diff --git a/docs/marketing-visuals.md b/docs/marketing-visuals.md
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+# Marketing visuals — home & about
+
+Plan for adding visuals to the logged-out home page (`web/components/home/home.tsx`) and the about page
+(`web/pages/about.tsx`). Both are currently 100% type + Heroicons; `web/public/images/` holds only logos and
+`default-avatar.png`. Every differentiator ("keyword search any profile", "filter by values", "get notified
+about searches", "democratic") is asserted in prose and never shown.
+
+## Principles
+
+- **Product visuals, not people visuals.** The home subtitle ends "— not just your photos". Stock imagery of
+  smiling couples would contradict the positioning and read as the thing we're arguing against.
+- **Captured, not mocked.** Everything that _can_ be a screenshot of the live app should be, so it can be
+  regenerated when the UI changes instead of rotting. `media-creator/scripts/capture-profile.mjs` already
+  does this for the profile tour reel; the same approach extends to marketing stills.
+- **Never fabricate social proof.** See H3 below.
+- **Poster-first.** The LCP element stays a static image; video is lazy and decorative.
+
+## Prerequisite: showcase seed data (W0)
+
+Screenshots are only as good as the database behind them. The current seed
+(`tests/e2e/utils/seedDatabase.ts` + `tests/e2e/backend/utils/userInformation.ts`) produces:
+
+- `bio` = 200–350 lorem-ipsum words, `headline` = lorem words, `keywords` = lorem words
+- `age` uniform in 18–100
+- `pinned_url` = `/images/default-avatar.png` for _every_ medium/full profile
+- `city` / `country` / `university` / `links` / `photo_urls` / interests / causes / work never set
+
+Unusable for capture. W0 adds a curated set of hand-authored personas alongside the faker ones — real prose,
+coherent field combinations, real photos, real locations, populated interests/causes/work and social links.
+
+**Status: in progress.** See "Showcase profiles" below.
+
+## Home page
+
+### H1 — Hero search demo (highest value)
+
+The page says "Don't Swipe. / Search." and then shows no search. A 10–15s loop — typing `stoicism`, filter
+chips appearing, result cards sliding in — proves the core differentiator at a glance.
+
+- Build as a `SearchDemo` Remotion scene in `media-creator/`, fed by a `capture-search.mjs` companion to the
+  existing `capture-profile.mjs`.
+- Place below the CTA row in `home.tsx`, above the divider, framed in browser chrome.
+- Static poster is the LCP image (`next/image`, `priority`, AVIF); `<video muted autoplay loop playsinline
+preload="none">` swaps in after load. Budget ~2 MB.
+- `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` → poster only, no video element mounted.
+- Needs W0 (search results must show real people).
+
+### H2 — Feature-card micro-screenshots
+
+The three cards (`home.tsx:202-227`) each carry a generic Heroicon. Replace with a cropped ~400px-wide
+fragment of the real UI:
+
+| Card                  | Visual                                      |
+| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
+| Radically Transparent | search results grid, no "recommended" badge |
+| Built for Depth       | filter panel with value/interest chips      |
+| Community Owned       | GitHub contributor graph                    |
+
+Layout unchanged; the icon tile becomes a bordered image. Needs W0.
+
+### H3 — Replace the fabricated avatars
+
+`SocialProof` (`home.tsx:69-74`) renders four gradient circles lettered S/R/T/L next to "700+ **real** people
+worldwide". Fabricated avatars next to the word _real_, on a platform selling radical transparency, is the one
+visual on the page that actively costs trust.
+
+Options, in order of preference:
+
+1. 4–5 actual member photos, with explicit opt-in recorded.
+2. Drop the avatars; keep the count.
+
+Do **not** substitute showcase-seed photos here — the copy claims these are real members.
+
+## About page
+
+This page is a reference doc, not a pitch; it needs evidence, not a hero.
+
+### A1 — Proof for "Democratic"
+
+`about.tsx:235-252` links to `/vote` and `/constitution` in text. A small real screenshot of an actual vote
+tally turns the assertion into evidence.
+
+### A2 — Proof for "Community Owned / no VC"
+
+The one place a genuine human photo belongs, because it evidences the governance claim rather than selling a
+lifestyle: contributor photos, a Discord screenshot, or the GitHub contributor wall.
+
+### A3 — Growth chart (optional)
+
+A simple line of the member count over time near the `ShareStrip`. `web/public/md/financials.md` already
+establishes the transparency framing.
+
+## Cross-cutting constraints
+
+- **Dark mode doubles the assets.** The site is fully tokenised (`bg-canvas-*`, `text-ink-*`); a light-mode
+  screenshot on a dark page looks broken. Capture scripts shoot both themes; serve via `<picture>` +
+  `prefers-color-scheme`. This is real ongoing maintenance — accept it deliberately.
+- **i18n.** Text baked into a screenshot does not translate. Keep visible copy inside captures minimal, or
+  accept English-only visuals.
+- **Privacy.** Nothing captured from the shared dev DB may contain real member data. Capture only against
+  showcase-seed profiles (W0), which are fictional by construction.
+- **Photo licensing.** Showcase portraits must be licensed for this use — AI-generated, CC0, or explicitly
+  consented. Never scraped.
+
+## Work order
+
+| ID  | Item                           | Blocked by | Who        |
+| --- | ------------------------------ | ---------- | ---------- |
+| W0  | Showcase seed profiles         | —          | Claude ✅  |
+| W0b | Showcase portrait photos       | —          | Claude ✅  |
+| W0c | Run the seed                   | W0, W0b    | **Martin** |
+| H1  | Hero search demo               | W0c        | Claude     |
+| H2  | Feature-card micro-screenshots | W0c        | Claude     |
+| H3  | Real member avatars            | opt-in     | **Martin** |
+| A1  | Vote-tally screenshot          | —          | Claude     |
+| A2  | Community photo                | —          | **Martin** |
+| A3  | Growth chart                   | —          | Claude     |
+
+---
+
+## Showcase profiles (W0)
+
+Ten hand-authored personas seeded next to the faker profiles, designed so that any screenshot of search,
+filters, or a profile page looks like a real product with real people in it.
+
+### Design
+
+- Data lives in `tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts` — plain data, no faker.
+- Seeded by `seedShowcaseUsers()` in `tests/e2e/utils/seed-showcase.ts`, called from `seed-test-data.ts`
+  under `SHOWCASE=1` (which seeds the personas _instead of_ the faker profiles).
+- **No Firebase auth accounts.** `seedUser()` creates them because e2e tests sign in as those users; nobody
+  signs in as a showcase persona. `SPEC_CONFIG` hardcodes the Firebase emulator at `localhost:9099`, so
+  requiring auth would make this fail with ECONNREFUSED whenever it runs against the remote dev DB without
+  the local stack up. User ids are instead derived deterministically from the slug
+  (`showcase<sha256(slug)[:20]>`, 28 chars like a real uid).
+- Usernames are the persona slug, so capture scripts can hard-code profile URLs
+  (`/mayaokonkwo`, `/rafaelmendes`, …). Re-seeding is idempotent: ids are stable and the insert
+  short-circuits if that user already exists.
+- Personas cover the filter surface deliberately: a spread of ages (24–61), genders, orientations,
+  relationship intents (collaboration / friendship / relationship), countries, religions, politics, and MBTI —
+  so a screenshot of the filter panel has something to match on whatever facet is demoed.
