SkinbaseNova/docs/nova-cards-v3-priority-roadmap.md

# Nova Cards v3 Priority Roadmap

Roadmap date: 2026-03-28

Companion document:
- `docs/nova-cards-v3-audit-checklist.md`

Purpose:
- Convert the v3 audit into an execution order
- Focus first on features that compound value on top of the existing Nova Cards v3 foundation
- Avoid spending time on low-leverage polish before the public creator/discovery loop is stronger

Assumptions:
- Current foundation is stable: schema versioning, Studio, presets, AI assist, exports, rising, related cards, public browsing, remix lineage, collections, challenges, and moderation/reporting are already working
- Prioritization favors retention, discovery, and creator identity ahead of deeper niche editor polish

Status legend:
- `P0` Next build target
- `P1` High-value follow-up
- `P2` Important but can wait
- `P3` Long-tail / later platform work

## Prioritization principles

1. Build on shipped behavior, not on spec completeness alone.
2. Prefer features that increase creation, publishing, and rediscovery loops.
3. Prefer public-facing discoverability and creator identity before deep editor complexity.
4. Keep schema-safe, testable increments.
5. Defer expensive operational tooling until the product surface justifies it.

## P0: Public Creator Identity And Discovery Expansion

Why first:
- The editor already has enough capability to create cards.
- The biggest missing product loop is stronger public identity and richer discovery after publishing.
- These features make every existing card and creator more valuable without requiring a full editor rewrite.

Scope:
- Add richer creator card pages beyond a flat list
- Add public metadata surfaces for style family, top tags, and top categories
- Add creator “featured works” support
- Add dedicated public feeds for style family and mood
- Add a “best remixes” or expanded remix-discovery surface

Suggested deliverables:
- Creator profile enhancements on the Nova Cards creator page:
  - featured cards rail
  - creator stats summary
  - top styles / tags / categories summary
  - cards grouped or filterable by style family
- New public routes/pages:
  - `/cards/styles/{style}`
  - `/cards/moods/{mood}` or a tag-backed mood feed if mood remains AI/tag derived
  - `/cards/remix-highlights` or equivalent best-remixes feed
- Presenter/controller additions for creator-facing payloads and public discovery filters
- Feature tests for all new public routes and canonical behavior

Why this is P0 instead of more Studio work:
- It improves the creator growth loop immediately
- It helps discovery quality with existing content
- It avoids prematurely overbuilding advanced editor controls before public demand is better supported

## P1: Advanced Studio Usability Pass

Why second:
- The Studio is already functional and valuable
- The highest-value missing editor work is usability, not unrestricted complexity
- This pass should improve serious creator workflows without turning Nova Cards into a full design app

Scope:
- Reorder text blocks
- Compare current draft against a selected snapshot at a useful summary level
- Add clearer block visibility controls and editing affordances
- Introduce a true quick mode versus advanced mode split in the Studio UI

Suggested deliverables:
- Text block reorder controls using simple move up/down actions first
- Version compare summary UI:
  - changed title/quote/source
  - changed layout/background/style sections
  - changed tags/publish settings
- Quick mode:
  - format
  - background/template
  - main text
  - preset/style
  - preview/publish
- Advanced mode:
  - current full control surface
- Tests for restore and compare API behavior where needed, plus front-end interaction coverage if available in the repo

Explicitly not in this phase:
- freeform drag canvas
- arbitrary layer transforms
- unbounded design-tool behavior

## P1: Editorial And Themed Discovery Surfaces

Why this is also P1:
- Once creator identity is stronger, editorial discovery becomes more valuable
- The spec calls for featured/editorial/seasonal surfaces, but these are not necessary before the base creator/discovery loop is improved

Scope:
- Add editorial landing support for Nova Cards
- Add seasonal or themed Nova Card hubs
- Add admin-facing hooks for featuring creators/cards/collections/challenges more intentionally

Suggested deliverables:
- `cards/editorial` landing page
- `cards/seasonal` landing page
- Staff-configurable featured creator/card slots or score-driven sections
- Reusable presenter format for editorial rails:
  - featured creators
  - challenge highlights
  - collection picks
  - best remixes

