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Specimen 04 · Primitive

Imagery

Frames, grids, layered overlays, and graphic connectors. Imagery in PocketSeed is restrained and functional, never decorative for its own sake.

Principles

How imagery should feel

Like the rest of the system, the goal is quiet support. Photography is a tool that grounds the abstract (a credential, a claim) in the real (a product, a place). Use sparingly and treat consistently.

Subject

Real products, real places

Product photography on neutral surfaces. Sustainability infrastructure (wind, solar, regenerative agriculture). Avoid stock-photo hands-on-keyboards or "diverse team smiling."

Treatment

Quiet, no filters

No heavy color grading, no duotones, no washed-out filters. The colors should sit comfortably with the system's warm-paper / ink palette without competing.

Frame

Rounded corners, never square-edged

Always wrap photos in .ps-image-frame so the radius and clipping are consistent. 14px radius matches cards and buttons.

Avoid

The granola palette

No leafy stock close-ups, no glowing planet earth, no abstract geometric "tech" gradients. Photography is anchored in the world, not symbolic of it.

Aspect ratios

Frame variants

All available via aspect-ratio modifiers on .ps-image-frame. Source imagery should be cropped to the target ratio when possible; object-fit: cover handles the rest.

Aqua Hydration Body Serum
.ps-image-square · 1:1
Aqua Hydration Body Serum on a windowsill
.ps-image-wide · 16:9
Recycling and circularity
.ps-image-pano · 3.27:1 · use for full-bleed slide hero or section break
Grid

Multi-up image rows

Use .ps-image-grid for product lineups, evidence galleries, or process steps. 3-up is the default; 2/4-up via modifier.

Aqua Hydration Body Serum
Food package
Aqua Hydration Body Serum
Layering

Stack with overlay

Wrap an image frame in .ps-image-stack and add .ps-image-overlay children for annotations, pins, or floating cards.

Aqua Hydration Body Serum on a windowsill
Bamboo dropper Recycled glass 3 verified credentials
.ps-pin · annotation pills with a vivid dot, anchored anywhere on the image
Composition

Show how things relate

Layer a credential mockup over a product photo. The relationship reads from proximity and overlap, no connection lines required. Compose, don't diagram.

Aqua Hydration Body Serum
pocketseed.io/p/aqua-serum
PRODUCT · AQUA-50ML Verified
Aqua Hydration Body Serum

A weightless body serum with hyaluronic acid and Scottish sea kelp. Vegan, cruelty-free, dermatologist-tested. Bottled in UK-sourced recycled glass with a bamboo dropper.

Vegan Cruelty-free Recycled glass Made in UK

Credentials
4 linked
Evidence
9 documents
Updated
Apr 18 · 2026
Where was the kelp sourced?

The credential card uses .ps-browser for the URL chrome and standard pill / rule / ask-bar primitives inside. Anchor it absolutely against an image frame using .ps-image-stack or simple positioning.

Image sources

Where photography comes from

Until we commission a real shoot, source imagery from these in priority order:

  1. Real customer products — with their permission, used in case studies and product mockups.
  2. The official PocketSeed shoot (not yet commissioned) — generic product, place, and process imagery owned by us.
  3. Stock with editorial intent — Unsplash / Pexels / curated stock platforms, choosing images that look like they could have come from a real customer story.

Always crop to the target ratio at source. Don't rely on object-fit: cover to do compositional work — it's a fallback, not a strategy.