+- Bios are 3-paragraph tiptap docs in a real human register, each seeded with the niche keywords the marketing
+  copy promises ("stoicism", "sustainable living", "neuroscience", "hiking", "meditation").
+- Interests / causes / work rows are upserted into the lookup tables by name, then linked.
+
+### Photos (W0b — done)
+
+29 portraits in `web/public/images/showcase/`, named `<slug>-1.jpg` … `<slug>-N.jpg` where `N` is the
+persona's `photoCount`. `-1` becomes `pinned_url` and the **rest** become `photo_urls` — the two are
+disjoint, because `ProfileCarousel` renders `buildArray(pinned_url, photo_urls)` without deduping and a
+shared entry would show twice. Missing files degrade gracefully — the seed falls back to
+`default-avatar.png` and warns.
+
+Generated by `scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts` against the Gemini image API
+(`gemini-3-pro-image`, `GEMINI_API_KEY` from the repo-root `.env`):
+
+```bash
+npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts             # fill in anything missing
+npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --only priyaraman --force
+npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --dry-run   # print prompts, call nothing
+```
+
+- **Licensing**: fully synthetic. No real person to consent, no license to track, nothing scraped. This is
+  the only sourcing route that is unambiguously safe for fictional profiles — a CC0 portrait of a real
+  person attached to an invented biography is a different and worse problem.
+- **Output**: 896×1200 JPEG, re-compressed at q82 to 100–250 KB each (4.4 MB total).
+- **Identity consistency** is the hard part. Shot 1 is generated from text; shots 2..N pass shot 1 back as a
+  reference image with an explicit "same person" instruction. Text alone drifts — identical descriptions
+  produce different faces.
+- **Prompt lessons**, encoded in the script as constants:
+  - The "candid / shot on film" register drags in a white film border and an orange date stamp. `STYLE`
+    rules them out by name.
+  - Left alone the model backs the camera off and the subject becomes a small figure in a room. `FRAMING`
+    forces a waist-up medium shot for shot 1, which is the avatar.
+  - Sun-weathered cues ("tanned", "sun-bleached", "freckles") age a subject up ~10 years. The 24-year-old
+    persona needed her youth asserted explicitly to stop reading as mid-thirties.
+
+> **Deploy weight**: these live under `web/public`, so they ship with the Vercel build (4.4 MB) and are
+> publicly reachable at `/images/showcase/*.jpg` even though no production page references them. That's the
+> price of the dev server serving them same-origin for captures. If it becomes a problem, gitignore the
+> directory and regenerate locally — the script is the source of truth, not the files.
+
+### Running it
+
+Scripts that mutate backend state are run by the human:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/dev_db_seed.sh          # remote dev DB
+./scripts/seed.sh                 # local supabase stack
+```
diff --git a/scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts b/scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..34f666f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,297 @@
+/**
+ * Generates the showcase-persona portraits with the Gemini image API.
+ *
+ * The personas in `tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts` are fictional, so their photos have to be too:
+ * no real person to consent, no license to track, nothing scraped. See `docs/marketing-visuals.md` (W0b).
+ *
+ * Identity consistency across a persona's photos comes from generating shot 1 from text, then passing that
+ * image back as a reference for shots 2..N. Text alone drifts — same description, different face.
+ *
+ * Usage (needs GEMINI_API_KEY in the repo-root .env):
+ *
+ *   npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts                # all missing portraits
+ *   npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --only priyaraman
+ *   npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --force        # regenerate existing
+ *   npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --dry-run      # print prompts, call nothing
+ */
+
+import {execFileSync} from 'child_process'
+import {existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync} from 'fs'
+import {join} from 'path'
+
+import {SHOWCASE_PROFILES, ShowcaseProfile} from '../tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles'
+
+const REPO_ROOT = join(__dirname, '..')
+const OUT_DIR = join(REPO_ROOT, 'web/public/images/showcase')
+const MODEL = 'gemini-3-pro-image'
+const API = `https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/${MODEL}:generateContent`
+
+/** Target size after re-compression. Raw API output is ~700 KB. */
+const JPEG_QUALITY = 82
+
+/**
+ * Shared photographic direction. The negatives matter more than the positives here — without them the
+ * model reliably produces glossy stock-photo faces, which is precisely the register this product is
+ * positioned against.
+ */
+const STYLE =
+  'Candid documentary-style photograph, natural available light, shot on a 50mm lens, shallow depth of ' +
+  'field, realistic skin texture with visible pores and blemishes, unretouched. Not a stock photo, not a ' +
+  'studio portrait, no artificial lighting, no perfect teeth, no posed corporate smile. Slightly imperfect ' +
+  'framing, as if taken by a friend. ' +
+  // The "candid / shot on film" register reliably drags in a white film border and an orange date stamp,
+  // which look broken inside a profile card. Rule them out explicitly.
+  'Full-bleed digital photograph filling the entire frame: no white border, no film frame, no Polaroid ' +
+  'edge, no date stamp, no timestamp, no watermark, no text or lettering anywhere in the image.'
+
+interface PortraitSpec {
+  /** Stable physical description — repeated in every shot so the reference has something to lock onto. */
+  appearance: string
+  /** One scene per photo. Length must equal the persona's `photoCount`. */
+  scenes: string[]
+}
+
+const PORTRAITS: Record<string, PortraitSpec> = {
+  mayaokonkwo: {
+    appearance:
+      '31-year-old Nigerian-British woman, medium-dark skin, long box braids often tied back, ' +
+      'tortoiseshell glasses pushed up on her head, warm and slightly amused expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'sitting in a cluttered university office in Edinburgh, whiteboard covered in diagrams behind her, holding a mug, looking off camera',
+      'on a windy Scottish hillside in a waterproof jacket, mid-hike, hair pulled back, laughing at something out of frame',
+      'in a small kitchen cooking, steam rising from a pot, sleeves pushed up, concentrating on the pan',
+    ],
+  },
+  tomasleclerc: {
+    appearance:
+      '38-year-old French man, light skin, short dark hair going grey at the temples, close-cropped beard, ' +
+      'lean build, forearms marked from manual work, quiet serious face',
+    scenes: [
+      'in a woodworking workshop surrounded by oak offcuts and hand tools, sawdust in the air, wearing a worn canvas apron',
+      'planing a board at a workbench, hands in focus, face partly turned away',
+      'outdoors stacking split firewood beside a stone house, autumn light, breath visible',
+      'sitting on the workshop step drinking coffee, dog at his feet, looking tired and content',
+    ],
+  },
+  priyaraman: {
+    appearance:
+      '26-year-old South Indian woman, brown skin, thick shoulder-length black hair usually loose, ' +
+      'small nose stud, animated open expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'in front of a wall of climate model output on monitors, gesturing mid-explanation to someone off camera',
+      'sitting cross-legged on a mat by a window in early morning light, eyes closed, meditating',
+      'crouched in a small allotment garden in Bangalore, hands in the soil, grinning up at the camera',
+    ],
+  },
+  davidhirsch: {
+    appearance:
+      '61-year-old white American man, full head of grey hair, wire-rimmed glasses, deep laugh lines, ' +
+      'tall and slightly stooped, kind attentive face',
+    scenes: [
+      // The choir shot came out with singers crowding the foreground and his face half-hidden — fine as a
+      // second photo, wrong for the avatar. The trail shot leads instead.