## P2: AI Assist And Export Expansion

Why later:
- The current AI assist and export layers already provide useful value
- They do not block core creation or public discovery
- Expanding them before creator/discovery surfaces would be lower leverage

Scope:
- Add higher-level assist actions
- Add export presets and clearer output workflows

Suggested deliverables:
- AI assist actions:
  - suggest story format conversion
  - suggest wallpaper crop/layout
  - suggest palette/style family
  - suggest stronger title/description metadata
- Export enhancements:
  - save default export preference per creator preset or per user
  - explicit watermark policy options if needed by product policy
  - better export status/history presentation in Studio

## P2: Moderation And Abuse Hardening

Why later:
- The current moderation/reporting baseline is already present
- This work matters, but it becomes more urgent as creator/discovery scale increases

Scope:
- stronger duplicate/near-duplicate detection hooks
- remix abuse controls
- moderation intervention for problematic remix branches

Suggested deliverables:
- duplicate-card heuristic service hook on publish
- remix-rate guardrails for suspicious loops
- moderation action to freeze remixing on flagged cards or branches
- additional reporting context on lineage-heavy cards

## P3: Migration Ops And Long-Term Platform Tooling

Why last:
- These are important platform investments, but they are less visible to users right now
- The existing normalization path keeps older content functioning

Scope:
- schema backfill commands/jobs
- rerender tools for migrated cards
- operational utilities for long-term format changes

Suggested deliverables:
- artisan command to backfill `schema_version`
- job/command to rerender a targeted subset of cards
- admin-safe batch tooling with dry-run mode
- audit/reporting output for migration health

## Recommended execution order

1. Creator portfolio depth beyond featured works and featured collections
2. Stronger editorial packaging on top of the existing editorial and seasonal pages
3. AI assist expansion
4. Moderation hardening
5. Migration/backfill/rerender tooling

## Suggested implementation slices

### Slice A: Creator page upgrade
- Add featured cards rail
- Add creator stats summary
- Add style/tag/category summary
- Add tests for creator page payload and rendering

Status:
- Partially implemented

### Slice B: Discovery page upgrade
- Add style-family route and controller action
- Add mood route and controller action or tag-backed mood filter
- Add best-remixes feed
- Add tests for public feeds and filters

Status:
- Materially implemented for current public discovery breadth

### Slice C: Studio usability
- Add quick mode toggle
- Add text block reorder controls
- Add version compare summary
- Add front-end coverage if present in the repo workflow

Status:
- Implemented

### Slice D: Editorial/public packaging
- Add seasonal/editorial landing controllers and views
- Add admin config or featured slots
- Add regression coverage for public rendering

Status:
- Public editorial and seasonal landings are implemented, and staff-facing creator featuring controls now exist; the remaining gap is broader editorial packaging depth

## Do not prioritize yet

- Freeform drag canvas architecture
- Arbitrary layer transforms and rotation system
- Premium monetization logic
- Deep animation tooling
- Heavy AI dependence that weakens deterministic/testable behavior

## Recommended next implementation target

If work starts immediately, the best next build target is:

`P1: Editorial controls and creator curation depth`

Reason:
- The public discovery breadth and Studio usability gaps have already been addressed enough for the next increment.
- The highest remaining leverage is better curation: featured works on creator pages, featured creators/cards/collections/challenges, and stronger staff control over public surfacing.
- This closes the gap between existing public landing pages and the fuller editorial ecosystem described by the spec.

Update:
- `P0 Slice A: Creator page upgrade` is now partially implemented through creator summary stats, top category/tag metadata, and creator highlight cards on the public creator page.
- `P0 Slice B` is now partially implemented through public style-family and palette-family discovery pages.
- Public best-remix discovery is also now implemented.
- Mood discovery is now implemented through durable config-backed tag mappings.
- Editorial and seasonal landing pages are now also implemented.
- `P1 Slice C: Studio usability` is now implemented through quick versus advanced mode, text block reordering, version compare summaries, and the supporting payload/test coverage.
- The next strongest gap is no longer public discovery breadth or the Studio usability pass; it is stronger editorial controls and creator-facing curation depth.