diff --git a/src/components/DoubleTicker.tsx b/src/components/DoubleTicker.tsx
index 5632542..4cfabd0 100644
--- a/src/components/DoubleTicker.tsx
+++ b/src/components/DoubleTicker.tsx
@@ -147,22 +147,25 @@ export default async function DoubleTicker() {
 
   return (
     <div role="region" aria-label="Live wire and upcoming events">
-      {/* Row 1 — Live wire (news, right-to-left, fast). */}
+      {/* Row 1 — Live wire (news, right-to-left). */}
       {news.length > 0 && (
-        <div className="bb-neon-bar w-full overflow-hidden">
-          <div className="max-w-container mx-auto px-4 h-[32px] flex items-center gap-3 text-[12px]">
-            <span className="bb-neon-label">Live Wire</span>
+        <div className="bb-tick-bar w-full overflow-hidden">
+          <div className="max-w-container mx-auto px-4 h-[34px] flex items-center gap-4">
+            <span className="bb-tick-label" aria-label="Live wire">
+              <span className="bb-tick-pulse" aria-hidden="true" />
+              <span>Live</span>
+            </span>
             <div className="overflow-hidden flex-1">
               <div className="bb-marquee">
                 {[...news, ...news].map((it, i) => (
                   <Link
                     key={`n-${it.slug}-${i}`}
                     href={`/news/${it.slug}`}
-                    className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-4 whitespace-nowrap bb-neon-text"
+                    className="bb-tick-item"
                   >
-                    <span className="bb-neon-time">[{hhmm(it.published_at)}]</span>
-                    <span className="bb-neon-code">[{it.source_code}]</span>
-                    <span>{it.title}</span>
+                    <span className="bb-tick-time">{hhmm(it.published_at)}</span>
+                    <span className="bb-tick-code">{it.source_code}</span>
+                    <span className="bb-tick-text">{it.title}</span>
                   </Link>
                 ))}
               </div>
@@ -173,18 +176,24 @@ export default async function DoubleTicker() {
 
       {/* Row 2 — Industry calendar (events, left-to-right, slower). */}
       {events.length > 0 && (
-        <div className="bb-neon-bar w-full overflow-hidden">
-          <div className="max-w-container mx-auto px-4 h-[32px] flex items-center gap-3 text-[12px]">
-            <span className="bb-neon-label bb-neon-label--cyan">On Calendar</span>
+        <div className="bb-tick-bar w-full overflow-hidden">
+          <div className="max-w-container mx-auto px-4 h-[34px] flex items-center gap-4">
+            <span className="bb-tick-label bb-tick-label--cyan" aria-label="On calendar">
+              <span className="bb-tick-pulse bb-tick-pulse--cyan" aria-hidden="true" />
+              <span>Calendar</span>
+            </span>
             <div className="overflow-hidden flex-1">
               <div className="bb-marquee bb-marquee--reverse bb-marquee--slow">
                 {[...events, ...events].map((ev, i) => {
                   const where = [ev.city, ev.country].filter(Boolean).join(", ");
                   const inner = (
-                    <span className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-4 whitespace-nowrap bb-neon-text">
-                      <span className="bb-neon-time">[{fmtEventDate(ev.start_date)}]</span>
-                      <span className="bb-neon-code bb-neon-code--cyan">[{ev.short_name}]</span>
-                      <span>{ev.name}{where ? ` — ${where}` : ""}</span>
+                    <span className="bb-tick-item">
+                      <span className="bb-tick-time">{fmtEventDate(ev.start_date)}</span>
+                      <span className="bb-tick-code bb-tick-code--cyan">{ev.short_name}</span>
+                      <span className="bb-tick-text">
+                        {ev.name}
+                        {where ? ` — ${where}` : ""}
+                      </span>
                     </span>
                   );
                   return ev.slug ? (
diff --git a/src/styles/redesign-tokens.css b/src/styles/redesign-tokens.css
index 028f5da..aed10d3 100644
--- a/src/styles/redesign-tokens.css
+++ b/src/styles/redesign-tokens.css
@@ -91,32 +91,110 @@
   animation-duration: 140s;
 }
 