+      'walking a wooded trail in Portland in a rain jacket, morning mist, pausing to look back at the camera',
+      'conducting a community choir in a church hall, arms raised mid-beat, singers blurred in the foreground',
+    ],
+  },
+  aminahaddad: {
+    appearance:
+      '34-year-old Lebanese woman, olive skin, dark hair in a practical low ponytail, strong runner’s build, ' +
+      'direct confident gaze',
+    scenes: [
+      'on a construction site in a hard hat and hi-vis vest, holding rolled drawings, Beirut skyline behind her',
+      'mid-run on a coastal road at dawn, sweat visible, focused expression',
+      'sitting on a balcony in the evening with a book about Ottoman history, city lights behind',
+    ],
+  },
+  joonpark: {
+    appearance:
+      '29-year-old Korean non-binary person, light skin, bleached-blond undercut, several ear piercings, ' +
+      'oversized clothes, wry playful expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'at a messy desk in a Berlin game studio, three monitors of spreadsheets and game builds, mid-thought',
+      'foraging in a damp beech forest, holding up a mushroom to the light, basket in the other hand',
+      'hosting a dinner party, leaning over a crowded table serving food, guests blurred and laughing',
+      'sitting on a windowsill in a Berlin flat at night, city outside, holding a controller',
+    ],
+  },
+  sofiacosta: {
+    appearance:
+      // Sun-weathered outdoor cues ("tanned", "sun-bleached", "freckles") reliably age this one up a
+      // decade, so the youth has to be asserted harder than for the other personas.
+      'young woman of 24, clearly in her early twenties with a smooth youthful face and no lines, ' +
+      'Brazilian, lightly tanned skin, sun-bleached curly brown hair, freckles across the nose, ' +
+      'wiry athletic build, open enthusiastic student-aged face',
+    scenes: [
+      'on a research boat in a wetsuit, clipboard in hand, salt-wet hair, squinting into the sun',
+      'underwater free diving above a seagrass meadow, no mask fogging, calm and weightless',
+      'at a climbing gym chalking her hands, mid-conversation, gear scattered around',
+    ],
+  },
+  marcusadeyemi: {
+    appearance:
+      '45-year-old Black British man, dark skin, shaved head, greying stubble beard, heavy-framed glasses, ' +
+      'broad build, calm watchful expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'in a dim film edit suite lit by monitors, timeline visible, headphones around his neck',
+      'in a home kitchen in Toronto cooking for a crowd, large pot, several dishes underway, sleeves rolled',
+    ],
+  },
+  ellenostrom: {
+    appearance:
+      '52-year-old Swedish woman, weathered fair skin, short greying blonde hair, no makeup, ' +
+      'strong outdoor build, dry amused expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'in nurse scrubs in a small rural clinic, leaning on a doorframe, northern winter light through the window',
+      'cross-country skiing through birch forest in deep snow, poles planted, grinning',
+      'sitting on a wooden jetty in a towel after a cold-water swim, steam rising off her shoulders',
+    ],
+  },
+  rafaelmendes: {
+    appearance:
+      '36-year-old Brazilian man, light brown skin, dark curly hair getting long, patchy beard, ' +
+      'thin build, slightly rumpled, thoughtful reserved expression',
+    scenes: [
+      'at a home desk in São Paulo late at night, terminal windows on screen, one lamp, mug of coffee',
+      'reading in a park on a bench, book propped on one knee, city noise implied, sunlight through leaves',
+    ],
+  },
+}
+
+// ─── API ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function loadApiKey() {
+  const env = readFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, '.env'), 'utf8')
+  const key = env.match(/^GEMINI_API_KEY=(.+)$/m)?.[1]?.trim()
+  if (!key) throw new Error('GEMINI_API_KEY not found in .env')
+  return key
+}
+
+/** Returns raw JPEG bytes. `reference` locks the face for shots after the first. */
+async function generateImage(apiKey: string, prompt: string, reference?: Buffer) {
+  const parts: object[] = []
+  if (reference) {
+    parts.push({inlineData: {mimeType: 'image/jpeg', data: reference.toString('base64')}})
+  }
+  parts.push({text: prompt})
+
+  const res = await fetch(`${API}?key=${apiKey}`, {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
+    body: JSON.stringify({
+      contents: [{parts}],
+      generationConfig: {imageConfig: {aspectRatio: '3:4'}},
+    }),
+  })
+
+  const body = await res.json()
+  if (body.error) throw new Error(`${body.error.status}: ${body.error.message}`)
+
+  const candidate = body.candidates?.[0]
+  const imagePart = candidate?.content?.parts?.find((p: any) => p.inlineData)
+  if (!imagePart) {
+    const text = candidate?.content?.parts?.find((p: any) => p.text)?.text
+    throw new Error(`no image returned (finishReason=${candidate?.finishReason}) ${text ?? ''}`)
+  }
+  return Buffer.from(imagePart.inlineData.data, 'base64')
+}
+
+/** Re-encode to keep the repo light — raw output is ~700 KB per shot, 29 shots. */
+function compress(path: string) {
+  execFileSync('convert', [path, '-strip', '-quality', String(JPEG_QUALITY), path])
+}
+
+// ─── Prompt assembly ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Shot 1 becomes `pinned_url` — the avatar and the card thumbnail — so it needs the face big in frame.
+ * Left to itself the model backs the camera off and the subject reads as a small figure in a room.
+ */
+const FRAMING =
+  'Waist-up medium shot. The person is unmistakably the subject and their face is large and clearly visible, sharply in focus.'
+
+function firstShotPrompt(profile: ShowcaseProfile, spec: PortraitSpec, scene: string) {
+  return [
+    `Photograph of a ${spec.appearance}.`,
+    `She/he/they work as a ${profile.occupation_title} and live in ${profile.city}, ${profile.country}.`,
+    `Scene: ${scene}.`,
+    FRAMING,
+    `They look their stated age of ${profile.age}, not older.`,
+    STYLE,
+  ].join(' ')
+}
+
+function followUpPrompt(spec: PortraitSpec, scene: string) {
+  return [
+    'Generate a new photograph of the exact same person shown in the reference image —',
+    'same face, same bone structure, same hair, same age. Keep the identity strictly consistent.',
+    `The person is a ${spec.appearance}.`,
+    `New scene, different day, different clothes: ${scene}.`,
+    'The person remains the clear subject of the frame, face visible and in focus.',
+    STYLE,
+  ].join(' ')
+}
+
+// ─── Main ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+async function main() {
+  const args = process.argv.slice(2)
+  const dryRun = args.includes('--dry-run')
+  const force = args.includes('--force')
+  const only = args[args.indexOf('--only') + 1]
+  const targets = args.includes('--only')
+    ? SHOWCASE_PROFILES.filter((p) => p.slug === only)
+    : SHOWCASE_PROFILES
+
+  if (targets.length === 0) throw new Error(`no persona matching --only ${only}`)
+
+  const apiKey = dryRun ? '' : loadApiKey()
+  mkdirSync(OUT_DIR, {recursive: true})
+
+  for (const profile of targets) {
+    const spec = PORTRAITS[profile.slug]
+    if (!spec) throw new Error(`no portrait spec for ${profile.slug}`)
+    if (spec.scenes.length !== profile.photoCount) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `${profile.slug}: ${spec.scenes.length} scenes but photoCount is ${profile.photoCount}`,
+      )
+    }
+
+    // The first shot defines the face; later shots reference it, so it must exist before they run.
