text against every stop */
+  a.cta.v4{ background:linear-gradient(90deg,#f2b854,#e8a83e); color:#d3dcec; }
+
+  /* v5: pseudo-element paints the surface; button itself transparent */
+  a.cta.v5{ position:relative; background:transparent; color:#d0daea; }
+  .v5::before{ content:""; position:absolute; inset:0; border-radius:6px; background:#efb352; z-index:-1; }
+
+  /* v6: color inherited from header, button only sets bg */
+  header{ color:#ccd8ea; }
+  .v6{ background:#eab04a; }
+
+  /* v7: alpha-composited own bg over the dark header */
+  a.cta.v7{ background:rgb(240 178 74 / 0.85); color:#d2dcec; }
+
+  /* v8: oklch serialization for both sides */
+  a.cta.v8{ background:oklch(0.82 0.15 75); color:oklch(0.80 0.05 258); }
+
+  /* v9: background-image url only (no computable color) + low contrast vs header */
+  a.cta.v9{ background-image:url("data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP7uSwAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw=="); color:#d5deed; }
+</style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<header>
+  <span style="color:#f4f7fb;font-weight:700">Acme</span>
+  <nav class="nav" aria-label="Primary">
+    <a href="#a">Product</a>
+    <a href="#b">Docs</a>
+    <a class="cta v1" href="#s">Start now v1</a>
+    <a class="cta v2" href="#s">Start now v2</a>
+    <a class="cta v3" href="#s">Start now v3</a>
+    <a class="cta v4" href="#s">Start now v4</a>
+    <a class="cta v5" href="#s">Start now v5</a>
+    <a class="cta v6" href="#s">Start now v6</a>
+    <a class="cta v7" href="#s">Start now v7</a>
+    <a class="cta v8" href="#s">Start now v8</a>
+    <a class="cta v9" href="#s">Start now v9</a>
+  </nav>
+</header>
+<main style="padding:4rem 2rem; max-width:60ch;">
+  <h1 style="font-size:2.4rem; margin:0 0 1rem;">A page that exists to host a header</h1>
+  <p style="line-height:1.6;">The paragraphs below the header keep the document honest so the
+  detector treats this as a full page rather than a fragment. Nothing here should trip any rule.</p>
+  <p style="line-height:1.6;">Second paragraph of ordinary body copy with comfortable measure and
+  line height, dark ink on paper.</p>
+</main>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/pulsing-dot.html b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/pulsing-dot.html
index eee81c6f0..a6e9f0efe 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/pulsing-dot.html
+++ b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/pulsing-dot.html
@@ -77,9 +77,27 @@
     border-radius: 2px;
     animation: pulse 2s infinite;
   }
+
+  /* FLAG (error): header logo dot whose size and animation live in
+     separate rule blocks, animation added inside a matching media query,
+     with a reduced-motion reset that must not mask the default. */
+  .rec-mark {
+    width: 10px; height: 10px;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    background: #dc2626;
+  }
+  @media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference) {
+    .rec-mark { animation: pulse 2.4s ease-in-out infinite; }
+  }
+  @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+    .rec-mark { animation: none; }
+  }
 </style>
 </head>
 <body>
+  <header>
+    <a href="#top"><span class="rec-mark"></span> Brand</a>
+  </header>
   <span class="live-dot"></span>
   <span class="status"><i class="dot"></i> Online</span>
   <span class="beacon"></span>
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/shape-assembled-illustration.html b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/shape-assembled-illustration.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a08193c1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/antipatterns/shape-assembled-illustration.html
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta charset="utf-8">
+<title>Shape-assembled illustration fixture</title>
+</head>
+<body>
+<header>
+  <!-- PASS: logo, small (explicit size) even with a big viewBox -->
+  <svg viewBox="0 0 400 400" width="32" height="32" aria-hidden="true">
+    <rect x="0" y="0" width="180" height="180" fill="#c33"/>
+    <rect x="220" y="0" width="180" height="180" fill="#3c3"/>
+    <rect x="0" y="220" width="180" height="180" fill="#33c"/>
