diff --git a/tests/e2e/harness/log.go b/tests/e2e/harness/log.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8d998c9a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/harness/log.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+//go:build e2e
+
+package harness
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// ANSI color codes — rendered live by the Actions UI; raw escapes pass
+// through to artifact log files harmlessly. Disabled when stdout is not
+// a TTY and GITHUB_ACTIONS isn't set, so piped local `go test -v` stays
+// clean.
+var (
+	colorBold  = "\x1b[1m"
+	colorDim   = "\x1b[2m"
+	colorCyan  = "\x1b[36m"
+	colorReset = "\x1b[0m"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	if os.Getenv("GITHUB_ACTIONS") == "" && os.Getenv("FORCE_COLOR") == "" {
+		if fi, _ := os.Stdout.Stat(); fi == nil || (fi.Mode()&os.ModeCharDevice) == 0 {
+			colorBold, colorDim, colorCyan, colorReset = "", "", "", ""
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Phase writes a colored section banner directly to stdout, bypassing
+// t.Logf so the line lands flush-left without the testing framework's
+// `<file>:<line>:` prefix or forced indent. Banners are pure visual
+// structure — the diagnostic resource IDs themselves stay on t.Logf
+// (see Detail) so they remain attributed to the owning test in JUnit XML.
+//
+// Use sparingly: one line per logical phase, not per attribute.
+func Phase(t *testing.T, format string, args ...any) {
+	t.Helper()
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "\n%s%s━━ %s ━━%s\n", colorBold, colorCyan, fmt.Sprintf(format, args...), colorReset)
+}
+
+// Step emits a single-line sub-phase marker via t.Logf so it stays
+// attributed to the owning test in JUnit XML. Indent + file:line prefix
+// are accepted as the cost of correct attribution — these lines carry
+// progress detail (e.g. "waiting for instance running") that a triager
+// will want bucketed with the failing testcase.
+func Step(t *testing.T, format string, args ...any) {
+	t.Helper()
+	t.Logf("%s· %s%s", colorDim, fmt.Sprintf(format, args...), colorReset)
+}
+
+// Detail emits a key=value line via t.Logf — same attribution rationale
+// as Step. Pass alternating key, value, key, value …; mismatched lengths
+// panic so the bug surfaces at the test boundary.
+func Detail(t *testing.T, kvs ...any) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if len(kvs)%2 != 0 {
+		panic("harness.Detail: odd number of arguments; want key, value pairs")
+	}
+	var parts []string
+	for i := 0; i < len(kvs); i += 2 {
+		parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("%s%v%s=%v", colorDim, kvs[i], colorReset, kvs[i+1]))
+	}
+	t.Logf("%s", strings.Join(parts, " "))
+}
diff --git a/tests/e2e/lb/lb_test.go b/tests/e2e/lb/lb_test.go
index 02a030d30..656ff05b9 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/lb/lb_test.go
+++ b/tests/e2e/lb/lb_test.go
@@ -116,24 +116,29 @@ type sharedFixture struct {
 func setupSharedFixture(t *testing.T, c *harness.AWSClient, artifacts string) *sharedFixture {
 	t.Helper()
 	f := &sharedFixture{}
+
+	harness.Phase(t, "Discovering cluster capacity")
 	f.InstanceType = discoverNanoInstanceType(t, c)
 	f.AMIID = discoverAMI(t, c)
+
+	harness.Phase(t, "Ensuring SSH key pair %q", lbKeyName)
 	ensureKeyPair(t, c)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { deleteKeyPair(t, c) })
 
+	harness.Phase(t, "Creating shared VPC topology (%s)", lbVPCCIDR)
 	createVPC(t, c, f)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { deleteVPC(t, c, f) })
-
 	createIGW(t, c, f)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { deleteIGW(t, c, f) })
-
 	createSubnet(t, c, f)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { deleteSubnet(t, c, f) })
-
 	configureDefaultSG(t, c, f)
+
+	harness.Phase(t, "Launching app instances (2× %s)", f.InstanceType)
 	launchAppInstances(t, c, f)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { terminateInstances(t, c, f.AppInstanceIDs) })
 
+	harness.Phase(t, "Launching probe client")
 	launchSharedProbeClient(t, c, f)
 	t.Cleanup(func() { terminateInstances(t, c, []string{f.ClientID}) })