+    let reference: Buffer | undefined
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < spec.scenes.length; i++) {
+      const path = join(OUT_DIR, `${profile.slug}-${i + 1}.jpg`)
+      const scene = spec.scenes[i]
+      const prompt = i === 0 ? firstShotPrompt(profile, spec, scene) : followUpPrompt(spec, scene)
+
+      if (dryRun) {
+        console.log(`\n── ${profile.slug}-${i + 1}\n${prompt}`)
+        continue
+      }
+
+      if (existsSync(path) && !force) {
+        console.log(`skip  ${profile.slug}-${i + 1} (exists)`)
+        if (i === 0) reference = readFileSync(path)
+        continue
+      }
+
+      try {
+        const image = await generateImage(apiKey, prompt, i === 0 ? undefined : reference)
+        writeFileSync(path, image)
+        compress(path)
+        if (i === 0) reference = readFileSync(path)
+        console.log(`write ${profile.slug}-${i + 1}`)
+      } catch (err: any) {
+        console.error(`FAIL  ${profile.slug}-${i + 1}: ${err.message}`)
+        // A failed first shot leaves nothing to reference, so the rest of this persona is pointless.
+        if (i === 0) break
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+main().catch((err) => {
+  console.error(err.message)
+  process.exit(1)
+})
diff --git a/tests/e2e/utils/seed-showcase.ts b/tests/e2e/utils/seed-showcase.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8a1230e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/utils/seed-showcase.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+import {debug} from 'common/logger'
+import {PrivateUser} from 'common/user'
+import {getDefaultNotificationPreferences} from 'common/user-notification-preferences'
+import {randomString} from 'common/util/random'
+import {createHash} from 'crypto'
+import {existsSync} from 'fs'
+import {join} from 'path'
+import {createSupabaseDirectClient, SupabaseDirectClient} from 'shared/supabase/init'
+import {insert} from 'shared/supabase/utils'
+import {getUser} from 'shared/utils'
+
+import {SHOWCASE_PROFILES, ShowcaseProfile} from './showcase-profiles'
+
+/**
+ * Seeds the hand-authored showcase personas (see `showcase-profiles.ts`).
+ *
+ * Separate from `seedDbUser()` because the goals differ: that path randomises everything so e2e tests get
+ * varied input, this one keeps every field exactly as written so marketing captures are reproducible.
+ *
+ * Deliberately does NOT create Firebase auth accounts. `seedUser()` does, because e2e tests sign in as
+ * those users; nobody ever signs in as a showcase persona — they exist to be looked at. Skipping Firebase
+ * means this runs against the remote dev DB without the emulator (SPEC_CONFIG hardcodes localhost:9099,
+ * so with no emulator every sign-up fails with ECONNREFUSED).
+ *
+ * Idempotent — ids are derived from the slug, and re-running skips personas that already exist.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Deterministic stand-in for a Firebase uid: 28 chars, same shape as the real thing, stable across runs
+ * so re-seeding updates nothing and capture scripts can rely on the id.
+ */
+function showcaseUserId(slug: string) {
+  return 'showcase' + createHash('sha256').update(slug).digest('hex').slice(0, 20)
+}
+
+/** Portraits live in the web app's public dir so dev captures can load them same-origin. */
+const PHOTO_PUBLIC_DIR = join(__dirname, '../../../web/public/images/showcase')
+const PHOTO_URL_PREFIX = '/images/showcase'
+const DEFAULT_AVATAR = '/images/default-avatar.png'
+
+/**
+ * Resolves `<slug>-1.jpg` … `<slug>-N.jpg`, keeping only files that actually exist.
+ * Missing portraits are not fatal: the profile still seeds, it just wears the default avatar.
+ *
+ * `pinned_url` and `photo_urls` are disjoint: the pinned photo must NOT also appear in `photo_urls`.
+ * `ProfileCarousel` renders `buildArray(pinned_url, photo_urls)` without deduping, so a shared entry
+ * shows up twice. (The photo editor wraps the same call in `uniq`, which masks it while editing.)
+ */
+function resolvePhotos(profile: ShowcaseProfile) {
+  const urls: string[] = []
+  for (let i = 1; i <= profile.photoCount; i++) {
+    const file = `${profile.slug}-${i}.jpg`
+    if (existsSync(join(PHOTO_PUBLIC_DIR, file))) urls.push(`${PHOTO_URL_PREFIX}/${file}`)
+  }
+  if (urls.length === 0) {
+    console.warn(
+      `[showcase] no portraits found for ${profile.slug} in web/public/images/showcase — ` +
+        `falling back to the default avatar. See docs/marketing-visuals.md (W0b).`,
+    )
+    return {photo_urls: [], pinned_url: DEFAULT_AVATAR}
+  }
+  return {pinned_url: urls[0], photo_urls: urls.slice(1)}
+}
+
+/** Bios are stored as a tiptap doc; one paragraph node per entry. */
+function toBioDoc(paragraphs: string[]) {
+  return {
+    type: 'doc',
+    content: paragraphs.map((text) => ({
+      type: 'paragraph',
+      content: [{type: 'text', text}],
+    })),
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * `interests` / `causes` / `work` are user-extensible lookup tables keyed by a unique name.
+ * Upsert by name and hand back the id, so re-seeding never duplicates an option.
+ */
+async function upsertOptionIds(
+  tx: SupabaseDirectClient,
+  table: 'interests' | 'causes' | 'work',
+  names: string[],
+) {
+  const ids: number[] = []
+  for (const name of names) {
+    const row = await tx.one<{id: number}>(
+      `insert into ${table} (name) values ($1)
+       on conflict (name) do update set name = excluded.name
+       returning id`,
+      [name],
+    )
+    ids.push(row.id)
+  }
+  return ids
+}
+
+async function linkOptions(
+  tx: SupabaseDirectClient,
+  table: 'profile_interests' | 'profile_causes' | 'profile_work',
+  profileId: number,
+  optionIds: number[],
+) {
+  for (const optionId of optionIds) {
+    await insert(tx, table, {profile_id: profileId, option_id: optionId})
+  }
+}
+
+async function seedShowcaseProfile(profile: ShowcaseProfile, userId: string) {
+  const pg = createSupabaseDirectClient()
+  const {photo_urls, pinned_url} = resolvePhotos(profile)
+  const bio = toBioDoc(profile.bio)
+  const bioText = profile.bio.join('\n\n')
+
+  const privateUser: PrivateUser = {
+    id: userId,
+    email: profile.email,
+    initialIpAddress: '127.0.0.1',
+    initialDeviceToken: randomString(),
+    notificationPreferences: getDefaultNotificationPreferences(),
+    blockedUserIds: [],
+    blockedByUserIds: [],
+  }
+
+  return pg.tx(async (tx: any) => {
+    if (await getUser(userId, tx)) return false
+
+    await insert(tx, 'users', {
+      id: userId,
+      name: profile.name,
+      username: profile.slug,
+      data: {},
+    })
+
+    await insert(tx, 'private_users', {id: userId, data: privateUser})
+
+    const inserted = await insert(tx, 'profiles', {
+      user_id: userId,
+      age: profile.age,
+      gender: profile.gender,
+      orientation: profile.orientation,
+      headline: profile.headline,
+      bio,
+      bio_length: bioText.length,
+      keywords: profile.keywords,
+      city: profile.city,
+      region_code: profile.region_code,
+      country: profile.country,
+      city_latitude: profile.city_latitude,
+      city_longitude: profile.city_longitude,
+      born_in_location: profile.born_in_location,
+      occupation_title: profile.occupation_title,
+      company: profile.company,
+      university: profile.university,
+      education_level: profile.education_level,
+      languages: profile.languages,
+      ethnicity: profile.ethnicity,
+      height_in_inches: profile.height_in_inches,
+      religion: profile.religion,
+      political_beliefs: profile.political_beliefs,
+      diet: profile.diet,
+      mbti: profile.mbti,
+      big5_openness: profile.big5.openness,
+      big5_conscientiousness: profile.big5.conscientiousness,
+      big5_extraversion: profile.big5.extraversion,
+      big5_agreeableness: profile.big5.agreeableness,
+      big5_neuroticism: profile.big5.neuroticism,
+      relationship_status: profile.relationship_status,
+      pref_relation_styles: profile.pref_relation_styles,
+      pref_romantic_styles: profile.pref_romantic_styles,
+      pref_gender: profile.pref_gender,
+      pref_age_min: profile.pref_age_min,
+      pref_age_max: profile.pref_age_max,
+      has_kids: profile.has_kids,
+      wants_kids_strength: profile.wants_kids_strength,
+      is_smoker: profile.is_smoker,
+      drinks_per_month: profile.drinks_per_month,
+      photo_urls,
+      pinned_url,
+      links: profile.links,
+      // Public so captures can run against a logged-out browser.
