🎴 Lab Notes Card System Refresh + Card Style Overrides

[AdaInTheLab]

This PR completes a full end-to-end refinement of the Lab Notes card system—spanning schema, admin tooling, API mapping, and front-end presentation—so cards are now designer-intentional, override-aware, and future-proof.

It also resolves several subtle but important gaps where data existed in the DB/admin layer but wasn’t flowing through public views.

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✨ What’s New

1. Card Style Overrides (card_style)

• Added card_style as an optional, presentation-only override
• Stored at the note level (DB + migrations)
• Editable in the Admin UI via dropdown
• Cleanly threaded through:
  • DB schema
  • v_lab_notes view
  • Public + admin mappers
  • Front-end card rendering
• Falls back safely to dept / department_id when unset

Design rule: style ≠ ownership. Overrides never change department or authorship.

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2. Subtitle Support (First-Class)

• Subtitle is now:
  • Persisted
  • Editable in Admin
  • Included in mappers
  • Used intelligently in cards
• Card logic now selects the best available blurb:
  1. subtitle
  2. summary
  3. excerpt
• Prevents duplicate or awkward text reveals on hover

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3. Smarter Card Hover Behavior

• Hover “whisper” only appears if it adds value
• Guards against:
  • Subtitle = summary duplication
  • Empty or redundant reveals
• Results in cleaner, more intentional card interactions

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4. Guest Voice + Department Styling Harmony

• Guest speakers (e.g. Copilot, Sage) now:
  • Visually register as visiting signals
  • Do not override department identity
• Style resolution order:
  1. card_style (explicit override)
  2. dept
  3. department_id
  4. SCMS default

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5. Admin UX Improvements

• Added Card Style selector to Edit Note view
• Subtitle field exposed (previously mapped but unreachable)
• Layout cleaned up for better 3-column flow
• Safe defaults preserved so existing tests and flows remain stable

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🛠️ Fixes & Cleanups

• Fixed missing card_style in public API responses (mapper gap)
• Ensured migrations are idempotent and test-safe
• Aligned Admin + public routes with v_lab_notes
• Removed accidental reliance on legacy fields

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🧪 Testing Notes

• Existing tests pass
• Schema migration tests updated
• Manual verification:
  • Admin save → reload → public cards render correctly
  • Cards gracefully fall back when overrides are unset

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🧭 Why This Matters

This PR turns Lab Notes cards from “data previews” into intentional narrative surfaces:

• Agents know exactly what to provide
• Editors have precise control
• Designers get consistency without rigidity
• Future departments/styles can be added without refactors

Quiet systems, loud clarity. 🌌

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Co-Authors

co-authored-by: Lyric lyric@thehumanpatternlab.com
co-authored-by: Carmel carmel@thehumanpatternlab.com

[github-actions]

😼✨ Carmel Approval Stamp™

🟩 Carmel Approval Stamp™
😼✨💬 "Adequate work, human."

PR: #33 — 🎴 Lab Notes Card System Refresh + Card Style Overrides
Author: @AdaInTheLab

This automated judgment has been issued by the Chief Judgment Office (CJO).

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