feat: brand identity v1.0.0 — Direction C Trusted Guide (theme v2.0.0-alpha.1)

Implements weeks 1–4 of the CMO brand identity sprint.

Key changes:
- CSS token system (assets/css/brand.css): full palette, verdict tokens, component styles
- Poppins/Inter/IBM Plex Mono Google Fonts loading with preload
- Full favicon/PWA/OG asset pack (peptide-repo-brand v1.0.0)
- 5-state verdict badge + card + evidence row components
- verdict_state + signal_row post meta on pr_peptide CPT
- Homepage hero: teal bg, new H1/subhead, lime search bar
- Archive verdict filter chips (CSS + pre_get_posts query hook)
- Affiliate disclosure component (3 contexts)
- page-how-we-review.php + page-about.php templates
- Footer Our Method links
- a11y: skip-to-content, reduced-motion, aria on verdict badges

QA: PASS (0 blockers) — qa-reviews/peptide-starter-theme/2026-04-26-a2bff59.md
Staging verified: https://staging.peptiderepo.com

template-parts/verdict/badge.php

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Verdict Badge Component
+ *
+ * Displays a verdict state badge with glyph, label, and colors.
+ * Accepts $args['verdict_state'] and $args['show_label'].
+ *
+ * @package peptide-starter
+ */
+
+if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
+	exit;
+}
+
+$verdict_state = isset( $args['verdict_state'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $args['verdict_state'] ) : '';
+$show_label    = isset( $args['show_label'] ) ? (bool) $args['show_label'] : true;
+
+// State configuration.
+$states = array(
+	'established'      => array( 'glyph' => '✓', 'label' => 'Established' ),
+	'promising'        => array( 'glyph' => '◐', 'label' => 'Promising' ),
+	'investigational'  => array( 'glyph' => '?', 'label' => 'Investigational' ),
+	'insufficient'     => array( 'glyph' => '⊘', 'label' => 'Insufficient Evidence' ),
+	'cautionary'       => array( 'glyph' => '⚠', 'label' => 'Cautionary' ),
+);
+
+// Early exit if invalid state.
+if ( ! isset( $states[ $verdict_state ] ) ) {
+	return;
+}
+
+$state_info = $states[ $verdict_state ];
+?>
+<span class="pr-verdict pr-verdict--<?php echo esc_attr( $verdict_state ); ?>" role="img" aria-label="<?php echo esc_attr( 'Verdict: ' . $state_info['label'] ); ?>">
+	<span class="pr-verdict__glyph" aria-hidden="true"><?php echo $state_info['glyph']; ?></span>
+	<?php if ( $show_label ) : ?>
+		<span class="pr-verdict__label"><?php echo esc_html( $state_info['label'] ); ?></span>
+	<?php endif; ?>
+</span>

template-parts/verdict/card.php

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Verdict Card Component (Monograph Hero)
+ *
+ * Displays a full verdict card for a pr_peptide post.
+ * Reads verdict_state and signal_row_1/2/3 from post meta.
+ * Accepts $args['post_id'].
+ *
+ * @package peptide-starter
+ */
+
+if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
+	exit;
+}
+
+$post_id = isset( $args['post_id'] ) ? absint( $args['post_id'] ) : get_the_ID();
+
+// Get verdict state from post meta.
+$verdict_state = get_post_meta( $post_id, 'verdict_state', true );
+
+// Early exit if no verdict state is set.
+if ( empty( $verdict_state ) ) {
+	return;
+}
+
+// Collect signal rows.
+$signals = array();
+for ( $i = 1; $i <= 3; $i++ ) {
+	$signal_text = get_post_meta( $post_id, 'signal_row_' . $i, true );
+	if ( ! empty( $signal_text ) ) {
+		$signals[] = array(
+			'glyph' => $i === 1 ? '✓' : ( $i === 2 ? '!' : '?' ),
+			'label' => $signal_text,
+		);
+	}
+}
+
+$post = get_post( $post_id );
+?>
+<div class="pr-verdict-card">
+	<div class="pr-verdict-card__header">
+		<div>
+			<?php
+			get_template_part(
+				'template-parts/verdict/badge',
+				null,
+				array(
+					'verdict_state' => $verdict_state,
+					'show_label'    => true,
+				)
+			);
+			?>
+		</div>
+		<time class="pr-verdict-card__updated" datetime="<?php echo esc_attr( get_the_date( 'c', $post_id ) ); ?>">
+			<?php echo esc_html( 'Updated ' . get_the_date( 'M d, Y', $post_id ) ); ?>
+		</time>
+	</div>
+
+	<h1 class="pr-verdict-card__title"><?php echo esc_html( get_the_title( $post_id ) ); ?></h1>
+
+	<p class="pr-verdict-card__summary">
+		<?php
+		// Get post excerpt or first 100 chars of content.
+		$summary = get_the_excerpt( $post_id );
+		if ( empty( $summary ) ) {
+			$content = get_the_content( null, false, $post_id );
+			$summary = wp_trim_words( $content, 20 );
+		}
+		echo wp_kses_post( $summary );
+		?>
+	</p>
+
+	<?php if ( ! empty( $signals ) ) : ?>
+		<?php
+		get_template_part(
+			'template-parts/verdict/evidence-row',
+			null,
+			array( 'signals' => $signals )
+		);
+		?>
+	<?php endif; ?>
+
+	<div class="pr-verdict-card__verdict-label"><?php esc_html_e( 'Our verdict:', 'peptide-starter' ); ?></div>
+	<div class="pr-verdict-card__verdict-text">
+		<?php
+		// Placeholder verdict text; can be extended with a custom meta field.
+		echo esc_html__( 'This peptide merits careful scientific review. Please consult with a healthcare provider before use.', 'peptide-starter' );
+		?>
+	</div>
+
+	<div class="pr-verdict-card__cta-group">
+		<a href="#evidence" class="pr-verdict-card__cta-link">
+			<?php esc_html_e( 'Read the full evidence', 'peptide-starter' ); ?> →
+		</a>
+		<a href="#dosing" class="pr-verdict-card__cta-link">
+			<?php esc_html_e( 'Jump to dosing', 'peptide-starter' ); ?> →
+		</a>
+	</div>
+</div>

template-parts/verdict/evidence-row.php

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Verdict Evidence Signal Row Component
+ *
+ * Displays an inset row of evidence signals with glyphs.
+ * Accepts $args['signals'] as array of ['glyph' => '...', 'label' => '...']
+ *
+ * @package peptide-starter
+ */
+
+if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
+	exit;
+}
+
+$signals = isset( $args['signals'] ) && is_array( $args['signals'] ) ? $args['signals'] : array();
+
+if ( empty( $signals ) ) {
+	return;
+}
+?>
+<div class="pr-evidence-row">
+	<?php foreach ( $signals as $signal ) : ?>
+		<?php
+		$glyph = isset( $signal['glyph'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $signal['glyph'] ) : '';
+		$label = isset( $signal['label'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $signal['label'] ) : '';
+		?>
+		<?php if ( ! empty( $glyph ) && ! empty( $label ) ) : ?>
+			<div class="pr-evidence-row__item">
+				<span class="pr-evidence-row__glyph"><?php echo esc_html( $glyph ); ?></span>
+				<span><?php echo esc_html( $label ); ?></span>
+			</div>
+		<?php endif; ?>
+	<?php endforeach; ?>
+</div>