diff --git a/apps/web/app/_components/Breadcrumbs.tsx b/apps/web/app/_components/Breadcrumbs.tsx
index a211fdd..8217f5b 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/_components/Breadcrumbs.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/_components/Breadcrumbs.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
+import Link from "next/link";
 import { motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
 import { ease } from "@konjoai/ui";
 
@@ -23,12 +24,12 @@ export function Breadcrumbs({ trail }: { trail: Crumb[] }) {
               transition={{ duration: 0.3, ease: ease.kanjo, delay: i * 0.07 }}
             >
               {c.href && !last ? (
-                <a
+                <Link
                   href={c.href}
                   className="text-konjo-fg-muted transition-colors hover:text-konjo-fg"
                 >
                   {c.label}
-                </a>
+                </Link>
               ) : (
                 <span className={last ? "text-konjo-fg" : undefined}>{c.label}</span>
               )}
diff --git a/apps/web/app/_components/Footer.tsx b/apps/web/app/_components/Footer.tsx
index 680502c..cfa5498 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/_components/Footer.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/_components/Footer.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
 import { severity as sevColor } from "@konjoai/ui";
 import { PRODUCTS } from "@/lib/products";
 
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ export function Footer() {
           </span>
           <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2" aria-label="Product health overview">
             {PRODUCTS.map((p) => (
-              <a
+              <Link
                 key={p.slug}
                 href={`/products/${p.slug}`}
                 title={`${p.name} — ${p.status}`}
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ export function Footer() {
                   aria-hidden
                 />
                 {p.slug}
-              </a>
+              </Link>
             ))}
           </div>
         </div>
@@ -56,18 +57,18 @@ export function Footer() {
         </div>
 
         <nav className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-6 gap-y-2 text-sm">
-          <a
+          <Link
             href="/#projects"
             className="text-konjo-fg-muted transition-colors hover:text-konjo-fg"
           >
             Products
-          </a>
-          <a
+          </Link>
+          <Link
             href="/status"
             className="text-konjo-fg-muted transition-colors hover:text-konjo-fg"
           >
             Status
-          </a>
+          </Link>
           <a
             href="https://github.com/konjoai"
             target="_blank"
diff --git a/apps/web/app/_components/LiveTicker.tsx b/apps/web/app/_components/LiveTicker.tsx
index 159174f..908e2bb 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/_components/LiveTicker.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/_components/LiveTicker.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
 import { severity as sevColor } from "@konjoai/ui";
 import { PRODUCTS } from "@/lib/products";
 
