# The reference bar — what world-class looks like

Self-review without an external bar always passes. Before shipping, hold the render
against these references — not "is anything broken" (the gates did that) but "would a
designer at these houses sign it".

## Per register

**premium-warm / editorial (cream, editorial)** — the bar is a _Vogue cover_ and the
A24 title card: type interacts with the subject (masthead behind the head), one or two
sizes feel chosen not defaulted, the frame would work printed as a poster. Check: does
the climax frame, screenshotted alone, look like a designed cover — or like a subtitle
that grew?

**tech-premium (keynote, ink)** — the bar is an _Apple keynote slide_ over footage:
opaque, weighty, dead-center confidence; negative space is doing the work; nothing
decorating. Check: would this frame look at home in a WWDC sizzle?

**formal (documentary)** — the bar is _Errol Morris / PBS Frontline_: the type has the
restraint of a court document; stillness reads as authority. Check: does ANY motion call
attention to itself? If yes, cut it.

**loud** — the bar is a _k-pop lyric video / Nike spot_: type fights the subject and
wins on purpose, color is saturated and scene-true, the beat hits WITH the word. Check:
does the hero frame make you want to replay it?

## The five positive checks (run on the preview sheet, after the failure checks)

1. **Poster test** — screenshot the climax frame alone. Would you post it as a still?
   If it needs the motion to excuse the composition, the composition isn't done.
2. **Timid test** — is any body caption apologizing (tiny, corner-parked, far from the
   silhouette)? Small is a choice; timid is a default. Hug the subject or commit to the
   margin as a designed column.
3. **One-glance hierarchy** — at thumbnail size (shrink the sheet), can you still tell
   opener / body / hero apart? If the tiers blur together, the contrast ratios are off.
4. **Scene handshake** — name three ways the type acknowledges THIS footage (accent
   sampled from the scene, occlusion crossing, shadow direction, depth blur, palette
   temperature). Fewer than two = it's a sticker, not an embed.
5. **Dead-air audit** — scrub the no-caption stretches. Are they _composed rests_
   (subject carries the frame) or _gaps_ (the design just stopped)? Rests are earned by
   rhythm; gaps are bugs in pacing.

## How to use with fresh-eyes review

Give the sub-agent the preview sheet + the 5 failure checks (SKILL.md § Visual QA) +
these 5 positive checks, and ask for verdicts on both lists. A render ships when it
passes the failure checks AND at least 4/5 positive checks with specific evidence.