# Expression

The Expression domain owns art direction for finished product pages: type pairing, palette, gradient and texture, WebGL atmosphere, copy register, and the density of expressive moments.

## Scope Boundary

In scope: art-direction briefs, named directions with concrete starting values, visual technique recipes with copy-ready code, and the policy for unofficial brand studies.

Out of scope: layout mechanics and scroll ownership (Layout), timing, interruption, and motion review (Motion), component state contracts (Design Engineering), shared token schemas (consumer reference), and any decorative value inside reusable Layout pattern CSS.

## Start Here

| Task                                                    | Route                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Decide what a page should feel like before building it. | [Expression Direction Brief](https://style.gallery/library/expression/direction-brief/index.md)                 |
| Start from a complete dark editorial system.            | [Nocturne Editorial Direction](https://style.gallery/library/expression/directions/nocturne-editorial/index.md) |
| Start from a complete light, warm, print-like system.   | [Warm Print Direction](https://style.gallery/library/expression/directions/warm-print/index.md)                 |
| Add glowing, drifting color behind content.             | [Gradient Atmosphere](https://style.gallery/library/expression/techniques/gradient-atmosphere/index.md)         |
| Add film grain, noise, or paper texture.                | [Grain And Texture](https://style.gallery/library/expression/techniques/grain-and-texture/index.md)             |
| Put a live WebGL field behind a hero.                   | [WebGL Hero Field](https://style.gallery/library/expression/techniques/webgl-hero/index.md)                     |
| Reinterpret a real brand as an unofficial study.        | [Brand Studies](https://style.gallery/library/expression/brand-studies/index.md)                                |

Build the result in [Showcase](https://style.gallery/materials/v2/pages/showcase/README.md) and add motion from [Motion techniques](https://style.gallery/library/motion/techniques/scroll-choreography/index.md).

## How Expression Relates To Other Domains

- Layout is the floor. An Expression direction never changes a Layout pattern; a page composes patterns and adds expression in its own product CSS.
- Motion owns how things move. Expression names the motion density a direction wants, and Motion techniques implement it.
- Design Engineering reference profiles are governed token fixtures. Expression directions are starting points for product work and are not validated tokens.

These pages are experimental. Their values are proposals chosen for a mood, not measured outcomes. Review a direction when a showcase work built on it fails its outcome checks or reads poorly in its screenshots.

## Domain Contract

See [StyleGallery Domains](https://style.gallery/materials/v2/pages/DOMAINS.md) for lifecycle, provenance, page membership, and staleness rules.

## IA Navigation

Parent: [StyleGallery](https://style.gallery/materials/v2/pages/index.md).
Next: [Expression Direction Brief](https://style.gallery/library/expression/direction-brief/index.md).