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ export function LiveTicker() {
             ? String(p.metric.value)
             : p.metric.value.toFixed(1);
           return (
-            <a
+            <Link
               key={`${p.slug}-${i}`}
               href={`/products/${p.slug}`}
               tabIndex={i >= PRODUCTS.length ? -1 : 0}
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ export function LiveTicker() {
                 {p.metric.label}
               </span>
               <span className="ml-4 text-konjo-line/50" aria-hidden>│</span>
-            </a>
+            </Link>
           );
         })}
       </div>
diff --git a/apps/web/app/_components/PhilosophySection.tsx b/apps/web/app/_components/PhilosophySection.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..003881d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/app/_components/PhilosophySection.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { motion, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
+import { ease } from "@konjoai/ui";
+
+const PILLARS = [
+  {
+    word: "ቆንጆ",
+    roman: "Konjo",
+    lang: "Amharic",
+    meaning: "Beauty, elegance",
+    detail: "Craft that earns its complexity. Every surface deliberate, every pixel intentional.",
+    color: "var(--color-konjo-brand-soft)",
+  },
+  {
+    word: "根性",
+    roman: "Konjō",
+    lang: "Japanese",
+    meaning: "Fighting spirit, grit",
+    detail: "Ship when it hurts. Refine past good enough. Never stop at the first answer.",
+    color: "var(--color-konjo-accent)",
+  },
+  {
+    word: "康宙",
+    roman: "Kāngzhòu",
+    lang: "Chinese",
+    meaning: "System health",
+    detail: "Observability is first-class. Every metric visible. Every failure recoverable.",
+    color: "var(--color-konjo-good)",
+  },
+  {
+    word: "건조",
+    roman: "Geonjo",
+    lang: "Korean",
+    meaning: "Strip to essence",
+    detail: "Remove until removal breaks it. Zero ceremony. No dead code. No wasted motion.",
+    color: "var(--color-konjo-warm)",
+  },
+] as const;
+
+/** Typographic section showcasing the four Konjo values with animated entrance. */
+export function PhilosophySection() {
+  const reduce = useReducedMotion();
+
+  return (
+    <section
+      className="mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6 pb-24"
+      aria-label="The Konjo philosophy"
+    >
+      <motion.div
+        initial={reduce ? { opacity: 1 } : { opacity: 0, y: 12 }}
+        whileInView={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
+        viewport={{ once: true, margin: "-60px" }}
+        transition={{ duration: 0.55, ease: ease.kanjo }}
+        className="mb-10"
+      >
+        <p className="text-konjo-mono text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.24em] text-konjo-accent">
+          Four words · one way
+        </p>
+        <h2 className="text-konjo-display mt-1 text-3xl font-semibold tracking-tight sm:text-4xl">
+          The Konjo philosophy
+        </h2>
+        <p className="mt-2 max-w-xl text-sm text-konjo-fg-muted">
+          Each product, each component, each commit — measured against all four.
+        </p>
+      </motion.div>
+
+      <div className="grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 sm:grid-cols-2">
+        {PILLARS.map(({ word, roman, lang, meaning, detail, color }, i) => (
+          <motion.div
+            key={roman}
+            initial={reduce ? { opacity: 1 } : { opacity: 0, y: 20 }}
+            whileInView={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
+            viewport={{ once: true, margin: "-40px" }}
+            transition={{ duration: 0.5, ease: ease.kanjo, delay: i * 0.09 }}
+            whileHover={reduce ? undefined : {
+              boxShadow: `0 0 0 1px color-mix(in oklch, ${color} 30%, transparent), 0 0 40px -12px color-mix(in oklch, ${color} 20%, transparent)`,
+              transition: { duration: 0.25 },
+            }}
+            className="glass-konjo rounded-konjo-xl p-6"
+          >
+            <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-4">
+              <span
+                className="text-konjo-display text-5xl font-semibold leading-none"
+                style={{ color }}
+                aria-label={`${word} (${lang})`}
+              >
+                {word}
+              </span>
+              <span className="text-konjo-mono text-[10px] uppercase tracking-widest text-konjo-fg-faint">
+                {lang}
+              </span>
+            </div>
+
+            <div className="mt-4">
+              <p className="text-konjo-mono text-base font-medium" style={{ color }}>
+                {roman}
+              </p>
+              <p className="text-konjo-display mt-0.5 text-xl font-semibold tracking-tight">
+                {meaning}
+              </p>
+              <p className="mt-3 text-sm leading-relaxed text-konjo-fg-muted">
+                {detail}
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          </motion.div>
+        ))}
+      </div>
+    </section>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/app/_components/ProjectGrid.tsx b/apps/web/app/_components/ProjectGrid.tsx
index ae716cd..a05ff9f 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/_components/ProjectGrid.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/_components/ProjectGrid.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 "use client";
 
 import { useRef } from "react";
+import Link from "next/link";
 import { motion, useMotionValue, useSpring, useReducedMotion } from "motion/react";
 import { ease, StatusBadge, severity as sevColor } from "@konjoai/ui";
 import { PRODUCTS, type Product } from "@/lib/products";
@@ -115,14 +116,14 @@ function ProjectCard({ project, index }: { project: Product; index: number }) {
 
