# Quadrant

**Best for:** prioritization (Impact × Effort), positioning (Reach × Frequency), portfolio maps, 2×2 decision frames.

## Layout conventions
- 2×2 grid. Axis lines: 1px ink cross through the center.
- Axis labels at the *ends* of each axis (e.g., `HIGH IMPACT →` on the right, `LOW IMPACT ←` on the left — Geist Mono eyebrow). Never label at the midpoint.
- Items: small labeled dots (`r=4`) positioned in the quadrants. Labels 8–10px away; don't let labels cross axis lines.
- Coral on the "do first" item (typically top-right).
- Limit to ~12 items; cluster or split beyond that.

## Anti-patterns
- Four filled quadrants in different colors — position + label does the work; color noise weakens it.
- Items placed on axis lines (ambiguous quadrant).
- Missing axis names.

## Examples
- `assets/example-quadrant.html` — minimal light
- `assets/example-quadrant-dark.html` — minimal dark
- `assets/example-quadrant-full.html` — full editorial
- `assets/example-quadrant-consultant.html` — consultant special (see below)

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## Consultant special (2×2 scenario matrix)

A **layout variant** of the standard quadrant — same house skin (warm paper, dot pattern, Instrument Serif title, Geist mono eyebrows, coral focal rule). The grammar shifts: axes hold a **range** rather than a measurement; cells hold **named scenarios** rather than positioned items.

**Use when:** you're framing four futures, archetypes, or strategic options across two independent drivers — classic scenario planning, positioning frames, or 2×2 strategy decks (BCG/McKinsey territory). The reader should come away with four named bets, not a point cloud.

**Do not use** for prioritization, density maps, or anything where the *position inside* a cell carries meaning — that's the standard quadrant above.

### What makes it the consultant variant

| Move | Standard quadrant | Consultant special |
|---|---|---|
| Axis arrows | single-ended (→ HIGH EFFORT) | **double-ended** (← LOW ↔ HIGH →) |
| Cell content | small dots with labels | **named scenario + 1–3 line description** |
| Quadrant corner | short tag (e.g. DO FIRST) | **numbered tag + axis combination** (`01 · HIGH / LOW`) |
| Focal accent | coral on one *item* | coral on one *quadrant* — tinted bg + coral stroke + coral corner tag |
| Axes | 1px muted ink | **1.2px ink** (slightly heavier — the axes carry more of the figure) |

Everything else — paper, dot pattern, typography, legend strip, 4px grid, complexity budget — is the house default. Don't invent new colors or fonts for this variant.

### Style tokens (in-house)

- **Paper / bg / pattern**: defaults from `style-guide.md` (`paper`, 22×22 dot pattern at 10% ink).
- **Axis lines**: `ink` (`#2d3142`), `stroke-width: 1.2`, `marker-start` + `marker-end` both pointing outward.
- **Focal quadrant tint**: `rgba(235,108,54,0.04)` full rect behind the focal cell.
- **Focal cell**: `accent-tint` fill, `accent` stroke at 1.2px. Corner tag in `accent`, weight 600.
- **Non-focal cells**: `store` treatment (`ink @ 0.04` fill, `muted @ 0.28` stroke).
- **Cell title**: Geist sans, 16px, weight 600, `ink`.
- **Cell description**: Geist sans, 11px, `muted`, 1–3 lines, left-aligned inside the cell.
- **Corner tag**: Geist Mono, 8px, uppercase, tracked `0.18em`, `muted` (or `accent` on focal).
- **Axis labels**: two-line — `↑ DRIVER NAME` in Geist Mono 9px weight 600 uppercase tracked, `range` sublabel in Geist Mono 9px regular `muted`.

### Layout conventions

- Four cells, equal size (240×160 or 280×180 are good defaults), arranged with a 40–60px gap from the axis cross.
- Axis cross passes *between* the cells, not through them.
- Arrow tips live ~20–40px outside the outermost cell edge; two-line axis labels beyond the tips.
- Exactly one focal cell. Picking none makes it a placeholder template; picking two erases the signal.
- Keep the legend strip + horizontal rule at the bottom — same as the standard quadrant. Legend swatches should show both "headline bet" (coral) and "candidate future" (neutral).

### Anti-patterns (variant-specific)

- Plain white background — the warm paper + dot pattern is load-bearing across the skill; dropping it to "look consultant" turns the diagram generic.
- Sans-serif H1 — keep Instrument Serif for the page title. The title/diagram contrast is the house signature.
- Unnamed cells ("Scenario 1/2/3/4") in a shipped diagram — OK as a blank template; not OK as a finished artifact.
- Coral on more than one cell — same focal rule as everywhere else in the skill.
- 3×3 or 2×3 grids — those are different diagrams, not this variant.
- Positioning dots *inside* the cells — if position matters, use the standard quadrant.