# Handler: Canvas Creation

## Purpose
Visual standards, typography rules, craftsmanship requirements, and refinement process for creating the actual canvas artifact.

## Visual Standards

- Museum or magazine quality -- this is the bar
- Single page (unless additional pages requested)
- Highly visual, design-forward
- Generally use repeating patterns and perfect shapes
- Treat as "scientific bible" with systematic observation language
- Dense accumulation of marks building meaning through repetition
- Sparse, clinical typography with systematic reference markers
- Limited, intentional color palette
- Everything contained within canvas boundaries with proper margins

## Typography Rules

- Minimal and visual-first -- text is accent, not content
- Most fonts should be thin weight
- All fonts must be design-forward (no Arial, no system defaults)
- Use `./canvas-fonts` directory when available
- Nothing overlaps -- clear separation required between text elements
- Typography CAN be integrated as art itself (text as visual pattern)
- When text appears, it should feel like it belongs to the composition, not sitting on top of it

## Craftsmanship Standard

Work must appear meticulously labored over by someone at the absolute top of their field:
- Composition choices scream expertise
- Spacing is intentional to the pixel
- Color choices have clear rationale
- Nothing is arbitrary -- every element has a reason
- The overall piece feels like a labor of love, not a quick generation

**Ask yourself:** "Would this hang in a gallery? Would a design director approve this for a magazine spread? If not, what specifically needs to change?"

## Refinement Process

When refining (told it's not perfect enough):
1. Do NOT add new graphic elements
2. Refine what already exists
3. Ask: "How can I make what's already here more of a piece of art?"
4. Focus on:
   - Tightening spacing and alignment
   - Adjusting color relationships
   - Improving typography weight and placement
   - Making the composition feel more intentional
   - Reducing noise -- remove anything that doesn't earn its place

## Multi-Page Guidelines

When creating multiple pages:
- All pages follow the SAME design philosophy
- Each page should DISTINCTLY VARY from others
- Bundle in same PDF or deliver as multiple PNGs
- Pages should almost tell a story
- Exercise full creative freedom within the philosophy constraints
- Maintain visual coherence across pages (color, typography, spacing system)

## Output Formats

- **PDF**: Preferred for multi-page artifacts, print-ready materials
- **PNG**: Preferred for single compositions, web use, social media
- **Both**: Deliver both when the use case spans print and digital
