Prototype Surface

Cabinet Mode — low-fidelity drawer navigation.

This prototype tests whether the postcard archive can be navigated like a cabinet of motifs, tensions, eras, and forms instead of a flat browse grid.

The point is retrieval by sequence intent. It should help a reader understand why one card leads to the next before they start wandering.

Home Works Postcards Desert Log

Navigation Hypothesis

Drawer first, drift trail second.

The experiment asks whether sequence logic becomes legible faster when cards are grouped by drawer and connected by explicit drift paths.

  • Drawer: group by motif, tension, era, or form
  • Sequence: show what comes next and why
  • Trail: preserve drift across adjacent concepts

Drawer: Motif · Sequence 1→12

#1 The Exile

Next in drawer · jump to Governance.

#2 Silence Premium

Next in drawer · jump to Constraint.

#3 Trust but Verify

Next in drawer · jump to Sovereignty.

Mini-map: Motif → Governance → Sovereignty (drift trail)

Prototype objective: sequence intent should be understandable in under 10 seconds.