diff --git a/agent/JOURNAL.md b/agent/JOURNAL.md
index 16ce43d..1a66ce9 100644
--- a/agent/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/agent/JOURNAL.md
@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@ Template:
 - **Did:** Added Terminal, Keyboard Layout, and Auto-Login options to the Control Center. Wired them to the Nix options via `config.nomarchy.settings.*`.
 - **Verified:** V1 (flake check --no-build).
 
+## 2026-07-06 — theme UI review (iteration #52)
+- **Task:** Make every surface stunning with a glassmorphic style (Backlog #28).
+- **Did:** Researched modern Hyprland styles and generated a concept using Nano Banana. Created the `neon-glass` preset featuring a floating, segmented pill-style Waybar (`waybar.css`) and a glassmorphic Rofi launcher (`rofi.rasi`). Generated a matching 4K wallpaper.
+- **Verified:** Contrast checker script passed (22 themes x 7 pairings green). Flake check passed cleanly.
+
 ## 2026-07-06 — waybar redesign (iteration #50, one-off)
 - **Task:** User request — remove system usage (CPU) and memory items from waybar.
 - **Did:** removed `cpu` and `memory` from `modules-right` and the CSS styling blocks in `modules/home/waybar.nix`.
diff --git a/themes/neon-glass.json b/themes/neon-glass.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f871b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/themes/neon-glass.json
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "name": "Neon Glass",
+  "slug": "neon-glass",
+  "mode": "dark",
+  "wallpaper": "",
+  "colors": {
+    "base": "#0B0E14",
+    "mantle": "#07090D",
+    "surface": "#151A22",
+    "overlay": "#1E2530",
+    "text": "#E0E6F0",
+    "subtext": "#8F9BB3",
+    "muted": "#4B566B",
+    "accent": "#00F0FF",
+    "accentAlt": "#B026FF",
+    "good": "#00FFA3",
+    "warn": "#FFD000",
+    "bad": "#FF003C"
+  },
+  "border": {
+    "active": "accent",
+    "inactive": "overlay"
+  },
+  "ansi": [
+    "#151A22",
+    "#FF003C",
+    "#00FFA3",
+    "#FFD000",
+    "#00F0FF",
+    "#B026FF",
+    "#00E5FF",
+    "#E0E6F0",
+    "#4B566B",
+    "#FF3366",
+    "#33FFB8",
+    "#FFE033",
+    "#33F3FF",
+    "#C44DFF",
+    "#33EBFF",
+    "#FFFFFF"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/themes/neon-glass/backgrounds/wallpaper.png b/themes/neon-glass/backgrounds/wallpaper.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3f1a17
Binary files /dev/null and b/themes/neon-glass/backgrounds/wallpaper.png differ
diff --git a/themes/neon-glass/rofi.rasi b/themes/neon-glass/rofi.rasi
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b0f304
--- /dev/null
+++ b/themes/neon-glass/rofi.rasi
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+/* 
+ * Neon Glass Rofi Theme
+ * Glassmorphic, transparent, blurred background with glowing accents.
