diff --git a/packages/web/index.html b/packages/web/index.html
index f10910c6..d6557d6f 100644
--- a/packages/web/index.html
+++ b/packages/web/index.html
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 		<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.svg" sizes="any" type="image/svg+xml" />
 		<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png" />
 		<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.webmanifest" />
+		<link rel="preconnect" href="https://gravatar.com" />
 		<title>Sugabots</title>
 		<script>
 			/*
diff --git a/packages/web/src/ui/avatar.tsx b/packages/web/src/ui/avatar.tsx
index b5cfb1e3..6eb99f54 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/ui/avatar.tsx
+++ b/packages/web/src/ui/avatar.tsx
@@ -47,14 +47,22 @@ export function PersonAvatar({
 const GRAVATAR_PIXEL_RATIO = 2;
 
 /**
- * gravatarUrl returns the address of `email`'s Gravatar image, sized for `size`
- * CSS pixels. The address answers 404 when `email` has no Gravatar, rather than
- * serving a generated placeholder.
+ * Avatars up to this many CSS pixels all ask Gravatar for the same image, so a
+ * person's image is downloaded once however many sizes the page shows it at.
+ */
+const LARGEST_SHARED_GRAVATAR_PX = 64;
+
+/**
+ * gravatarUrl returns the address of `email`'s Gravatar image, sharp when shown
+ * at `size` CSS pixels. The address is the same for every `size` up to
+ * `LARGEST_SHARED_GRAVATAR_PX`. It answers 404 when `email` has no Gravatar,
+ * rather than serving a generated placeholder.
  */
 function gravatarUrl(email: string, size: number): string {
 	// Not `crypto.subtle`: browsers leave it undefined on pages served over plain HTTP.
 	const hash = bytesToHex(sha256(utf8ToBytes(email.trim().toLowerCase())));
-	return `https://gravatar.com/avatar/${hash}?s=${size * GRAVATAR_PIXEL_RATIO}&d=404`;
+	const requestedPx = Math.max(size, LARGEST_SHARED_GRAVATAR_PX) * GRAVATAR_PIXEL_RATIO;
+	return `https://gravatar.com/avatar/${hash}?s=${requestedPx}&d=404`;
 }
 
 function initials(name: string): string {
diff --git a/packages/web/src/ui/ui.test.tsx b/packages/web/src/ui/ui.test.tsx
index f987993c..ebffe81f 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/ui/ui.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/web/src/ui/ui.test.tsx
@@ -55,17 +55,33 @@ describe("PersonAvatar", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("shows the Gravatar for the normalized email", async () => {
-		render(
-			<PersonAvatar person={{ name: "Rowan Ellis", email: " ROWAN@Example.com" }} size={32} />,
-		);
+		render(<PersonAvatar person={{ name: "Rowan Ellis", email: " ROWAN@Example.com" }} />);
 
 		await vi.waitFor(() =>
 			expect(screen.getByTitle("Rowan Ellis").querySelector("img")?.getAttribute("src")).toBe(
-				"https://gravatar.com/avatar/d9d745372fba31973b3ba22d208479cdbb4d80fe62434ab86e1e93fb87fefde0?s=64&d=404",
+				"https://gravatar.com/avatar/d9d745372fba31973b3ba22d208479cdbb4d80fe62434ab86e1e93fb87fefde0?s=128&d=404",
 			),
 		);
 	});
 
+	it("asks for the same Gravatar image for avatars up to 64 pixels", async () => {
+		const rowan = { name: "Rowan Ellis", email: "rowan@example.com" };
+		render(
+			<>
+				<PersonAvatar person={rowan} size={20} />
+				<PersonAvatar person={rowan} size={64} />
+			</>,
+		);
+
+		await vi.waitFor(() => {
+			const [small, large] = screen
+				.getAllByTitle("Rowan Ellis")
+				.map((avatar) => avatar.querySelector("img")?.getAttribute("src"));
+			expect(small).toBeDefined();
+			expect(small).toBe(large);
+		});
+	});
+
 	it("keeps the initials when there is no Gravatar", async () => {
 		render(<PersonAvatar person={{ name: "Rowan Ellis", email: "rowan@example.com" }} />);
 		const gravatar = await vi.waitFor(() => {
diff --git a/packages/web/vite.config.ts b/packages/web/vite.config.ts
index adf939e3..887c35b2 100644
--- a/packages/web/vite.config.ts
+++ b/packages/web/vite.config.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
 		react(),
 		tailwindcss(),
 		preloadMe(),
+		preloadRubik(),
 		// The logo and icons belong to `@sugabots/avatars`. `index.html` cannot
 		// import from a package, so they are copied to the root instead.
 		viteStaticCopy({
@@ -86,6 +87,38 @@ function preloadMe(): Plugin {
 	};
 }
 
+/** Rubik's Latin file, which every page's text uses. Its other scripts load as text needs them. */
+const RUBIK_LATIN_FILE = "@fontsource-variable/rubik/files/rubik-latin-wght-normal.woff2";
+
+/**
+ * Starts Rubik, the app's text font, as the page arrives rather than once the
+ * stylesheet has loaded and the app has drawn text. Its name is hashed, so only
+ * a build can find it; the dev server and Storybook's iframe are left alone.
+ */
+function preloadRubik(): Plugin {
+	return {
+		name: "preload-rubik",
+		transformIndexHtml: (_html, { path, bundle }) => {
+			if (path !== "/index.html" || !bundle) return undefined;
+			const rubik = Object.values(bundle).find(
+				(file) =>
+					file.type === "asset" &&
+					file.originalFileNames.some((name) => name.endsWith(RUBIK_LATIN_FILE)),
+			);
+			// Fails the build rather than quietly dropping the preload if the package renames it.
+			if (!rubik) throw new Error(`The build has no ${RUBIK_LATIN_FILE} to preload`);
+			const href = `/${rubik.fileName}`;
+			return [
+				{
+					tag: "link",
+					attrs: { rel: "preload", as: "font", type: "font/woff2", crossorigin: true, href },
+					injectTo: "head",
+				},
+			];
+		},
+	};
+}
+
 /**
  * A file `@sugabots/avatars` exports, as a path the copy plugin's globbing
  * accepts: forward slashes, even on Windows.