diff --git a/src/app/globals.css b/src/app/globals.css
index 587ea601..fb181241 100644
--- a/src/app/globals.css
+++ b/src/app/globals.css
@@ -1082,13 +1082,18 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   color: var(--clinical-accent);
 }
 
-/* The mode-action popover only renders ≥1024px (smaller viewports get the Sheet),
-   so this block holds no .mode-action-* overrides. */
+/* Small-phone pin for the composer icon buttons: hold the 44px tap target and a
+   1.1rem glyph below 431px (the ≥640px block grows them to 48px/3rem). Single
+   source of truth — do not re-add a second max-width:430px block for these.
+   The mode-action popover only renders ≥1024px, so this holds no .mode-action-*
+   overrides. */
 @media (max-width: 430px) {
   .answer-footer-search-action,
   .answer-footer-search-send {
-    height: 2.75rem;
-    width: 2.75rem;
+    height: 2.75rem !important;
+    width: 2.75rem !important;
+    min-height: 2.75rem;
+    min-width: 2.75rem;
   }
 
   .answer-footer-search-action svg,
@@ -1115,6 +1120,20 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   background: transparent;
   color: var(--text-muted);
   box-shadow: none;
+  transition:
+    background-color 150ms ease,
+    color 150ms ease;
+}
+
+/* The unlayered `background: transparent` above beats the layered hover/open
+   utilities on the chatComposerIconButton trigger, so the "+" had NO tactile
+   feedback on hover and stayed flat even while its menu was open. Restore both
+   as unlayered rules so the primary compose action responds like every other
+   icon control. `[aria-expanded="true"]` is the trigger's open state. */
+.answer-footer-search-action:hover,
+.answer-footer-search-action[aria-expanded="true"] {
+  background: var(--surface-subtle);
+  color: var(--text);
 }
 
 .answer-footer-search-input {
@@ -1144,7 +1163,15 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   height: 2rem;
   width: 1px;
   flex: 0 0 auto;
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--border-strong) 58%, transparent);
+  /* Hairline that fades at both ends rather than a hard bar — reads as a
+     premium separator between the field and the send action. */
+  background: linear-gradient(
+    to bottom,
+    transparent,
+    color-mix(in srgb, var(--border-strong) 58%, transparent) 22%,
+    color-mix(in srgb, var(--border-strong) 58%, transparent) 78%,
+    transparent
+  );
 }
 
 .answer-footer-search-send {
@@ -1164,20 +1191,16 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   box-shadow: 0 5px 14px color-mix(in srgb, var(--clinical-accent) 38%, transparent);
 }
 
-@media (max-width: 430px) {
-  .answer-footer-search-action,
-  .answer-footer-search-send {
-    height: 2.75rem !important;
-    width: 2.75rem !important;
-    min-height: 2.75rem;
-    min-width: 2.75rem;
-  }
-
-  .answer-footer-search-action svg,
-  .answer-footer-search-send svg {
-    height: 1.1rem;
-    width: 1.1rem;
-  }
+/* Idle/inactive send: a calm neutral chip, not a faded-teal button. The
+   chatComposerIconButton `disabled:opacity-50` utility over the accent fill +
+   colour glow read as muddy/half-broken on the empty hero. Unlayered so it
+   beats that layered utility; the button turns accent the moment a query makes
+   it actionable. */
+.answer-footer-search-send:disabled {
+  opacity: 1;
+  background: var(--surface-subtle);
+  color: var(--text-soft);
+  box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px color-mix(in srgb, var(--border-strong) 42%, transparent);
 }
 
 .answer-footer-search-send:active {
@@ -1558,11 +1581,6 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   }
 }
 
-.dark .answer-footer-search-action,
-.dark .answer-footer-search-chip {
-  color: var(--text-muted);
-}
-
 .dashboard-composer-edge {
   left: max(0.75rem, var(--safe-area-left));
   right: max(0.75rem, var(--safe-area-right));
@@ -1756,6 +1774,10 @@ summary::-webkit-details-marker {
   .answer-footer-search-dock .answer-footer-search-pill {
     border-color: var(--border-strong);
     background: var(--surface);
+    /* The dock repaints the pill opaque, so the inherited blur has nothing
+       translucent to sample — drop it to save a compositing layer per scroll
+       frame (matches the chip override just below). */
+    backdrop-filter: none;
     box-shadow:
       0 -1px 0 color-mix(in srgb, var(--border) 60%, transparent),
       0 1px 3px rgb(16 24 40 / 5%);
@@ -2325,6 +2347,23 @@ html[data-motion="reduced"] .source-capsule-hit[aria-expanded="true"]:hover .sou
     mask-image: none;
     -webkit-mask-image: none;
   }
+
+  /* Composer pill/divider/chip use color-mix(...transparent) for their border,
+     fill, and separator, which thins system-color contrast exactly like the
+     glass header — force them opaque too (unlayered, matching the header
+     treatment above) so the composer boundary reads at full strength and its
+     divider stays visible next to the header chrome right above it. */
+  .answer-footer-search-pill,
+  .answer-footer-search-chip {
+    border: 1px solid ButtonBorder;
+    background: Canvas;
+    backdrop-filter: none;
+    box-shadow: none;
+  }
+
+  .answer-footer-search-divider {
+    background: ButtonBorder;
+  }
 }
 