       {/* Header: glyph + number + status */}
       <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-4">
-        <a
+        <Link
           href={`/products/${project.slug}`}
           aria-label={`Open ${project.name} product page`}
           className="text-konjo-mono text-3xl leading-none transition-colors"
           style={{ color: "var(--color-konjo-brand-soft)" }}
         >
           <span aria-hidden>{project.glyph}</span>
-        </a>
+        </Link>
         <div className="flex flex-col items-end gap-1.5">
           <span className="text-konjo-mono text-[10px] uppercase tracking-widest text-konjo-fg-faint">
             {String(index + 1).padStart(2, "0")}
@@ -132,12 +133,12 @@ function ProjectCard({ project, index }: { project: Product; index: number }) {
       </div>
 
       {/* Name + tagline */}
-      <a
+      <Link
         href={`/products/${project.slug}`}
         className="text-konjo-display mt-5 inline-block text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight transition-colors hover:text-konjo-violet"
       >
         {project.name}
-      </a>
+      </Link>
       <p className="mt-2 text-sm leading-relaxed text-konjo-fg-muted">
         {project.tagline}
       </p>
@@ -161,13 +162,13 @@ function ProjectCard({ project, index }: { project: Product; index: number }) {
 
       {/* CTAs */}
       <div className="mt-5 flex items-center gap-3 text-xs">
-        <a
+        <Link
           href={`/products/${project.slug}`}
           className="text-konjo-mono inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 rounded-konjo border border-konjo-line bg-konjo-surface-2/60 px-3 py-1.5 text-konjo-fg transition-colors hover:bg-konjo-surface-2"
         >
           Details
           <span aria-hidden>→</span>
-        </a>
+        </Link>
         <a
           href={project.github}
           target="_blank"
diff --git a/apps/web/app/not-found.tsx b/apps/web/app/not-found.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0976162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/app/not-found.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { Footer } from "./_components/Footer";
+
+/** Konjo-branded 404 page — minimal, beautiful, on-brand. */
+export default function NotFound() {
+  return (
+    <main className="aurora-konjo relative flex min-h-screen flex-col items-center justify-center overflow-x-clip px-6 text-center">
+      <div className="aurora-konjo-bg" aria-hidden />
+
+      <div className="relative">
+        <p className="text-konjo-mono mb-4 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.3em] text-konjo-fg-faint">
+          Error 404
+        </p>
+
+        <h1
+          className="text-konjo-display text-[7rem] font-semibold leading-none tracking-tight sm:text-[10rem]"
+          style={{
+            background:
+              "linear-gradient(120deg, var(--color-konjo-brand-soft) 0%, var(--color-konjo-brand) 40%, var(--color-konjo-accent) 100%)",
+            WebkitBackgroundClip: "text",
+            WebkitTextFillColor: "transparent",
+            backgroundClip: "text",
+            color: "transparent",
+          }}
+        >
+          404
+        </h1>
+
+        <p className="mt-4 text-balance text-lg text-konjo-fg-muted">
+          This page wandered out of the constellation.
+        </p>
+
+        <div className="mt-8 flex flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-3">
+          <Link
+            href="/"
+            className="rounded-konjo-lg px-6 py-3 text-sm font-medium text-white transition-transform hover:-translate-y-0.5"
+            style={{ background: "var(--color-konjo-brand)" }}
+          >
+            Back to home
+          </Link>
+          <Link
+            href="/#projects"
+            className="rounded-konjo-lg border border-konjo-line bg-konjo-surface/60 px-6 py-3 text-sm font-medium text-konjo-fg backdrop-blur transition-colors hover:bg-konjo-surface"
+          >
+            Browse products
+          </Link>
+        </div>
+
+        <div
+          aria-hidden
+          className="text-konjo-mono pointer-events-none absolute -right-16 -top-16 select-none text-[200px] font-semibold leading-none text-konjo-violet/5 sm:-right-24 sm:-top-20 sm:text-[280px]"
+        >
+          ◌
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      <Footer />
+    </main>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/app/page.tsx b/apps/web/app/page.tsx
index bce72d3..0bc67a5 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/page.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/page.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { ProjectGrid } from "./_components/ProjectGrid";
 import { Hero } from "./_components/Hero";
 import { LiveTicker } from "./_components/LiveTicker";
 import { ConstellationMap } from "./_components/ConstellationMap";
+import { PhilosophySection } from "./_components/PhilosophySection";
 import { DesignPreview } from "./_components/DesignPreview";
 import { Footer } from "./_components/Footer";
 
