diff --git a/src/components/DropZone.tsx b/src/components/DropZone.tsx
index 7fb5b04..e99df23 100644
--- a/src/components/DropZone.tsx
+++ b/src/components/DropZone.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,17 @@ interface DropZoneProps {
   onBrowse: () => void;
 }
 
+const FORMAT_PILLS = [
+  { label: "IMG", color: "bg-pink/10 text-pink" },
+  { label: "PDF", color: "bg-orange/10 text-orange" },
+  { label: "MP4", color: "bg-purple/10 text-purple" },
+  { label: "MP3", color: "bg-blue/10 text-blue" },
+  { label: "SVG", color: "bg-teal/10 text-teal" },
+  { label: "CSV", color: "bg-mint/10 text-mint" },
+  { label: "DOCX", color: "bg-orange/10 text-orange" },
+  { label: "+60", color: "bg-[#f6f6f6] text-text-light" },
+];
+
 export function DropZone({
   isDragging,
   onDragEnter,
@@ -23,7 +34,6 @@ export function DropZone({
   onDrop,
   onBrowse,
 }: DropZoneProps) {
-  // Empty state inside Finder window
   return (
     <div
       className="flex min-h-full items-center justify-center px-6 sm:px-10 py-12 sm:py-20"
@@ -34,81 +44,112 @@ export function DropZone({
       onDrop={onDrop}
     >
       <motion.div
-        className="flex w-full max-w-2xl flex-col items-center gap-5 sm:gap-6 text-center"
+        className="flex w-full max-w-lg flex-col items-center text-center"
         initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 16 }}
         animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
         transition={{ duration: 0.5, ease: [0.16, 1, 0.3, 1] as const }}
       >
-        {/* Upload icon */}
-        <motion.div
-          className={`flex items-center justify-center w-20 h-20 sm:w-28 sm:h-28 rounded-3xl transition-all duration-300 ${
+        {/* Card */}
+        <div
+          className={`w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-5 sm:gap-6 px-8 sm:px-12 py-10 sm:py-12 rounded-2xl border transition-all duration-300 ${
             isDragging
-              ? "bg-pink/12 text-pink scale-110"
-              : "bg-[#f6f6f6] text-text-light"
+              ? "bg-pink/[0.03] border-pink/20 shadow-[0_8px_40px_rgba(244,114,182,0.12)]"
+              : "bg-white border-border-soft shadow-[0_4px_24px_rgba(45,31,20,0.07)]"
           }`}
-          animate={{
-            y: isDragging ? -8 : 0,
-            rotate: isDragging ? -3 : 0,
-          }}
-          transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 20 }}
         >
-          <svg
-            width="40"
-            height="40"
-            viewBox="0 0 48 48"
-            fill="none"
-            className="sm:w-12 sm:h-12"
+          {/* Upload icon — gradient bg + glow */}
+          <motion.div
+            className={`flex items-center justify-center w-20 h-20 sm:w-24 sm:h-24 rounded-2xl transition-all duration-300 ${
+              isDragging
+                ? "shadow-[0_0_40px_rgba(244,114,182,0.4)]"
+                : "shadow-[0_0_32px_rgba(244,114,182,0.2)]"
+            }`}
+            style={{
+              background: isDragging
+                ? "linear-gradient(135deg, #f472b6 0%, #a78bfa 100%)"
+                : "linear-gradient(135deg, #f9a8d4 0%, #c4b5fd 100%)",
+            }}
+            animate={{
+              y: isDragging ? -6 : 0,
+              rotate: isDragging ? -3 : 0,
+            }}
+            transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 20 }}
           >
-            <path
-              d="M24 32V12M24 12L16 20M24 12L32 20"
-              stroke="currentColor"
-              strokeWidth="2.5"
-              strokeLinecap="round"
-              strokeLinejoin="round"
-            />
-            <path
-              d="M8 28v8a4 4 0 004 4h24a4 4 0 004-4v-8"
-              stroke="currentColor"
-              strokeWidth="2.5"
-              strokeLinecap="round"
-              strokeLinejoin="round"
-            />
-          </svg>
-        </motion.div>
+            <svg
+              width="36"
+              height="36"
+              viewBox="0 0 48 48"
+              fill="none"
+              className="sm:w-10 sm:h-10"
+            >
+              <path
