feat: branded error routes, project skeleton, footer contact, creator tab URL (#117 #120 #122 #125)

[gregemax]

Summary

This PR resolves four issues in a single batch. Every change is a self-contained commit; no existing behaviour is altered beyond what each issue describes.

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Changes

#125 — Add branded not-found and error routes

Files: src/app/not-found.tsx (new), src/app/error.tsx (new)

Unknown routes and runtime errors previously fell through to the bare Next.js framework defaults. Two branded App Router special files now replace them:

• not-found.tsx — pure Server Component. Renders the Helio orb (160 px, static), a solar-accent 404 eyebrow, a display-type heading, a one-sentence explanation, and a primary pill CTA back to /. Uses design-system tokens throughout (--font-display, --solar, --radius-pill, etc.).
• error.tsx — Client Component ('use client' — required by Next.js for error boundaries). Logs error to the console (ready to wire to Sentry). Surfaces error.digest as a reference string when present. Offers two recovery actions: Try again (reset()) and Go home (href="/"). Same token set and Helio orb as the 404 page.

Both pages sit inside the root layout so the TopBar and Footer shell are always visible.

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#117 — Pixel-perfect loading skeleton for the projects grid

File: src/screens/Explore.tsx

The grid's loading state and ProjectCardSkeleton component already existed but the skeleton's structure did not match the real ProjectCard, meaning the layout shifted visibly when live data landed. Rewritten to mirror the real card exactly:

Area	Before	After
Hero height	160 px	168 px (matches ProjectCard)
Location badge	missing	pill ghost absolute-positioned bottom-left
Title	thin 18 px bar	22 px block at 68% width (h3 equivalent)
Scores	two small inline bars	two 84 × 84 px circles with gap: 18 (exact ScoreGauge size)
Footer	missing	funded label+value stack left, verified chip right, above var(--ink-12) top border

Animation delays stagger 50–300 ms top-to-bottom via the existing hb-pulse keyframe in app.css. CSSProperties helper keeps inline styles DRY. prefers-reduced-motion is handled globally by the base reset.

Also fixed a pre-existing variable shadow: TABS.map((t) => ...) where the iterator t shadowed the useTranslations result — renamed to tb.

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#120 — Wire the footer "Talk to a human" action

File: src/shell/Footer.tsx

The button was a no-op <button> with no handler, directly undermining the trust message it was meant to carry. Replaced with an anchor tag pointing to mailto:hello@heliobond.io. Clicking it now opens the user's mail client with the contact address pre-filled. Visual styling is unchanged (ink colour, weight 600, hb-textlink hover class, textDecoration: none).

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#122 — Persist selected creator tab in the URL

File: src/app/creator/page.tsx

The active tab was useState local state, so a page refresh or a shared link always landed on Apply regardless of where the user was. Replaced with useSearchParams + router.replace:

• /creator → defaults to Apply
• /creator?tab=build → opens Build project directly
• /creator?tab=dashboard → opens Dashboard directly
• Refreshing the page restores the same tab
• router.replace(..., { scroll: false }) keeps the history stack clean — back/forward navigates between pages, not between tabs
• A VALID_TABS set guards against invalid ?tab= values (falls back to apply)
• useSearchParams is isolated in CreatorPageInner; the default export wraps it in <Suspense> to satisfy Next.js's static prerender requirement and prevent a full CSR bailout

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Commits

7023658 feat: add branded not-found and error routes (#125)
f281a80 feat: pixel-perfect ProjectCardSkeleton for project grid loading (#117)
c1b38f5 fix: wire footer Talk to a human to mailto contact link (#120)
0f6e1ed feat: persist creator tab selection in URL query param (#122)

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Closes

Closes #125
Closes #117
Closes #120
Closes #122

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