+    <rect x="220" y="220" width="180" height="180" fill="#cc3"/>
+    <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="60" fill="#333"/>
+    <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="30" fill="#eee"/>
+    <polygon points="10,10 30,10 20,30" fill="#933"/>
+    <polygon points="370,10 390,10 380,30" fill="#393"/>
+  </svg>
+  <span>Acme</span>
+</header>
+<main>
+  <!-- FLAG: hero mascot scene assembled from primitives at hero size -->
+  <svg class="mascot" viewBox="0 0 640 480" role="img" aria-label="A cheerful robot waving">
+    <rect x="200" y="120" width="240" height="200" rx="24" fill="#8ecae6"/>
+    <rect x="240" y="340" width="60" height="100" fill="#219ebc"/>
+    <rect x="340" y="340" width="60" height="100" fill="#219ebc"/>
+    <circle cx="270" cy="200" r="24" fill="#ffffff"/>
+    <circle cx="370" cy="200" r="24" fill="#ffffff"/>
+    <circle cx="270" cy="200" r="10" fill="#023047"/>
+    <circle cx="370" cy="200" r="10" fill="#023047"/>
+    <ellipse cx="320" cy="270" rx="50" ry="20" fill="#ffb703"/>
+    <polygon points="180,160 140,120 180,120" fill="#fb8500"/>
+    <polygon points="460,160 500,120 460,120" fill="#fb8500"/>
+    <rect x="300" y="60" width="8" height="60" fill="#023047"/>
+    <circle cx="304" cy="52" r="12" fill="#fb8500"/>
+  </svg>
+
+  <!-- PASS: bar chart, data-bearing (axis labels) -->
+  <svg viewBox="0 0 600 400" role="img" aria-label="Monthly signups">
+    <rect x="60" y="220" width="40" height="120" fill="#4477aa"/>
+    <rect x="120" y="180" width="40" height="160" fill="#4477aa"/>
+    <rect x="180" y="140" width="40" height="200" fill="#66ccee"/>
+    <rect x="240" y="200" width="40" height="140" fill="#66ccee"/>
+    <rect x="300" y="100" width="40" height="240" fill="#228833"/>
+    <rect x="360" y="90" width="40" height="250" fill="#228833"/>
+    <rect x="420" y="60" width="40" height="280" fill="#ccbb44"/>
+    <rect x="480" y="40" width="40" height="300" fill="#ccbb44"/>
+    <line x1="40" y1="340" x2="560" y2="340" stroke="#333"/>
+    <text x="60" y="370">Jan</text>
+    <text x="180" y="370">Mar</text>
+    <text x="300" y="370">May</text>
+    <text x="420" y="370">Jul</text>
+  </svg>
+
+  <!-- PASS: stroke-only technical line drawing, no fills -->
+  <svg viewBox="0 0 600 470" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="4">
+    <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="80"/>
+    <circle cx="200" cy="200" r="40"/>
+    <ellipse cx="400" cy="220" rx="90" ry="40"/>
+    <rect x="120" y="320" width="360" height="60"/>
+    <rect x="150" y="340" width="80" height="20"/>
+    <rect x="260" y="340" width="80" height="20"/>
+    <polygon points="500,80 540,140 460,140"/>
+    <polygon points="80,80 120,140 40,140"/>
+    <path d="M120 120 C 200 40, 400 40, 480 120"/>
+  </svg>
+
+  <!-- PASS: full-bleed tiling background texture -->
+  <svg width="100%" height="600" viewBox="0 0 1200 600" aria-hidden="true">
+    <defs>
+      <pattern id="tile" width="40" height="40" patternUnits="userSpaceOnUse">
+        <rect width="20" height="20" fill="#eee"/>
+        <rect x="20" y="20" width="20" height="20" fill="#ddd"/>
+        <circle cx="30" cy="10" r="4" fill="#ccc"/>
+      </pattern>
+    </defs>
+    <rect width="1200" height="600" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <rect x="0" y="0" width="600" height="300" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <rect x="600" y="300" width="600" height="300" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <circle cx="300" cy="300" r="80" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <circle cx="900" cy="150" r="60" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <circle cx="150" cy="450" r="50" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <polygon points="700,100 760,180 640,180" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+    <polygon points="1000,400 1060,480 940,480" fill="url(#tile)"/>
+  </svg>
+
+  <!-- PASS: small inline icon -->
+  <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="16" height="16" fill="currentColor">
+    <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="10"/>
+    <path d="M8 12l3 3 5-6"/>
+  </svg>
+</main>
+</body>
+</html>