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[Seasonal · human approval required] April Fools' Day: better design & features #234

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opened 2026-09-25 13:03:45 -04:00 by jared · 0 comments
jared commented 2026-09-25 13:03:45 -04:00
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April Fools' Day seasonal theme: better design and features

Human approval required. AI may research, design, prototype and implement changes for this theme, but it may not approve or close this issue. Only a human (Jared) closes it, after reviewing the rendered result. Work happens on a branch (seasonal/aprilfools) and reaches lotus only when a human merges it.

Active: Apr 1 (auto), or any time via Settings → General → Seasonal Theme
Code: src/app/components/seasonal/themes/AprilFools.tsx + AprilFools.css.ts; schedule in seasonSchedule.ts

What it does today

Pastel crayon doodles (question marks, exclamation marks, squiggles, stars, hearts), confetti chips, peeking googly eyes and winking sparkles.

Baseline: what it actually looks like (rendered 2026-09-25, not inferred from the code)

Left to right: desktop mid-animation (5 s in), desktop with reduced motion, phone (Pixel 7). Light theme, a real room with messages.

April Fools' Day baseline

What the render shows:

  • The googly eyes render as grey circles that look like broken UI (loading dots, stray radio buttons) — on the sidebar, members list and timeline edge.
  • The doodles are tiny and pale; they read as noise rather than a joke.
  • Nothing about it is actually playful/foolish yet — it is a light confetti scatter.
  • The seasonal floating button (bottom-right) overlaps the composer's send button on a phone.
  • Only the light theme was rendered for this baseline; dark (and the other colour themes) must be checked too.

Ideas to explore (not decisions)

  • Pick one clear gag (for example a harmless visual prank that is obviously a joke and easy to dismiss), rather than a scatter.
  • Make doodles larger and fewer; drop or redesign the googly eyes so they don't look like UI.
  • Must never interfere with reading or sending messages.

Hard requirements for any design

  • Text stays readable: nothing opaque or high-contrast over message text, names, the composer, headers or controls. Check WCAG AA contrast of text over the effect.
  • Reduced motion: a static version that still looks good (reduced prop).
  • Performance: transform/opacity animation only; no measurable jank while scrolling or typing; nothing runs when the theme is off.
  • No pointer interference: the overlay never blocks clicks or taps.

Required process: render and look, don't trust the code

Every iteration must be rendered in a real browser and looked at before it's proposed. Code review alone is not enough.

  • Screenshots of: desktop and phone, light and dark theme, reduced motion, and 2–3 frames of the animation (or a short recording), in a room with real messages.
  • Before/after images posted on this issue for each iteration, with a short note on what changed and why.
  • Checked against the hard requirements above, on the rendered images.

Approval (human only)

  • A human has reviewed the rendered design and approves it.
  • A human has merged seasonal/aprilfools.
  • A human closes this issue.
## April Fools' Day seasonal theme: better design and features > **Human approval required.** AI may research, design, prototype and implement changes for this theme, but it **may not approve or close this issue**. Only a human (Jared) closes it, after reviewing the rendered result. Work happens on a branch (`seasonal/aprilfools`) and reaches `lotus` only when a human merges it. **Active:** Apr 1 (auto), or any time via Settings → General → Seasonal Theme **Code:** `src/app/components/seasonal/themes/AprilFools.tsx` + `AprilFools.css.ts`; schedule in `seasonSchedule.ts` ### What it does today Pastel crayon doodles (question marks, exclamation marks, squiggles, stars, hearts), confetti chips, peeking googly eyes and winking sparkles. ### Baseline: what it actually looks like (rendered 2026-09-25, not inferred from the code) Left to right: desktop mid-animation (5 s in), desktop with reduced motion, phone (Pixel 7). Light theme, a real room with messages. ![April Fools' Day baseline](https://code.lotusguild.org/attachments/e4c90c1e-d877-4971-83c0-698b89732b33) What the render shows: - The **googly eyes render as grey circles that look like broken UI** (loading dots, stray radio buttons) — on the sidebar, members list and timeline edge. - The doodles are tiny and pale; they read as noise rather than a joke. - Nothing about it is actually playful/foolish yet — it is a light confetti scatter. - The seasonal floating button (bottom-right) overlaps the composer's send button on a phone. - Only the **light** theme was rendered for this baseline; dark (and the other colour themes) must be checked too. ### Ideas to explore (not decisions) - Pick one clear gag (for example a harmless visual prank that is obviously a joke and easy to dismiss), rather than a scatter. - Make doodles larger and fewer; drop or redesign the googly eyes so they don't look like UI. - Must never interfere with reading or sending messages. ### Hard requirements for any design - **Text stays readable**: nothing opaque or high-contrast over message text, names, the composer, headers or controls. Check WCAG AA contrast of text *over* the effect. - **Reduced motion**: a static version that still looks good (`reduced` prop). - **Performance**: transform/opacity animation only; no measurable jank while scrolling or typing; nothing runs when the theme is off. - **No pointer interference**: the overlay never blocks clicks or taps. ### Required process: render and look, don't trust the code Every iteration must be **rendered in a real browser and looked at** before it's proposed. Code review alone is not enough. - [ ] Screenshots of: desktop and phone, light and dark theme, reduced motion, and 2–3 frames of the animation (or a short recording), in a room with real messages. - [ ] Before/after images posted on this issue for each iteration, with a short note on what changed and why. - [ ] Checked against the hard requirements above, on the rendered images. ### Approval (human only) - [ ] A human has reviewed the rendered design and approves it. - [ ] A human has merged `seasonal/aprilfools`. - [ ] A human closes this issue.
aprilfools-baseline.png
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jared added the enhancementuxarea: appearanceneeds-human-review labels 2026-09-25 13:03:45 -04:00
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Reference: LotusGuild/cinny#234