+                d="M24 32V12M24 12L16 20M24 12L32 20"
+                stroke="white"
+                strokeWidth="2.5"
+                strokeLinecap="round"
+                strokeLinejoin="round"
+              />
+              <path
+                d="M8 28v8a4 4 0 004 4h24a4 4 0 004-4v-8"
+                stroke="white"
+                strokeWidth="2.5"
+                strokeLinecap="round"
+                strokeLinejoin="round"
+              />
+            </svg>
+          </motion.div>
 
-        <div className="max-w-xl">
-          <h2 className="font-serif text-3xl sm:text-5xl font-extrabold text-text-dark tracking-tight mb-3">
-            {isDragging ? "Release to add" : "Drop files here"}
-          </h2>
-          <p className="text-text-mid text-base sm:text-xl max-w-xl leading-relaxed">
-            {isDragging
-              ? "Your files are ready for transformation"
-              : "Images, documents, audio, video, data — all formats welcome"}
+          {/* Heading + subtitle */}
+          <div>
+            <h2 className="font-serif text-3xl sm:text-4xl font-extrabold text-text-dark tracking-tight mb-2">
+              {isDragging ? "Release to add" : "Drop files here"}
+            </h2>
+            <p className="text-text-mid text-sm sm:text-base leading-relaxed">
+              {isDragging
+                ? "Your files are ready for transformation"
+                : "Images, documents, audio, video, data — all formats welcome"}
+            </p>
+          </div>
+
+          {/* Format pills */}
+          {!isDragging && (
+            <div className="flex flex-wrap justify-center gap-1.5">
+              {FORMAT_PILLS.map(({ label, color }) => (
+                <span
+                  key={label}
+                  className={`font-mono text-[10px] font-semibold tracking-wide px-2.5 py-1 rounded-full ${color}`}
+                >
+                  {label}
+                </span>
+              ))}
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          {/* Browse button */}
+          <motion.button
+            className="inline-flex items-center gap-2.5 px-7 sm:px-8 py-3 sm:py-3.5 text-base sm:text-lg font-bold text-white bg-pink rounded-2xl cursor-pointer shadow-[0_6px_24px_rgba(244,114,182,0.25)] hover:-translate-y-0.5 hover:shadow-[0_8px_30px_rgba(244,114,182,0.35)] active:scale-[0.97] transition-all border-none"
+            onClick={onBrowse}
+            whileHover={{ scale: 1.03 }}
+            whileTap={{ scale: 0.97 }}
+          >
+            <svg
+              width="14"
+              height="14"
+              viewBox="0 0 24 24"
+              fill="none"
+              stroke="currentColor"
+              strokeWidth="2"
+            >
+              <path d="M3 7v10a2 2 0 002 2h14a2 2 0 002-2V9a2 2 0 00-2-2h-6l-2-2H5a2 2 0 00-2 2z" />
+            </svg>
+            Browse files
+          </motion.button>
+
+          {/* Trust signal */}
+          <p className="font-mono text-[11px] text-text-light/60 tracking-wide -mt-1">
+            70+ formats &mdash; 100% client-side
           </p>
         </div>
-
-        <motion.button
-          className="inline-flex items-center gap-2.5 mt-2 px-7 sm:px-8 py-3 sm:py-3.5 text-base sm:text-lg font-bold text-white bg-pink rounded-2xl cursor-pointer shadow-[0_6px_24px_rgba(244,114,182,0.25)] hover:-translate-y-0.5 hover:shadow-[0_8px_30px_rgba(244,114,182,0.35)] active:scale-[0.97] transition-all border-none"
-          onClick={onBrowse}
-          whileHover={{ scale: 1.03 }}
-          whileTap={{ scale: 0.97 }}
-        >
-          <svg
-            width="14"
-            height="14"
-            viewBox="0 0 24 24"
-            fill="none"
-            stroke="currentColor"
-            strokeWidth="2"
-          >
-            <path d="M3 7v10a2 2 0 002 2h14a2 2 0 002-2V9a2 2 0 00-2-2h-6l-2-2H5a2 2 0 00-2 2z" />
-          </svg>
-          Browse files
-        </motion.button>
-
-        <p className="font-mono text-xs sm:text-sm text-text-light/60 tracking-wide mt-2">
-          70+ formats &mdash; 100% client-side
-        </p>
       </motion.div>
     </div>
   );