diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
index 69cb700..5c66cc9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
@@ -304,8 +304,10 @@
     color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 64%, var(--ink)); opacity: 0.92;
     text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: -0.01em;
   }
-  /* A snazzy bold, slightly larger initial. */
-  .tile .media.placeholder .ph-word::first-letter { font-weight: 800; font-size: 1.2em; }
+  /* A fancy drop-cap initial: bold, capitalized, and notably larger. */
+  .tile .media.placeholder .ph-word::first-letter {
+    text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 800; font-size: 1.9em;
+  }
   /* A thumb card's banner carries the topic identity, so drop the faint corner
      watermark there to avoid a doubled word. */
   .tile.hasthumb::after { display: none; }