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# UX second pass — batched council review
A running parking lot of small UX / interaction decisions deferred for a **batched
[`/council`](../.claude/skills/council/SKILL.md) review**, rather than gating each one the
moment it surfaces. Append quirks here as they come up; resolve them together in one pass,
record the resolution into the contract (`docs/architecture/09`+`10` and the relevant
`docs/spec/`), then delete the row.
## Open
- **Border weight as identity — boxed fields vs Carbon's quieter defaults**
(**priority: pick this up first, next session** — user-flagged 2026-06-12).
Carbon's own defaults use far fewer boxes than we do: fields are filled with a
bottom border only (`reference/carbon` → text-input `_text-input.scss`,
`border-block-end` only), secondary buttons are a gray _fill_, tertiary is the
only outlined button (`_button.scss``button-theme(transparent,
$button-tertiary, …)`), and tiles separate by layer steps with full borders
only behind an accessibility feature flag. Our fully-boxed fields/secondaries
are a recorded divergence (arch 09 §2 + §4) and the box-discipline rules now
contain the noise — the open question is whether to go further toward Carbon
(bottom-border-only fields, filled secondary) or keep the boxed look as
deliberate identity. An identity decision, not cleanup: it would repaint every
field in the app. Council seats: Carbon (canon above), NN/g (affordance of
boxed vs underlined inputs), a11y (3:1 non-text contrast for field boundaries
either way).
- **Two visible "Export" buttons** (`App.tsx` header — workspace export;
`ChartExport.tsx` in the preview header — per-chart export). Same label,
different scope, both visible at once. Candidate fix: rename one ("Export
chart" / "Export workspace") or differentiate via grouping.
- **"LATER" facet placeholders in Chart Builder shelves**
(`ChartBuilderModal.module.css``.facetSlot`/`.facetTag`). Internal roadmap
language shipped to users. Either hide the affordance until faceting works or
write user-facing copy.
- **Default snippet names are timestamps** ("Snippet 2026-06-10 18:04:37") — the
library reads like a downloads folder next to builder-generated names ("Bar
chart of count by Ship Mode"). Candidate: derive a content-based name from the
spec (mark + encoded fields) when the user never renames.
- **Fit-mode tab labels** ("Original / Width / Height / Full", `LivePreview.tsx`)
are terse for a first-time user; tooltips likely suffice.
- **Donate is the most saturated element on screen** (header soft-accent wash) —
visually outranks Publish/Build Chart. Decide whether intentional.
- **Left rail affordance** (`PaneToggleStrip.tsx`): three unlabeled glyphs + a
tall empty strip; pane toggles aren't discoverable without hovering.
- **Pane toggle pressed state = hover state** (`PaneToggleStrip.module.css`).
The pressed chip is a `--layer-02` fill — the same fill the strip's IconButtons
use on hover — so hovering an off toggle looks identical to an on toggle at
rest. (The pressed chip's `--border-strong` border used to disambiguate; it was
dropped in the box-discipline pass.) Candidate cues: a filled/accent glyph,
an inset edge marker, or restoring a border for the on state only.
- **Dataset detail schema density** (`DatasetsModal.tsx`): one field per row
makes a 25-column dataset a long scroll before the preview table; a denser
two-column field list would fit overview + schema + preview on one screen.
- **Chart theme picker placement & header crowding** (`LivePreview.tsx` — ChartThemeControl).
The picker sits in the preview header because nesting a SelectControl inside the
PreviewSettings popover is impossible today (one-open-popover registry: the select would
close/unmount its own parent). Header now holds Fit + theme + export + gear; at narrow
pane widths the long trigger labels ("FiveThirtyEight", "Urban Institute") may crowd it.
Council questions: does the picker deserve header prominence (the "transform your chart"
showcase) or settings-cluster placement (a persistent global pref); should the popover
registry learn nesting; should the preset block also carry a group _heading_ (a
divider now bounds it — 2026-06-12, user-decided; `SelectControl` `dividerBefore`)?
- **"Edit themes…" action row inside the value picker** (`LivePreview.tsx`
ChartThemeControl). A non-value action lives inside a single-select disclosure (the
VS Code theme-picker pattern), placed after the custom-themes block and before the
preset roster (first-use feedback: at the very bottom it was invisible without
scrolling). The ours-vs-presets divider (2026-06-12) now bounds it below; remaining
council questions: should the action row itself be styled distinctly from the value
rows; is a mid-list row that opens a modal instead of selecting surprising to AT
users?
- **Theme Builder config editor is a plain textarea** (`ThemeBuilderModal.tsx`). Monaco
(with the Vega-Lite config schema for completions) would match the main editor but is
heavy inside a modal and untested in that mounting. Revisit whether the builder deserves
a Monaco instance, and whether the gallery's canvas charts need text alternatives
beyond the per-card captions.
## Deferred (not design debts, revisit on demand)
- **Drag-and-drop field assignment** — chips are click/keyboard-first by design; drag would
be a progressive enhancement on top of the chooser model, not a replacement. Revisit if
real usage asks for it (likely alongside Phase 4 faceting, where drag-to-shelf reads most
naturally).