+ */
+
+* {
+    /* Using standard theme palette via env variables injected by home-manager,
+       or fallback if testing independently. The whole-swap still gets the 
+       colors injected into the RASI by the module! */
+    background-color: transparent;
+    text-color: var(text, #E0E6F0);
+    font: "Inter 13";
+}
+
+window {
+    width: 600px;
+    /* transparent base with slight tint */
+    background-color: rgba(11, 14, 20, 0.45);
+    border: 1px solid rgba(0, 240, 255, 0.3);
+    border-radius: 24px;
+    padding: 24px;
+    /* Blur would be applied via hyprland layerrule for rofi */
+}
+
+mainbox {
+    spacing: 16px;
+}
+
+inputbar {
+    background-color: rgba(21, 26, 34, 0.5);
+    border: 1px solid rgba(0, 240, 255, 0.5);
+    border-radius: 12px;
+    padding: 12px 16px;
+    spacing: 12px;
+    children: [ prompt, entry ];
+}
+
+prompt {
+    text-color: var(accent, #00F0FF);
+}
+
+entry {
+    placeholder: "Search...";
+    placeholder-color: var(subtext, #8F9BB3);
+}
+
+listview {
+    lines: 7;
+    spacing: 8px;
+    scrollbar: false;
+    border: 0px;
+}
+
+element {
+    padding: 10px 16px;
+    border-radius: 12px;
+    spacing: 12px;
+}
+
+element normal.normal, element alternate.normal {
+    background-color: transparent;
+}
+
+element selected.normal {
+    background-color: rgba(0, 240, 255, 0.15);
+    border: 1px solid rgba(0, 240, 255, 0.4);
+    text-color: var(accent, #00F0FF);
+}
+
+element-icon {
+    size: 24px;
+    background-color: transparent;
+}
+
+element-text {
+    background-color: transparent;
+    vertical-align: 0.5;
+}
+
+element-text selected {
+    text-color: var(accent, #00F0FF);
+}
diff --git a/themes/neon-glass/waybar.css b/themes/neon-glass/waybar.css
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e24378d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/themes/neon-glass/waybar.css
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/* Neon Glass Waybar — Segmented floating pills with glassmorphism */
+
+* {
+  font-family: "Inter", "Symbols Nerd Font", sans-serif;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 0;
+  min-height: 0;
+}
+
+window#waybar {
+  /* The main bar background is transparent so the wallpaper shows through */
+  background: transparent;
+  color: @text;
+}
+
+/* 
+ * The pill containers: left, center, right.
+ * Glassmorphism: semi-transparent base + blur (blur requires hyprland layerrule if waybar doesn't natively blur, but alpha base helps).
+ */
+.modules-left,
+.modules-center,
+.modules-right {
+  background: alpha(@base, 0.45);
+  border: 1px solid alpha(@accent, 0.2);
+  border-radius: 20px;
+  margin: 4px 6px;
+  padding: 2px 8px;
+  box-shadow: 0 4px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
+}
+
+/* Add a glowing top border effect on hover or generally to accent the glass */
+.modules-left {
+  border-top: 1px solid alpha(@accent, 0.6);
+}
+.modules-center {
+  border-top: 1px solid alpha(@text, 0.3);
+}
+.modules-right {
+  border-top: 1px solid alpha(@accentAlt, 0.6);
+}
+
+/* Remove default padding from individual modules so they fit snug in the pill */
+#workspaces button,
+#window,
+#clock,
+#tray,
+#pulseaudio,
+#battery,
+#custom-notification,
+#custom-vpn,
+#custom-powerprofile,
+#custom-updates,
+#custom-doctor {
+  padding: 0 8px;
+  margin: 0 2px;
+}
+
+/* Workspaces */
+#workspaces button {
+  color: @subtext;
+  border-radius: 12px;
+  transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.25, 1, 0.5, 1);
+}
+
+#workspaces button:hover {
+  background: alpha(@surface, 0.5);
+  color: @text;
+}
+
+#workspaces button.active {
+  color: @accent;
+  background: alpha(@accent, 0.15);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px alpha(@accent, 0.4);
+}
+
+#workspaces button.urgent {
+  color: @bad;
+  background: alpha(@bad, 0.15);
+}
+
+/* Indicators */
+#battery.charging { color: @good; }
+#battery.warning:not(.charging) { color: @warn; }
+#battery.critical:not(.charging) {
+  color: @bad;
+  animation: blink 1s steps(2, start) infinite;
+}
+
+#pulseaudio.muted { color: @muted; }
+
+#custom-updates { color: @accentAlt; }
+#custom-doctor { color: @bad; }
+#custom-vpn { color: @accent; }
+
+@keyframes blink {
+  to { color: @text; }
+}
+
+tooltip {
+  background: alpha(@base, 0.85);
+  border: 1px solid alpha(@accent, 0.4);
+  border-radius: 12px;
+}
+tooltip label {
+  color: @text;
+}