diff --git a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphEntityShape.ts b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphEntityShape.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2cfc45e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphEntityShape.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import type { GraphEntityShapeVariant } from "./graphTheme";
+
+export const ENTITY_SHAPE_ALIASES: Array<[GraphEntityShapeVariant, RegExp]> = [
+  ["biomolecule", /\b(gene|protein|enzyme|receptor|target|transcript|rna|dna|mirna|biomolecule|peptide)\b/i],
+  ["condition", /\b(disease|condition|phenotype|symptom|disorder|syndrome|diagnosis|pathology|trait)\b/i],
+  ["compound", /\b(drug|chemical|compound|metabolite|molecule|small[_\s-]?molecule|ligand|therapeutic|medication|substance)\b/i],
+  ["process", /\b(pathway|process|mechanism|function|ontology|biological[_\s-]?process|cellular[_\s-]?process|program|module)\b/i],
+];
+
+export function classifyEntityShape(
+  nodeType?: string,
+  semanticGroup?: string,
+  content?: string,
+  properties?: Record<string, unknown>,
+): GraphEntityShapeVariant {
+  const values = [
+    nodeType,
+    semanticGroup,
+    content,
+    String(properties?.type ?? ""),
+    String(properties?.category ?? ""),
+    String(properties?.label ?? ""),
+  ]
+    .filter((value) => typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0)
+    .join(" ");
+
+  for (const [shape, pattern] of ENTITY_SHAPE_ALIASES) {
+    if (pattern.test(values)) {
+      return shape;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return "entity";
+}
diff --git a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphSceneState.ts b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphSceneState.ts
index d2ef696f..698254c7 100644
--- a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphSceneState.ts
+++ b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphSceneState.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import {
   withAlpha,
   zoomTierAtLeast,
 } from "./graphTheme";
+import { classifyEntityShape } from "./graphEntityShape";
 import { computeGraphAnalyticsBase } from "./graphAnalytics";
 import type {
   GraphDisplayMeta,
@@ -1090,7 +1091,15 @@ export function resolveEntityShape(attrs: NodeAttributes): GraphEntityShapeVaria
     return "community";
   }
 
-  return attrs.entityShape || "entity";
+  // Prefer the shape stamped at load time; fall back to classifyEntityShape for
+  // nodes created programmatically that bypassed useLoadGraph.
+  return attrs.entityShape
+    || classifyEntityShape(
+      attrs.nodeType,
+      attrs.semanticGroup,
+      attrs.content,
+      attrs.properties as Record<string, unknown> | undefined,
+    );
 }
 
 export function resolveEdgeVariant(state: GraphEdgeVisualState, attrs: EdgeAttributes): GraphEdgeVariant {
diff --git a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphTheme.ts b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphTheme.ts
index dfa0ebb8..e6677244 100644
--- a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphTheme.ts
+++ b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/graphTheme.ts
@@ -832,8 +832,10 @@ export const GRAPH_THEME: GraphTheme = {
       bridgeMaxSize: 0.7,
       structureEdgeAlpha: 0.12,
       inspectionEdgeAlpha: 0.1,
-      },
-      fullGraphStructureLayer: {
+    },
+    // Staged rollout — set mode to "auto" to enable cross-community curve rendering.
+    // Currently "off" so the canvas overlay layer is inactive in production.
+    fullGraphStructureLayer: {
       mode: "off",
       minimumLiteralEdges: 24,
       minimumCurves: 8,
@@ -843,19 +845,19 @@ export const GRAPH_THEME: GraphTheme = {
       bridgeLineWidth: 0.9,
       backboneLineWidth: 0.62,
       curveStrength: 0.12,
-      },
-      },
-      interaction: {
-      localContextAlpha: 0.32,
-      hoverContextAlpha: 0.32,
-      selectedEdgeAlpha: 0.6,
-      pathEdgeAlpha: 0.76,
-      localContextMaxSize: 0.6,
-      selectedEdgeMaxSize: 1.0,
-      pathEdgeMaxSize: 1.4,
-      pathOverlayAlpha: 0.16,
-      },
-      overlays: {
+    },
+  },
+  interaction: {
+    localContextAlpha: 0.32,
+    hoverContextAlpha: 0.32,
+    selectedEdgeAlpha: 0.6,
+    pathEdgeAlpha: 0.76,
+    localContextMaxSize: 0.6,
+    selectedEdgeMaxSize: 1.0,
+    pathEdgeMaxSize: 1.4,
+    pathOverlayAlpha: 0.16,
+  },
+  overlays: {
     hoverGlowAlpha: 0.18,
     pathGlowAlpha: 0.16,
     glowRadiusMultiplier: 4.8,
diff --git a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/useLoadGraph.ts b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/useLoadGraph.ts
index 02214e85..f23c563a 100644
--- a/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/useLoadGraph.ts
+++ b/explorer/src/workspaces/GraphWorkspace/useLoadGraph.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
   type GraphLabelVisibilityPolicy,
   type GraphNodeShapeVariant,
 } from "./graphTheme";
+import { classifyEntityShape } from "./graphEntityShape";
 import { createGraphLoadProgress } from "./graphLoading";
 import type { GraphLoadProgress, GraphLoadSummary } from "./types";
 
@@ -30,12 +31,6 @@ const SEMANTIC_COLOR_FIELDS = [
 ] as const;
 
 const PROVENANCE_KEYS = ["source", "source_url", "pmid", "pmids", "evidence", "provenance", "confidence"] as const;
-const ENTITY_SHAPE_ALIASES: Array<[GraphEntityShapeVariant, RegExp]> = [
-  ["biomolecule", /\b(gene|protein|enzyme|receptor|target|transcript|rna|dna|mirna|biomolecule|peptide)\b/i],
-  ["condition", /\b(disease|condition|phenotype|symptom|disorder|syndrome|diagnosis|pathology|trait)\b/i],
-  ["compound", /\b(drug|chemical|compound|metabolite|molecule|small[_\s-]?molecule|ligand|therapeutic|medication|substance)\b/i],
-  ["process", /\b(pathway|process|mechanism|function|ontology|biological[_\s-]?process|cellular[_\s-]?process|program|module)\b/i],
-];
 
 function getSemanticFieldValue(attributes: NodeAttributes, field: (typeof SEMANTIC_COLOR_FIELDS)[number]): string | null {
   if (field === "nodeType") {
@@ -204,24 +199,12 @@ function getProvenanceCount(properties: Record<string, unknown>): number {
 }
 
 function resolveEntityShape(attributes: NodeAttributes, semanticGroup: string): GraphEntityShapeVariant {
-  const values = [
+  return classifyEntityShape(
     attributes.nodeType,
     semanticGroup,
     attributes.content,
-    String(attributes.properties?.type ?? ""),
-    String(attributes.properties?.category ?? ""),
-    String(attributes.properties?.label ?? ""),
-  ]
-    .filter((value) => typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0)
-    .join(" ");
-
-  for (const [shape, pattern] of ENTITY_SHAPE_ALIASES) {
-    if (pattern.test(values)) {
-      return shape;
-    }
-  }
-
-  return "entity";
+    attributes.properties as Record<string, unknown> | undefined,
+  );
 }
 
 function resolveNodeVariantMetadata(