diff --git a/desktop-next/DESIGN.md b/desktop-next/DESIGN.md
index 1a04005a72..abdbe2c3bf 100644
--- a/desktop-next/DESIGN.md
+++ b/desktop-next/DESIGN.md
@@ -123,6 +123,15 @@ it is the rule a generated theme is measured against.
   every surface it can sit on, in both modes, parsed from `tokens.css` so the
   check cannot drift from the tokens. Exceptions live in that script with a
   stated reason, which keeps the list short and arguable.
+- **A tint's hover is the hardest surface in its family**, so a `text-*` step is
+  sized against that rather than against the neutral panel. Every failure the
+  audit found in the coloured families was on a tint-hover, never at rest.
+- **Hairline dividers are not held to a contrast target.** WCAG's 3:1 non-text
+  rule covers boundaries needed to identify a *control* or its state, not
+  grouping lines. Buzz's borders measure 1.2–1.8:1, which is where Radix and
+  Apple ship theirs; raising them would draw the box the fill already implies.
+  When the input layer lands, a control's own outline is a different question and
+  does need the 3:1 treatment.
 
 ## Writing
 
diff --git a/desktop-next/scripts/check-contrast.mjs b/desktop-next/scripts/check-contrast.mjs
index 9a75a75557..7cd81f171d 100644
--- a/desktop-next/scripts/check-contrast.mjs
+++ b/desktop-next/scripts/check-contrast.mjs
@@ -71,6 +71,13 @@ const PAIRS = [
   ["--text-on-info", "--bg-info"],
 ];
 
+/**
+ * The families with a tint surface. DESIGN.md: "tint carries a meaning and takes
+ * coloured text", so each family's `text-*` must be readable on both its tint
+ * and that tint's hover — the hover state is the harder one and was the gap.
+ */
+const TINT_FAMILIES = ["accent", "danger", "success", "warning", "info"];
+
 const css = readFileSync(TOKENS, "utf8");
 
 /**
@@ -142,6 +149,10 @@ for (const [mode, map] of Object.entries(modes)) {
     for (const surface of SURFACES) check(role, surface);
   }
   for (const [role, fill] of PAIRS) check(role, fill);
+  for (const family of TINT_FAMILIES) {
+    check(`--text-${family}`, `--bg-${family}-tint`);
+    check(`--text-${family}`, `--bg-${family}-tint-hover`);
+  }
 }
 
 // Guard the maths itself: if these drift, every verdict above is wrong.
diff --git a/desktop-next/src/shared/styles/tokens.css b/desktop-next/src/shared/styles/tokens.css
index 9d3605e4f5..50e4176969 100644
--- a/desktop-next/src/shared/styles/tokens.css
+++ b/desktop-next/src/shared/styles/tokens.css
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
   --danger-3: #fecaca;
   --danger-8: #f5b5b5;
   --danger-9: #dc2626;
-  --danger-11: #b91c1c;
+  --danger-11: #a80008;
 
   --success-2: #e8f7ee;
   --success-3: #d1f0dd;
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
   --warning-3: #fde68a;
   --warning-8: #f2d98a;
   --warning-9: #eab308;
-  --warning-11: #a16207;
+  --warning-11: #9c5e00;
 
   --info-2: #e7f1ff;
   --info-3: #d0e3ff;
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
   --accent-3: #1a3358;
   --accent-8: #356dbd;
   --accent-9: #237eff;
-  --accent-11: #8fbaff;
+  --accent-11: #95c0ff;
 
   --danger-2: #3a1515;
   --danger-3: #4d1c1c;
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@
   --info-3: #1a3358;
   --info-8: #356dbd;
   --info-9: #3d87ff;
-  --info-11: #8fbaff;
+  --info-11: #95c0ff;
 
   --glass-1: #1c1c1c5c;
   --glass-2: #1c1c1c85;
@@ -252,7 +252,13 @@
   --bg-panel-glass: var(--glass-2);
   --bg-float-glass: var(--glass-3);
 
-  /* --- Focus. ---------------------------------------------- */
+  /* --- Focus. ----------------------------------------------
+     Legible on every neutral surface (WCAG 3.0–3.5:1), but it is an accent
+     against accent: on `bg-accent` it measures 1.1:1 and disappears. A focused
+     primary button therefore needs the ring separated from the fill — an offset
+     in the surface colour, not a different ring hue, so one focus treatment
+     works everywhere. Whatever component layer introduces focus owns that
+     offset; there is no second ring token.                     */
   --ring-focus: var(--accent-8);
 
   /* ==========================================================