 @media print {
diff --git a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/master-search-header.tsx b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/master-search-header.tsx
index 45995577..3c512993 100644
--- a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/master-search-header.tsx
+++ b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/master-search-header.tsx
@@ -1364,7 +1364,7 @@ export function MasterSearchHeader({
                 <button
                   type="button"
                   onClick={onClearQuery}
-                  className="grid h-11 w-11 shrink-0 place-items-center rounded-full text-[color:var(--text-muted)] transition hover:bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] hover:text-[color:var(--text)]"
+                  className="grid h-11 w-11 shrink-0 place-items-center rounded-full text-[color:var(--text-muted)] transition hover:bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] hover:text-[color:var(--text)] sm:h-12 sm:w-12"
                   aria-label="Clear search question"
                 >
                   <X aria-hidden="true" className="h-4 w-4" />
@@ -1386,9 +1386,9 @@ export function MasterSearchHeader({
               aria-label={selectedSearch.submitAriaLabel}
             >
               {loading ? (
-                <Loader2 aria-hidden="true" className="h-4 w-4 animate-spin" />
+                <Loader2 aria-hidden="true" className="size-icon-lg animate-spin" />
               ) : usesSendAffordance ? (
-                <Send aria-hidden="true" className="h-4 w-4" />
+                <Send aria-hidden="true" className="size-icon-lg" />
               ) : usesModeIdentityAffordance ? (
                 <ModeIdentityIcon className="size-icon-lg" />
               ) : (
@@ -1604,8 +1604,15 @@ export function MasterSearchHeader({
               }}
               onKeyDown={handleModeTriggerKeyDown}
               className={cn(
-                "universal-header-mode-button inline-grid h-12 w-[min(13rem,calc(100vw-11.5rem))] min-w-0 grid-cols-[auto_minmax(0,1fr)_auto] items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-[color:var(--border)] bg-[color:var(--surface)] px-2.5 text-left transition hover:border-[color:var(--border-strong)] hover:bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] focus-visible:outline focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:outline-[color:var(--focus)] sm:w-auto sm:min-w-[13rem] sm:pr-3",
-                isWorkflowHeader && "h-11 w-[min(11rem,calc(100vw-11rem))] sm:w-[12rem] sm:min-w-0 lg:w-[12.5rem]",
+                // Size utilities live in the per-variant branch, never the shared
+                // base: cn() is plain concat (no tailwind-merge), so keeping the
+                // default h-/w-/min-w- here too made the workflow overrides dead —
+                // Tailwind v4 emits same-property utilities in canonical order and
+                // the base won at every breakpoint but lg:.
+                "universal-header-mode-button inline-grid min-w-0 grid-cols-[auto_minmax(0,1fr)_auto] items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-[color:var(--border)] bg-[color:var(--surface)] px-2.5 text-left transition hover:border-[color:var(--border-strong)] hover:bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] focus-visible:outline focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:outline-[color:var(--focus)]",
+                isWorkflowHeader
+                  ? "h-11 w-[min(11rem,calc(100vw-11rem))] sm:w-[12rem] sm:min-w-0 lg:w-[12.5rem]"
+                  : "h-12 w-[min(13rem,calc(100vw-11.5rem))] sm:w-auto sm:min-w-[13rem] sm:pr-3",
               )}
               aria-haspopup="menu"
               aria-expanded={modeMenuOpen}
diff --git a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mode-action-popup.tsx b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mode-action-popup.tsx
index 2244d460..e78e15a6 100644
--- a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mode-action-popup.tsx
+++ b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mode-action-popup.tsx
@@ -922,7 +922,11 @@ export function ModeActionPopup({
           className={cn(
             chatComposerIconButton,
             triggerClassName,
-            open && "bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] text-[color:var(--text)] motion-safe:rotate-45",
+            // `rotate-45` (not `motion-safe:rotate-45`): the open "+"→"×" state is
+            // information, not decoration. The global reduced-motion rule makes the
+            // transform instant, so gating it on motion-safe wrongly dropped the
+            // affordance entirely for those users.
+            open && "bg-[color:var(--surface-subtle)] text-[color:var(--text)] rotate-45",
           )}
           aria-label={buttonLabel}
           aria-controls={open ? "daily-actions-sheet" : undefined}