+      visibility: 'public',
+    })
+
+    const profileId = inserted.id
+    await linkOptions(
+      tx,
+      'profile_interests',
+      profileId,
+      await upsertOptionIds(tx, 'interests', profile.interests),
+    )
+    await linkOptions(
+      tx,
+      'profile_causes',
+      profileId,
+      await upsertOptionIds(tx, 'causes', profile.causes),
+    )
+    await linkOptions(
+      tx,
+      'profile_work',
+      profileId,
+      await upsertOptionIds(tx, 'work', profile.work),
+    )
+
+    return true
+  })
+}
+
+/** Seeds every showcase persona. Returns how many were newly created. */
+export async function seedShowcaseUsers() {
+  let created = 0
+  for (const profile of SHOWCASE_PROFILES) {
+    if (await seedShowcaseProfile(profile, showcaseUserId(profile.slug))) {
+      created++
+      debug('Showcase profile created:', profile.slug)
+    }
+  }
+  console.log(`[showcase] ${created}/${SHOWCASE_PROFILES.length} personas created`)
+  return created
+}
diff --git a/tests/e2e/utils/seed-test-data.ts b/tests/e2e/utils/seed-test-data.ts
index b24dc630..68f3c945 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/utils/seed-test-data.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/utils/seed-test-data.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {createSomeNotifications} from 'shared/create-notification'
 import {createSupabaseDirectClient} from 'shared/supabase/init'
 import {insert} from 'shared/supabase/utils'
 
+import {seedShowcaseUsers} from './seed-showcase'
 import {
   seedUser,
   TEST_USER_DISPLAY_NAME,
@@ -52,27 +53,33 @@ async function seedNotifications() {
 
 type ProfileType = 'basic' | 'medium' | 'full'
 ;(async () => {
-  //Edit the count seedConfig to specify the amount of each profiles to create
-  const seedConfig = [
-    {count: 8, profileType: 'basic' as ProfileType},
-    {count: 8, profileType: 'medium' as ProfileType},
-    {count: 8, profileType: 'full' as ProfileType},
-  ]
+  if (process.env.SHOWCASE === '1') {
+    // Hand-authored personas with real prose and portraits, for marketing captures.
+    // Needs no Firebase emulator, so it works against the remote dev DB on its own.
+    await seedShowcaseUsers()
+  } else {
+    //Edit the count seedConfig to specify the amount of each profiles to create
+    const seedConfig = [
+      {count: 8, profileType: 'basic' as ProfileType},
+      {count: 8, profileType: 'medium' as ProfileType},
+      {count: 8, profileType: 'full' as ProfileType},
+    ]
 
-  for (const {count, profileType} of seedConfig) {
-    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
-      await seedUser(undefined, undefined, profileType)
+    for (const {count, profileType} of seedConfig) {
+      for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+        await seedUser(undefined, undefined, profileType)
+      }
     }
-  }
 
-  // Used in some tests that require interaction with a permanent user
-  await seedUser(
-    TEST_USER_EMAIL,
-    TEST_USER_PASSWORD,
-    'full',
-    TEST_USER_DISPLAY_NAME,
-    TEST_USER_USERNAME,
-  )
+    // Used in some tests that require interaction with a permanent user
+    await seedUser(
+      TEST_USER_EMAIL,
+      TEST_USER_PASSWORD,
+      'full',
+      TEST_USER_DISPLAY_NAME,
+      TEST_USER_USERNAME,
+    )
+  }
 
   await seedCompatibilityPrompts()
   await seedNotifications()
diff --git a/tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts b/tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d48db26e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,631 @@
+/**
+ * Hand-authored "showcase" profiles.
+ *
+ * The faker-generated profiles (`UserAccountInformationForSeeding`) are fine for e2e assertions but useless
+ * on camera: lorem-ipsum bios, lorem headlines, ages uniform over 18–100, and the same `default-avatar.png`
+ * on every profile. Marketing captures (see `docs/marketing-visuals.md`) need a database that looks like a
+ * real product with real people in it.
+ *
+ * These ten personas are fictional by construction, so nothing captured from them can leak member data.
+ * They deliberately spread across the filter surface — age, gender, orientation, connection intent, country,
+ * religion, politics, MBTI — so that whatever facet a screenshot demonstrates, there is something to match.
+ *
+ * Bios embed the niche keywords the marketing copy promises ("stoicism", "sustainable living",
+ * "neuroscience", "hiking", "meditation") so keyword-search demos return sensible results.
+ *
+ * Photos are NOT in this repo by default — see `docs/marketing-visuals.md` (W0b) for the naming convention
+ * and licensing rules. Missing files degrade to the default avatar with a warning.
