diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0ae6405..3ceeb83 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,15 +1,11 @@
 <p align="center">
-  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GrafGenerator/mokkit/main/assets/icon-256.png" alt="Mokkit" width="120" height="120">
+  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GrafGenerator/mokkit/main/assets/banner.png" alt="Mokkit — write tests that read like a story, in plain C#" width="820">
 </p>
 
-# Mokkit
-
 [![NuGet](https://img.shields.io/nuget/vpre/Mokkit.svg)](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Mokkit)
 [![CI](https://github.com/GrafGenerator/mokkit/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/GrafGenerator/mokkit/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
 
-**Write tests that read like a story in your domain's language — as ordinary, compilable C#.**
-
 Mokkit gives your tests the readability of BDD tools like Cucumber/SpecFlow, but with **no DSL**: no feature
 files, no step bindings, no runtime glue. The "steps" are just C# extension methods you author — your
 project's testing vocabulary — so you keep full IDE support (autocomplete, go-to-definition, refactoring) and
diff --git a/assets/banner.png b/assets/banner.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8c7171
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/banner.png differ
diff --git a/assets/banner.svg b/assets/banner.svg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c57c67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/banner.svg
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1200" height="300" viewBox="0 0 1200 300">
+  <defs>
+    <linearGradient id="bg" x1="0" y1="0" x2="1" y2="1">
+      <stop offset="0" stop-color="#0f1d24"/><stop offset="1" stop-color="#0a1318"/>
+    </linearGradient>
+    <radialGradient id="glow" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse" cx="144" cy="150" r="240">
+      <stop offset="0" stop-color="#18383a" stop-opacity="0.5"/><stop offset="1" stop-color="#0d1a20" stop-opacity="0"/>
+    </radialGradient>
+    <linearGradient id="steel" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="1">
+      <stop offset="0" stop-color="#d6dde3"/><stop offset=".5" stop-color="#929cab"/><stop offset="1" stop-color="#515a68"/>
+    </linearGradient>
+    <linearGradient id="brass" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="1">
+      <stop offset="0" stop-color="#f0d287"/><stop offset=".55" stop-color="#d3a349"/><stop offset="1" stop-color="#a9822f"/>
+    </linearGradient>
+  </defs>
+
+  <rect width="1200" height="300" fill="url(#bg)"/>
+  <rect width="1200" height="300" fill="url(#glow)"/>
+  <g fill="none" stroke="#ffffff" stroke-opacity="0.045" stroke-width="1.6">
+    <circle cx="144" cy="150" r="112"/><circle cx="144" cy="150" r="152"/><circle cx="144" cy="150" r="196"/>
+  </g>
+
+  <!-- icon -->
+  <g transform="translate(44,50) scale(2.0)">
+    <path fill="url(#steel)" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="#3c434e" stroke-width="0.8"
+          d="M10 50 a40 40 0 1 0 80 0 a40 40 0 1 0 -80 0 Z M35 50 a15 15 0 1 0 30 0 a15 15 0 1 0 -30 0 Z M44.4 22 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z M68.6 36 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z M68.6 64 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z M44.4 78 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z M20.2 64 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z M20.2 36 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 11.2 0 a5.6 5.6 0 1 0 -11.2 0 Z"/>
+    <circle cx="50" cy="22" r="5.6" fill="url(#brass)"/><circle cx="50" cy="22" r="2" fill="#7c5c22"/>
+    <path d="M42 58 L42 44 L50 51.5 L58 44 L58 58" fill="none" stroke="#3f3110" stroke-width="7" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/>
+    <path d="M42 58 L42 44 L50 51.5 L58 44 L58 58" fill="none" stroke="url(#brass)" stroke-width="4.2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"/>
+  </g>
+
+  <!-- text -->
+  <text x="304" y="92" font-family="Menlo, 'DejaVu Sans Mono', monospace" font-size="18" letter-spacing="4" fill="#d3a349">ARRANGE &#183; ACT &#183; INSPECT</text>
+  <text x="1156" y="92" text-anchor="end" font-family="Menlo, 'DejaVu Sans Mono', monospace" font-size="18" fill="#d3a349">mokkit.net</text>
+  <text x="300" y="180" font-family="'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" font-size="90" font-weight="800" fill="#eef2f1">Mokkit<tspan fill="#d3a349">.</tspan></text>
+  <rect x="305" y="204" width="118" height="3" rx="1.5" fill="#d3a349"/>
+  <text x="305" y="248" font-family="'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" font-size="23" fill="#a9b7bc">Tests that read like a story &#8212; plain, compilable C#. No DSL.</text>
+</svg>
diff --git a/docs/scripts/gen-icon.mjs b/docs/scripts/gen-icon.mjs
index 428dca7..05f127c 100644
--- a/docs/scripts/gen-icon.mjs
+++ b/docs/scripts/gen-icon.mjs
@@ -29,3 +29,8 @@ for (const rel of ['assets/og.png', 'docs/public/og.png']) {
   await sharp(og, { density: 192 }).resize(1280, 640).png().toFile(join(root, rel));
   console.log(`wrote ${rel} (1280x640)`);
 }
+
+// Compact 4:1 README header banner (1200x300).
+const banner = readFileSync(join(root, 'assets', 'banner.svg'));
+await sharp(banner, { density: 192 }).resize(1200, 300).png().toFile(join(root, 'assets', 'banner.png'));
+console.log('wrote assets/banner.png (1200x300)');