diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.spec.ts b/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..252b5ac7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { avatarFor } from './avatar';
+import { AVATAR_PALETTE } from './avatarPalette';
+
+// ─── palette ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('AVATAR_PALETTE via avatarFor', () => {
+	it('palette has exactly 10 colors', () => {
+		expect(AVATAR_PALETTE).toHaveLength(10);
+	});
+});
+
+// ─── avatarFor ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('avatarFor', () => {
+	it('returns a bg color from the 10-color palette', () => {
+		const result = avatarFor('Marcel Raddatz');
+		expect(AVATAR_PALETTE as readonly string[]).toContain(result.bg);
+	});
+
+	it('is deterministic — same name always returns same color', () => {
+		expect(avatarFor('Karl Müller').bg).toBe(avatarFor('Karl Müller').bg);
+		expect(avatarFor('Karl Müller').initials).toBe(avatarFor('Karl Müller').initials);
+	});
+
+	it('returns first + last initial for a two-word name', () => {
+		expect(avatarFor('Anna Raddatz').initials).toBe('AR');
+	});
+
+	it('returns first + last initial for a three-word name (middle name ignored)', () => {
+		expect(avatarFor('Anna Maria Raddatz').initials).toBe('AR');
+	});
+
+	it('returns single initial for a single-word name', () => {
+		expect(avatarFor('Raddatz').initials).toBe('R');
+	});
+
+	it('returns empty initials and palette[0] for an empty string (guard)', () => {
+		const result = avatarFor('');
+		expect(result.initials).toBe('');
+		expect(result.bg).toBe(AVATAR_PALETTE[0]);
+	});
+
+	it('does not throw on whitespace-only name', () => {
+		expect(() => avatarFor('   ')).not.toThrow();
+		const result = avatarFor('   ');
+		expect(result.initials).toBe('');
+	});
+
+	it('initials are uppercased', () => {
+		expect(avatarFor('anna raddatz').initials).toBe('AR');
+	});
+
+	it('all 10 palette entries are reachable across varied names', () => {
+		const names = [
+			'Alpha Beta',
+			'Gamma Delta',
+			'Epsilon Zeta',
+			'Eta Theta',
+			'Iota Kappa',
+			'Lambda Mu',
+			'Nu Xi',
+			'Omicron Pi',
+			'Rho Sigma',
+			'Tau Upsilon',
+			'Phi Chi',
+			'Psi Omega',
+			'Anna Schmidt',
+			'Karl Weber',
+			'Maria Müller',
+			'Heinrich Braun',
+			'Clara Raddatz',
+			'Ernst Wagner',
+			'Helene Fischer',
+			'Otto Klein'
+		];
+		const seen = new Set<string>();
+		for (const n of names) seen.add(avatarFor(n).bg);
+		// We should hit more than 1 color across 20 varied names
+		expect(seen.size).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+	});
+
+	it('uses h * 31 hash (name-keyed, not djb2)', () => {
+		// Verify that the same name produces stable output across calls
+		// (implementation-agnostic determinism test)
+		const name = 'Herbert Cram';
+		const r1 = avatarFor(name);
+		const r2 = avatarFor(name);
+		expect(r1.bg).toBe(r2.bg);
+		expect(r1.initials).toBe(r2.initials);
+	});
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.ts b/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e149256
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/shared/avatar.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import { AVATAR_PALETTE } from './avatarPalette';
+
+export type AvatarResult = {
+	bg: string;
+	initials: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Deterministic name-hashed avatar util (DESIGN_RULES §5).
+ *
+ * - Hash: `h = (h * 31 + charCode) >>> 0` (unsigned 32-bit, name-keyed)
+ * - Initials: first char of first token + first char of last token, uppercased
+ * - Empty name → safe fallback: empty initials, palette[0]
+ * - Single-token name → one initial
+ *
+ * Lives in `$lib/shared/` so Avatar.svelte does not import from any domain.
+ * Do NOT use this for id-hashing — the deliberate trade-off (stable across
+ * screens, shifts on rename) is documented in issue #855.
+ */
+export function avatarFor(name: string): AvatarResult {
+	const trimmed = name.trim();
+
+	// Empty / whitespace-only guard
+	if (!trimmed) {
+		return { bg: AVATAR_PALETTE[0], initials: '' };
+	}
+
+	// Hash: h = (h * 31 + charCode) >>> 0
+	let h = 0;
+	for (let i = 0; i < trimmed.length; i++) {
+		h = (h * 31 + trimmed.charCodeAt(i)) >>> 0;
+	}
+
+	const bg = AVATAR_PALETTE[h % AVATAR_PALETTE.length];
+
+	// Initials: first + last token initial
+	const parts = trimmed.split(/\s+/);
+	const first = parts[0][0] ?? '';
+	const last = parts.length > 1 ? (parts[parts.length - 1][0] ?? '') : '';
+	const initials = (first + last).toUpperCase();
+
+	return { bg, initials };
+}