Same dropdown, three treatments. Current is a faithful replica of today. Direction A (Refined) and Direction B (Vibrant) both surface License category as the recommended primary filter, show the new descriptions, and make the list feel more alive. All anchored to the real Inter + shadcn tokens. Hover rows to feel the states; the License category row shows as selected. Motion is restrained on purpose — this picker opens dozens of times a day.
288px · monochrome · plain text group headers · all pills the same gray · description as tiny 10px subtext · weak ✓-only selected state.
328px · group icon + count · descriptions legible (11px) · Recommended = primary-tinted row + filled blue pill + star · accent selected row. Professional, calm.
356px · per-category color (icon chip + tinted hover + selected rail) · Recommended = emerald elevated card + ✦ pill · color-coded pills. More alive, still tasteful.
scale .96→1 + opacity, 180ms ease-out (you see it on load/refresh). Row hover = background 150ms ease-out; press = scale(0.99). No per-row stagger (the picker opens too often for that). Respects prefers-reduced-motion.multi / inferred / n/a badges, keyboard nav. Nothing functional is removed — this is presentation only.