diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
index 5c66cc9..54db20e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/ArticleCard.svelte
@@ -293,21 +293,30 @@
   /* Image-less cards get a calm placeholder banner in the card's topic color
      (--c), so every card in the grid is the same size — uniform, not lacking. */
   .tile .media.placeholder {
-    display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; text-decoration: none;
+    position: relative; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
+    text-decoration: none;
     /* Flat fill in the card's topic color — no gradient. */
-    background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 14%, var(--surface));
+    background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 12%, var(--surface));
+  }
+  /* A soft topic-colored orb + ring rising in the corner — a calm graphic motif
+     behind the word, so the card reads designed rather than plain. */
+  .tile .media.placeholder::before {
+    content: ''; position: absolute; right: -20px; bottom: -24px; width: 92px; height: 92px;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    background: radial-gradient(circle, color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 24%, transparent) 0 62%, transparent 63%);
+  }
+  .tile .media.placeholder::after {
+    content: ''; position: absolute; right: -44px; bottom: -48px; width: 132px; height: 132px;
+    border-radius: 50%; border: 1.5px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 22%, transparent);
   }
   .tile .media.placeholder .ph-word {
+    position: relative; z-index: 1;
     font-family: var(--serif); font-size: 2rem; line-height: 1;
     /* A deep shade of the topic color so the word reads clearly (more hue than
        before, so health vs environment are easy to tell apart). */
     color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 64%, var(--ink)); opacity: 0.92;
     text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: -0.01em;
   }
-  /* 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; }