diff --git a/packages/git-ui/src/components/molecules/author-facepile.jsx b/packages/git-ui/src/components/molecules/author-facepile.jsx
index 5922c91..97dbbd7 100644
--- a/packages/git-ui/src/components/molecules/author-facepile.jsx
+++ b/packages/git-ui/src/components/molecules/author-facepile.jsx
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ function Face({ person, index }) {
       // between it and the one behind. A ring drawn here would have to guess
       // the colour behind the pile, which differs from one band to the next.
       className={cn(
-        'relative size-[18px] shrink-0',
+        'relative size-4 shrink-0',
         DEPTH[index],
         index > 0 && '-ml-1.5',
       )}
diff --git a/packages/git-ui/src/lib/authors.js b/packages/git-ui/src/lib/authors.js
index 445b160..711be6d 100644
--- a/packages/git-ui/src/lib/authors.js
+++ b/packages/git-ui/src/lib/authors.js
@@ -148,15 +148,17 @@ export function describeAuthor(ident) {
       title: `${ident} · named by @${owner()?.handle ?? account.handle}`,
     };
   }
-  if (profile) {
+  // The DID rides out whether or not a profile is known, because it is what
+  // a face with no picture draws its pattern from. Seeding that from the name
+  // instead would give one person two faces on one page: an identicon beside
+  // their words, where the DID is in hand, and something else on their
+  // commits.
+  if (named) {
     return {
-      name: profile.displayName || profile.handle,
-      handle: profile.handle,
-      // The DID rides along so a face with no picture draws the same
-      // identicon here as it does beside this account's own words. Seeding
-      // it from the handle instead would give one person two patterns.
+      name: profile?.displayName || profile?.handle || name || email,
+      handle: profile?.handle ?? '',
       did: named,
-      avatar: profile.avatar,
+      avatar: profile?.avatar ?? '',
       atproto: true,
       title: `${ident} · claimed by @${owner()?.handle ?? account.handle}`,
     };
@@ -164,6 +166,7 @@ export function describeAuthor(ident) {
   return {
     name: name || email || 'unknown',
     handle: '',
+    did: '',
     avatar: '',
     atproto: false,
     title: ident,
diff --git a/packages/git-ui/test/authors.test.js b/packages/git-ui/test/authors.test.js
index 6bf4877..ee1e444 100644
--- a/packages/git-ui/test/authors.test.js
+++ b/packages/git-ui/test/authors.test.js
@@ -98,6 +98,25 @@ describe('describing a commit author', () => {
     expect(author.name).toBe('A Friend');
     expect(author.handle).toBe('friend.example');
     expect(author.atproto).toBe(true);
+    expect(author.did).toBe(FRIEND);
+  });
+
+  it('carries the DID of a claimed account that publishes no profile', async () => {
+    // The DID is what a face with no picture draws its pattern from, so
+    // dropping it here gave one person an identicon beside their words and a
+    // bare letter on their commits.
+    serve(
+      [{ email: 'friend@example.com', did: FRIEND }],
+      [{ did: OWNER, handle: 'owner.example', displayName: 'The Account' }],
+    );
+    await loadAuthors();
+
+    const author = describeAuthor('Friend <friend@example.com>');
+    expect(author.did).toBe(FRIEND);
+    expect(author.atproto).toBe(true);
+    // Nothing said what to call them, so the commit's own name stands.
+    expect(author.name).toBe('Friend');
+    expect(author.avatar).toBe('');
   });
 
   it('reads a claim with neither DID nor label as the account itself', async () => {