-/* Neon dual-ticker tokens — used ONLY inside DoubleTicker. */
-.bb-neon-bar {
-  background: linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(0,0,0,0.55), rgba(5,10,8,0.55));
-  border-top: 1px solid rgba(0,255,159,0.18);
-  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,255,159,0.18);
+/* ─── Dual-ticker (DoubleTicker.tsx) ──────────────────────────────────────
+   News-wire aesthetic: pulse dot + small-caps label on the left, the
+   feed scrolls in muted mid-gray with monospaced timestamps and a
+   single neon accent on the source code. No bright label boxes —
+   the neon shows up only as the pulse and on the code chip. */
+.bb-tick-bar {
+  position: relative;
+  background:
+    linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(8,12,10,0.92), rgba(10,14,12,0.92));
+  border-top: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.04);
+  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.04);
 }
-.bb-neon-bar + .bb-neon-bar {
-  border-top: 1px solid rgba(0,212,255,0.10); /* faint divider between the two */
+.bb-tick-bar::before {
+  /* thin neon hairline at the top of the FIRST bar only */
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0 0 auto 0;
+  height: 1px;
+  background: linear-gradient(90deg, transparent, rgba(0,255,159,0.45), rgba(0,212,255,0.45), transparent);
+  opacity: 0.65;
 }
-.bb-neon-label {
-  background: #00ff9f;
-  color: #050a08;
-  font-weight: 700;
+.bb-tick-bar + .bb-tick-bar::before {
+  /* divider between row 1 and row 2: dimmer + cyan-leaning */
+  background: linear-gradient(90deg, transparent, rgba(0,212,255,0.25), transparent);
+  opacity: 0.5;
+}
+
+.bb-tick-label {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 6px;
+  font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono', ui-monospace, monospace;
   font-size: 10px;
-  letter-spacing: 0.15em;
-  padding: 2px 8px;
-  border-radius: 3px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: 0.22em;
   text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: #00ff9f;
   flex-shrink: 0;
-  text-shadow: none;
+  padding-right: 12px;
+  border-right: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.07);
 }
-.bb-neon-label--cyan {
+.bb-tick-label--cyan { color: #00d4ff; }
+
+.bb-tick-pulse {
+  display: inline-block;
+  width: 6px;
+  height: 6px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  background: #00ff9f;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0,255,159,0.7);
+  animation: bb-tick-blink 2.2s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+.bb-tick-pulse--cyan {
   background: #00d4ff;
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0,212,255,0.7);
 }
-.bb-neon-time { color: #707070; font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono', ui-monospace, monospace; }
-.bb-neon-code { color: #00ff9f; font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono', ui-monospace, monospace; }
-.bb-neon-code--cyan { color: #00d4ff; }
-.bb-neon-text { color: #d4d4d4; }
-.bb-neon-text:hover { color: #00ff9f; text-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(0,255,159,0.4); }
+@keyframes bb-tick-blink {
+  0%, 100% { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1); }
+  50%      { opacity: 0.45; transform: scale(0.85); }
+}
+
+.bb-tick-time {
+  color: #5a6470;
+  font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono', ui-monospace, monospace;
+  font-size: 11px;
+  margin-right: 6px;
+}
+.bb-tick-code {
+  color: #00ff9f;
+  font-family: 'IBM Plex Mono', ui-monospace, monospace;
+  font-size: 11px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  padding: 1px 5px;
+  margin-right: 8px;
+  border: 1px solid rgba(0,255,159,0.25);
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  background: rgba(0,255,159,0.06);
+}
+.bb-tick-code--cyan {
+  color: #00d4ff;
+  border-color: rgba(0,212,255,0.25);
+  background: rgba(0,212,255,0.06);
+}
+.bb-tick-text {
+  color: #c8ccd1;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.01em;
+  font-weight: 400;
+}
+.bb-tick-text:hover {
+  color: #ffffff;
+}
+.bb-tick-item {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  padding: 0 24px 0 0;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.bb-tick-item + .bb-tick-item {
+  border-left: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.05);
+  padding-left: 24px;
+}
+
+/* Smoother marquee easing — keep the linear feel (real tickers are linear)
+   but slightly slower so text is legible. */
+.bb-tick-bar .bb-marquee { animation-duration: 110s; }
+.bb-tick-bar .bb-marquee--slow { animation-duration: 170s; }