+ */
+
+export interface ShowcaseProfile {
+  /** Stable slug — drives the user id, username, and photo filenames. Lowercase, no spaces. */
+  slug: string
+  name: string
+  email: string
+  age: number
+  gender: string
+  orientation: string[]
+  headline: string
+  /** Paragraphs of the bio, in order. */
+  bio: string[]
+  keywords: string[]
+  city: string
+  region_code: string | null
+  country: string
+  city_latitude: number
+  city_longitude: number
+  born_in_location: string
+  occupation_title: string
+  company: string | null
+  university: string | null
+  education_level: string
+  languages: string[]
+  ethnicity: string[]
+  height_in_inches: number
+  religion: string[]
+  political_beliefs: string[]
+  diet: string[]
+  mbti: string
+  big5: {
+    openness: number
+    conscientiousness: number
+    extraversion: number
+    agreeableness: number
+    neuroticism: number
+  }
+  relationship_status: string[]
+  pref_relation_styles: string[]
+  pref_romantic_styles: string[]
+  pref_gender: string[]
+  pref_age_min: number
+  pref_age_max: number
+  has_kids: number
+  wants_kids_strength: number
+  is_smoker: boolean
+  drinks_per_month: number
+  /** Names upserted into the `interests` lookup table, then linked via `profile_interests`. */
+  interests: string[]
+  /** Names upserted into `causes` → `profile_causes`. */
+  causes: string[]
+  /** Names upserted into `work` → `profile_work`. */
+  work: string[]
+  /** Keys must be values of `SITE_ORDER` in `common/socials.ts`. */
+  links: Record<string, string>
+  /** How many portraits to expect at `/images/showcase/<slug>-<n>.jpg`. */
+  photoCount: number
+}
+
+export const SHOWCASE_PROFILES: ShowcaseProfile[] = [
+  {
+    slug: 'mayaokonkwo',
+    name: 'Maya Okonkwo',
+    email: 'maya.okonkwo@compass.showcase',
+    age: 31,
+    gender: 'female',
+    orientation: ['bisexual'],
+    headline: 'Cognitive scientist who reads too much Stoicism and hikes to think',
+    bio: [
+      'I spend my working hours on the neuroscience of attention — specifically what happens in the first 200 milliseconds after something grabs you. It has made me insufferable at parties and unexpectedly patient in traffic.',
+      'Outside the lab I read a lot of Stoicism, mostly Epictetus, mostly badly. I have a standing Sunday hiking habit that started as a way to think through problems and turned into the part of the week I protect hardest. I cook Nigerian food from my mother’s recipes and I am still not as good at it as she is.',
+      'I am looking for people who argue in good faith and change their minds out loud. Friendship or something more — I am genuinely open on that, and I would rather find out slowly.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['neuroscience', 'stoicism', 'hiking', 'cooking'],
+    city: 'Edinburgh',
+    region_code: 'SCT',
+    country: 'United Kingdom',
+    city_latitude: 55.9533,
+    city_longitude: -3.1883,
+    born_in_location: 'Nigeria',
+    occupation_title: 'Cognitive Neuroscientist',
+    company: 'University of Edinburgh',
+    university: 'University College London',
+    education_level: 'doctorate',
+    languages: ['english', 'igbo', 'french'],
+    ethnicity: ['african'],
+    height_in_inches: 67,
+    religion: ['agnostic'],
+    political_beliefs: ['progressive'],
+    diet: ['pescetarian'],
+    mbti: 'intj',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 91,
+      conscientiousness: 78,
+      extraversion: 42,
+      agreeableness: 66,
+      neuroticism: 31,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['friendship', 'relationship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'male', 'non-binary'],
+    pref_age_min: 27,
+    pref_age_max: 42,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 2,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 6,
+    interests: ['Neuroscience', 'Stoicism', 'Hiking', 'Cooking', 'Philosophy'],
+    causes: ['Open science', 'Mental health'],
+    work: ['Research', 'Academia'],
+    links: {site: 'mayaokonkwo.science', github: 'mokonkwo', substack: 'twohundredms'},
+    photoCount: 3,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'tomasleclerc',
+    name: 'Tomás Leclerc',
+    email: 'tomas.leclerc@compass.showcase',
+    age: 38,
+    gender: 'male',
+    orientation: ['straight'],
+    headline: 'Carpenter, slow-living convert, looking for people who build things',
+    bio: [
+      'I left a decade of software consulting to make furniture. Best decision I have made, financially the worst. I build mostly in oak and mostly to commission, and I am learning Japanese joinery from books and failure.',
+      'Sustainable living is the through-line: I heat with wood I cut, I fix rather than replace, and I have opinions about supply chains that I try to keep to myself for the first hour of knowing someone.',
+      'I have a nine-year-old daughter half the week. I am not in a hurry about anything. I would like to meet people who make things with their hands, or who want to learn.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['woodworking', 'sustainable living', 'permaculture', 'japanese joinery'],
+    city: 'Lyon',
+    region_code: 'ARA',
+    country: 'France',
+    city_latitude: 45.764,
+    city_longitude: 4.8357,
+    born_in_location: 'France',
+    occupation_title: 'Furniture Maker',
+    company: 'Atelier Leclerc',
+    university: null,
+    education_level: 'bachelors',
+    languages: ['french', 'english', 'spanish'],
+    ethnicity: ['caucasian'],
+    height_in_inches: 71,
+    religion: ['atheist'],
+    political_beliefs: ['green'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'istp',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 74,
+      conscientiousness: 83,
+      extraversion: 35,
+      agreeableness: 71,
+      neuroticism: 28,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['friendship', 'relationship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['female'],
+    pref_age_min: 30,
+    pref_age_max: 48,
+    has_kids: 1,
+    wants_kids_strength: 1,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 12,
+    interests: ['Woodworking', 'Sustainable living', 'Permaculture', 'Cycling'],
+    causes: ['Climate', 'Right to repair'],
+    work: ['Craft', 'Design'],
+    links: {site: 'atelier-leclerc.fr', instagram: 'atelierleclerc'},
+    photoCount: 4,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'priyaraman',
+    name: 'Priya Raman',
+    email: 'priya.raman@compass.showcase',
+    age: 26,
+    gender: 'female',
+    orientation: ['queer'],
+    headline: 'Climate modeller. Meditation twice a day. Will talk about soil for hours.',
+    bio: [
+      'I model regional climate for a living, which means I spend most days being carefully precise about uncertainty and most evenings being asked whether we are doomed. (Short answer: the question is badly posed.)',
+      'I have had a daily meditation practice since I was nineteen — Vipassana, twenty minutes, twice. It is the reason I can do the job without burning out. I also keep an allotment that is more ambition than vegetable.',
+      'Here for collaborators and friends, mostly. I have more ideas than time and I like people who fix that problem for each other.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['climate', 'meditation', 'soil', 'gardening'],
+    city: 'Bangalore',
+    region_code: 'KA',
+    country: 'India',
+    city_latitude: 12.9716,
+    city_longitude: 77.5946,
+    born_in_location: 'India',
+    occupation_title: 'Climate Scientist',
+    company: 'Indian Institute of Science',
+    university: 'Indian Institute of Science',
+    education_level: 'masters',
+    languages: ['english', 'tamil', 'hindi'],
+    ethnicity: ['south_asian'],
+    height_in_inches: 63,
+    religion: ['hindu'],
+    political_beliefs: ['green'],
+    diet: ['veg'],
+    mbti: 'infj',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 88,
+      conscientiousness: 80,
+      extraversion: 48,
+      agreeableness: 79,
+      neuroticism: 36,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['collaboration', 'friendship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: [],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'non-binary'],
+    pref_age_min: 22,
+    pref_age_max: 38,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 1,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 0,
+    interests: ['Meditation', 'Gardening', 'Climate science', 'Cycling'],
+    causes: ['Climate', 'Food security'],
+    work: ['Research', 'Climate'],
+    links: {site: 'priyaraman.in', github: 'praman', x: 'praman_climate'},
+    photoCount: 3,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'davidhirsch',
