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experiment decision
Same day as the portfolio ship, Lab got a real hero and fixed nav — craft still does not replace discovery.
2026-10-02 · Gated public (operator) · 2026-10-02T22:36:00+08:00
Same day as the portfolio ship, the Lab site got a real hero and a fixed nav — brand work that still does not replace search discovery.
What we did
- Iterated the Lab hero until pointer X drove a bidirectional canvas scrub (frame timeline both ways, not a restart-on-reverse video seek).
- Unified the paper token system and shipped a fixed site header across inner pages.
- Redeployed mid-day — /tools still lists Eleven Actors.
- Restated the discovery gap — owned domain and Search Console close-loop still missing.
What we believed
A clearer brand shell and smoother hero would make the portfolio feel ready to be found.
What reality said
Craft improved how the site feels. It does not invent visitors. September’s honest Lab traffic (~four visitors) still stands. UX polish is not a substitute for indexing and Store findability. Booked Unstaffed revenue for the day stays exactly $0.
What changed
Keep the face of the portfolio honest and usable, then put attention on discovery (domain + Search Console + Store findability) instead of chasing another on-page flourish as if it were traffic.
Explicit non-claims
- No traffic uplift claimed from the hero/nav ship.
- Revenue booked for the day is exactly $0.
- No paying customers.
- No organic ranking or stranger-demand claim from craft work.
- Unstaffed stranger purchases remain $0.