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ export default function HomePage() {
       <Hero />
       <LiveTicker />
       <ConstellationMap />
+      <PhilosophySection />
       <DesignPreview />
       <ProjectGrid />
       <Footer />
diff --git a/apps/web/app/products/[slug]/loading.tsx b/apps/web/app/products/[slug]/loading.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..64299e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/app/products/[slug]/loading.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/** Skeleton loader shown while the product page server component streams in. */
+export default function ProductLoading() {
+  return (
+    <main className="aurora-konjo relative min-h-screen overflow-x-clip">
+      <div className="aurora-konjo-bg" aria-hidden />
+
+      {/* Breadcrumb skeleton */}
+      <div className="mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6 pt-6">
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <div className="h-3 w-12 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-3 w-2 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-3 w-16 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-3 w-2 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-3 w-20 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Metric strip skeleton */}
+      <div className="mx-auto max-w-6xl border-b border-konjo-line/40 px-6 py-5">
+        <div className="flex items-baseline gap-3">
+          <div className="h-14 w-28 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-3 w-20 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Hero skeleton */}
+      <div className="relative mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6 pt-24 pb-12 sm:pt-32">
+        <div className="mb-3 h-3 w-40 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        <div className="mb-4 h-16 w-72 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2 sm:w-96" />
+        <div className="mb-2 h-5 w-full max-w-lg animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        <div className="mb-5 h-5 w-2/3 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        <div className="flex gap-3">
+          <div className="h-10 w-36 animate-pulse rounded-konjo-lg bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-10 w-28 animate-pulse rounded-konjo-lg bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* About skeleton */}
+      <div className="mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6 pb-12">
+        <div className="space-y-3">
+          <div className="h-5 w-full max-w-2xl animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-5 w-5/6 max-w-2xl animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+          <div className="h-5 w-4/6 max-w-2xl animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {/* Feature grid skeleton */}
+      <div className="mx-auto max-w-6xl px-6 pb-16">
+        <div className="mb-6 h-8 w-40 animate-pulse rounded-konjo bg-konjo-surface-2" />
+        <div className="grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 sm:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3">
+          {Array.from({ length: 3 }, (_, i) => (
+            <div
+              key={i}
+              className="glass-konjo rounded-konjo-lg h-40 animate-pulse"
+              style={{ animationDelay: `${i * 100}ms` }}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </main>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/app/products/_components/RelatedProducts.tsx b/apps/web/app/products/_components/RelatedProducts.tsx
index 5ed68bc..40cc1ca 100644
--- a/apps/web/app/products/_components/RelatedProducts.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/app/products/_components/RelatedProducts.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
 import { StatusBadge, severity as sevColor } from "@konjoai/ui";
 import { PRODUCTS } from "@/lib/products";
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ export function RelatedProducts({ currentSlug }: RelatedProductsProps) {
 
           return (
             <li key={p.slug}>
-              <a
+              <Link
                 href={`/products/${p.slug}`}
                 className="glass-konjo rounded-konjo-lg group flex flex-col gap-3 p-5 transition-colors hover:bg-konjo-surface/60"
               >
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ export function RelatedProducts({ currentSlug }: RelatedProductsProps) {
                     {p.metric.label}
                   </span>
                 </div>
-              </a>
+              </Link>
             </li>
           );
         })}