+    name: 'David Hirsch',
+    email: 'david.hirsch@compass.showcase',
+    age: 61,
+    gender: 'male',
+    orientation: ['straight'],
+    headline: 'Retired GP, second act as a choir conductor, still learning Bach',
+    bio: [
+      'Forty years of general practice taught me that most of what people need is someone who will actually listen for more than four minutes. I retired two years ago and I am still adjusting to having time.',
+      'I conduct a community choir of forty-odd amateurs. We are not good, but we are getting better, and Bach forgives a lot. I walk every morning and I have started reading philosophy properly rather than pretending I had.',
+      'Widowed. Not looking to replace anyone. I would like conversation, walking companions, and people who are unbothered by the age gap in either direction.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['choir', 'bach', 'medicine', 'walking'],
+    city: 'Portland',
+    region_code: 'OR',
+    country: 'United States',
+    city_latitude: 45.5152,
+    city_longitude: -122.6784,
+    born_in_location: 'United States',
+    occupation_title: 'Retired Physician',
+    company: null,
+    university: 'Oregon Health & Science University',
+    education_level: 'doctorate',
+    languages: ['english', 'german'],
+    ethnicity: ['caucasian'],
+    height_in_inches: 70,
+    religion: ['jewish'],
+    political_beliefs: ['liberal'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'enfj',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 77,
+      conscientiousness: 86,
+      extraversion: 63,
+      agreeableness: 88,
+      neuroticism: 25,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['friendship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: [],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'male'],
+    pref_age_min: 45,
+    pref_age_max: 75,
+    has_kids: 2,
+    wants_kids_strength: 0,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 8,
+    interests: ['Choral music', 'Walking', 'Philosophy', 'Bach'],
+    causes: ['Healthcare access', 'Arts funding'],
+    work: ['Medicine', 'Music'],
+    links: {site: 'rosecitychoir.org'},
+    photoCount: 2,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'aminahaddad',
+    name: 'Amina Haddad',
+    email: 'amina.haddad@compass.showcase',
+    age: 34,
+    gender: 'female',
+    orientation: ['straight'],
+    headline: 'Civil engineer rebuilding water systems. Long-distance runner.',
+    bio: [
+      'I design municipal water infrastructure, which is the least glamorous and most consequential engineering there is. Two years in Jordan, now back in Beirut doing the same work at home.',
+      'I run — properly run, sixty kilometres a week, two marathons a year. It is the only time my head is quiet. I read history obsessively, mostly Ottoman, and I am teaching myself to sail badly.',
+      'Looking for a partner who has their own thing and takes it seriously. I travel for work and I need someone who finds that interesting rather than threatening.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['engineering', 'running', 'water', 'history'],
+    city: 'Beirut',
+    region_code: null,
+    country: 'Lebanon',
+    city_latitude: 33.8938,
+    city_longitude: 35.5018,
+    born_in_location: 'Lebanon',
+    occupation_title: 'Civil Engineer',
+    company: 'Beirut Water Authority',
+    university: 'American University of Beirut',
+    education_level: 'masters',
+    languages: ['arabic', 'french', 'english'],
+    ethnicity: ['middle_eastern'],
+    height_in_inches: 66,
+    religion: ['muslim'],
+    political_beliefs: ['moderate'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'estj',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 68,
+      conscientiousness: 92,
+      extraversion: 55,
+      agreeableness: 61,
+      neuroticism: 33,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['relationship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['male'],
+    pref_age_min: 30,
+    pref_age_max: 45,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 3,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 2,
+    interests: ['Running', 'History', 'Sailing', 'Engineering'],
+    causes: ['Clean water', 'Rebuilding Beirut'],
+    work: ['Engineering', 'Infrastructure'],
+    links: {linkedin: 'aminahaddad', site: 'aminahaddad.eng'},
+    photoCount: 3,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'joonpark',
+    name: 'Joon Park',
+    email: 'joon.park@compass.showcase',
+    age: 29,
+    gender: 'non-binary',
+    orientation: ['pansexual'],
+    headline: 'Game designer, amateur mycologist, host of a very small dinner party',
+    bio: [
+      'I design systems for a mid-size indie studio — mostly economies and progression, the invisible plumbing that makes a game feel fair. Before that I studied economics, which turns out to be the same job with worse graphics.',
+      'I forage mushrooms, seriously and carefully, and I run a monthly dinner for eight people who mostly did not know each other beforehand. Seating chart is the whole art form.',
+      'Open to friendship, collaboration, or dating — I have never found it useful to decide in advance. I am poly and clear about it from the start.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['game design', 'mycology', 'foraging', 'economics'],
+    city: 'Berlin',
+    region_code: 'BE',
+    country: 'Germany',
+    city_latitude: 52.52,
+    city_longitude: 13.405,
+    born_in_location: 'South Korea',
+    occupation_title: 'Game Designer',
+    company: 'Kettle Studios',
+    university: 'Seoul National University',
+    education_level: 'bachelors',
+    languages: ['korean', 'english', 'german'],
+    ethnicity: ['asian'],
+    height_in_inches: 68,
+    religion: ['agnostic'],
+    political_beliefs: ['libertarian'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'entp',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 95,
+      conscientiousness: 58,
+      extraversion: 71,
+      agreeableness: 64,
+      neuroticism: 44,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['open'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['collaboration', 'friendship', 'relationship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['poly'],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'male', 'non-binary'],
+    pref_age_min: 24,
+    pref_age_max: 40,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 0,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 14,
+    interests: ['Game design', 'Foraging', 'Cooking', 'Board games'],
+    causes: ['Open source', 'Digital rights'],
+    work: ['Games', 'Design'],
+    links: {
+      site: 'joonpark.games',
+      github: 'joonp',
+      discord: 'joonp',
+      bluesky: 'joonp.bsky.social',
+    },
+    photoCount: 4,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'sofiacosta',
+    name: 'Sofia Costa',
+    email: 'sofia.costa@compass.showcase',
+    age: 24,
+    gender: 'female',
+    orientation: ['lesbian'],
+    headline: 'Marine biology PhD student. Free diver. Terrible at sitting still.',
+    bio: [
+      'My PhD is on seagrass meadows — unglamorous, enormously important carbon sinks that everyone ignores in favour of coral. I am four months from fieldwork season and counting.',
+      'I free dive, which is the closest thing I have to meditation. I also climb, badly and enthusiastically. I read almost entirely non-fiction and I am trying to fix that.',
+      'I would like friends in my new city more than anything else right now. Dating is fine too but I moved here nine months ago and I know four people.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['marine biology', 'free diving', 'climbing', 'conservation'],
+    city: 'Lisbon',
+    region_code: 'LI',
+    country: 'Portugal',
+    city_latitude: 38.7223,
+    city_longitude: -9.1393,
+    born_in_location: 'Brazil',
+    occupation_title: 'PhD Researcher',
+    company: 'University of Lisbon',
+    university: 'Federal University of Rio de Janeiro',
+    education_level: 'masters',
+    languages: ['portuguese', 'english', 'spanish'],
+    ethnicity: ['hispanic'],
+    height_in_inches: 64,
+    religion: ['spiritual'],
+    political_beliefs: ['progressive'],
+    diet: ['pescetarian'],
+    mbti: 'enfp',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 89,
+      conscientiousness: 62,
+      extraversion: 76,
+      agreeableness: 82,
+      neuroticism: 47,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['friendship', 'relationship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['female'],
+    pref_age_min: 22,
+    pref_age_max: 34,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 1,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 10,
+    interests: ['Free diving', 'Climbing', 'Marine conservation', 'Non-fiction'],
+    causes: ['Ocean conservation', 'Climate'],
+    work: ['Research', 'Conservation'],
+    links: {site: 'sofiacosta.bio', instagram: 'sofia.seagrass'},
+    photoCount: 3,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'marcusadeyemi',
+    name: 'Marcus Adeyemi',
+    email: 'marcus.adeyemi@compass.showcase',
+    age: 45,
+    gender: 'male',
+    orientation: ['gay'],
+    headline: 'Documentary editor. Twelve years sober. Cooks for a crowd.',
+    bio: [
+      'I cut documentaries — mostly long-form, mostly about people the news got bored of. The job is 90% patience and 10% knowing when a shot has earned its length.',
+      'Twelve years sober this March, which shapes more of my life than any other single fact. I cook for large numbers of people as often as I can get away with it and I have strong feelings about braises.',
+      'Married, and my husband and I are both here looking for friends — we moved for his work and starting over socially at forty-five is genuinely hard. Not looking for anything romantic.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['documentary', 'film editing', 'sobriety', 'cooking'],
+    city: 'Toronto',
+    region_code: 'ON',
+    country: 'Canada',
+    city_latitude: 43.6532,
+    city_longitude: -79.3832,
+    born_in_location: 'United Kingdom',
+    occupation_title: 'Documentary Editor',
+    company: 'Freelance',
+    university: 'National Film and Television School',
+    education_level: 'bachelors',
+    languages: ['english', 'yoruba'],
+    ethnicity: ['african'],
+    height_in_inches: 73,
+    religion: ['atheist'],
+    political_beliefs: ['socialist'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'isfj',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 81,
+      conscientiousness: 75,
+      extraversion: 44,
+      agreeableness: 85,
+      neuroticism: 30,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['married'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['friendship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: [],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'male', 'non-binary'],
+    pref_age_min: 30,
+    pref_age_max: 60,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 0,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 0,
+    interests: ['Film', 'Cooking', 'Documentary', 'Cycling'],
+    causes: ['Addiction recovery', 'Press freedom'],
+    work: ['Film', 'Media'],
+    links: {site: 'marcusadeyemi.film', linkedin: 'marcusadeyemi'},
+    photoCount: 2,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'ellenostrom',
+    name: 'Elle Nyström',
+    email: 'elle.nystrom@compass.showcase',
+    age: 52,
+    gender: 'female',
+    orientation: ['straight'],
+    headline: 'Nurse practitioner, cross-country skier, deeply unserious about most things',
+    bio: [
+      'Twenty-six years in nursing, currently running a rural primary care clinic that covers an area the size of a small country and has three staff. I like the work more than I expected to at this stage.',
+      'I ski about a thousand kilometres a winter and swim in cold water year-round, which locally is not considered eccentric. I play accordion, badly, at a level I describe as "socially tolerated".',
+      'Divorced, kids grown and gone. Looking for a companion for long days outdoors and someone to be quiet with afterwards.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['nursing', 'skiing', 'cold water swimming', 'accordion'],
+    city: 'Umeå',
+    region_code: 'AC',
+    country: 'Sweden',
+    city_latitude: 63.8258,
+    city_longitude: 20.263,
+    born_in_location: 'Sweden',
+    occupation_title: 'Nurse Practitioner',
+    company: 'Västerbotten Regional Health',
+    university: 'Umeå University',
+    education_level: 'masters',
+    // NOTE: 'Finnish' is capitalised in LANGUAGE_CHOICES while every other value is lowercase.
+    // Matching the constant as it actually is — see the note in docs/marketing-visuals.md.
+    languages: ['swedish', 'english', 'Finnish'],
+    ethnicity: ['caucasian'],
+    height_in_inches: 68,
+    religion: ['atheist'],
+    political_beliefs: ['socialist'],
+    diet: ['omnivore'],
+    mbti: 'esfp',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 70,
+      conscientiousness: 84,
+      extraversion: 68,
+      agreeableness: 80,
+      neuroticism: 22,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['relationship', 'friendship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['male'],
+    pref_age_min: 44,
+    pref_age_max: 65,
+    has_kids: 3,
+    wants_kids_strength: 0,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 6,
+    interests: ['Cross-country skiing', 'Cold water swimming', 'Music', 'Hiking'],
+    causes: ['Rural healthcare', 'Mental health'],
+    work: ['Medicine', 'Healthcare'],
+    links: {site: 'ellenystrom.se'},
+    photoCount: 3,
+  },
+  {
+    slug: 'rafaelmendes',
+    name: 'Rafael Mendes',
+    email: 'rafael.mendes@compass.showcase',
+    age: 36,
+    gender: 'male',
+    orientation: ['straight', 'demisexual'],
+    headline: 'Open-source maintainer looking for collaborators, not users',
+    bio: [
+      'I maintain a mid-sized open-source database tool that about four thousand companies depend on and roughly nine people contribute to. The maths of that is the most interesting problem in my life right now.',
+      'I care a lot about how public digital goods get funded and governed — the Wikipedia question, basically. I read political economy for fun and I have a half-written essay about it that will probably stay half-written.',
+      'Here mostly for collaboration. If you have ever wanted to work on infrastructure that outlives its funding round, talk to me.',
+    ],
+    keywords: ['open source', 'databases', 'governance', 'political economy'],
+    city: 'São Paulo',
+    region_code: 'SP',
+    country: 'Brazil',
+    city_latitude: -23.5505,
+    city_longitude: -46.6333,
+    born_in_location: 'Brazil',
+    occupation_title: 'Open Source Maintainer',
+    company: 'Independent',
+    university: 'University of São Paulo',
+    education_level: 'bachelors',
+    languages: ['portuguese', 'english'],
+    ethnicity: ['hispanic'],
+    height_in_inches: 69,
+    religion: ['agnostic'],
+    political_beliefs: ['progressive'],
+    diet: ['veg'],
+    mbti: 'intp',
+    big5: {
+      openness: 93,
+      conscientiousness: 66,
+      extraversion: 33,
+      agreeableness: 69,
+      neuroticism: 40,
+    },
+    relationship_status: ['single'],
+    pref_relation_styles: ['collaboration', 'friendship'],
+    pref_romantic_styles: ['mono'],
+    pref_gender: ['female', 'non-binary'],
+    pref_age_min: 28,
+    pref_age_max: 44,
+    has_kids: 0,
+    wants_kids_strength: 2,
+    is_smoker: false,
+    drinks_per_month: 4,
+    interests: ['Open source', 'Political economy', 'Chess', 'Running'],
+    causes: ['Open source', 'Digital public goods'],
+    work: ['Software', 'Open source'],
+    links: {
+      github: 'rafaelmendes',
+      site: 'rafaelmendes.dev',
+      discord: 'rmendes',
+      substack: 'publicgoods',
+    },
+    photoCount: 2,
+  },
+]
diff --git a/web/public/images/showcase/README.md b/web/public/images/showcase/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79df478e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/public/images/showcase/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Showcase portraits
+
+Portraits for the hand-authored seed personas in `tests/e2e/utils/showcase-profiles.ts`, used only for
+marketing captures. See [`docs/marketing-visuals.md`](../../../../docs/marketing-visuals.md) (W0b).
+
+These are **fully synthetic** — generated with the Gemini image API, no real person depicted. That is
+deliberate: the personas are fictional, and attaching a real person's likeness to an invented biography
+would be a different and worse problem than the licensing one.
+
+Regenerate with:
+
+```bash
+npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts             # fill in anything missing
+npx tsx scripts/generate-showcase-portraits.ts --only priyaraman --force
+```
+
+- Naming: `<slug>-1.jpg` … `<slug>-N.jpg`, where `<slug>` is the persona's `slug` and `N` its `photoCount`.
+  `-1` is the pinned photo, so it wants the face large in frame.
+- 896×1200 JPEG, q82, 100–250 KB each.
+- Prompts live in the script, not here — edit `PORTRAITS` there and re-run with `--force`.
+
+Missing files are not fatal: the seed falls back to `default-avatar.png` and warns.