diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,25 +1,102 @@
 # Reactome Illustrations
-
 SVG icons and EHLD diagrams for [Reactome](https://reactome.org/) pathway diagrams, sourced from Figma.
 
 ## Contents
-
 - `icons/` - SVG icons and XML metadata files (R-ICO-XXXXXX.svg and .xml)
 - `ehld/` - EHLD diagram SVGs (R-HSA-XXXXXX.svg)
+- `statics/` - SVG static diagrams (R-HSA-XXXXXX.svg)
 - `download_illustrations.py` - Script to download icons and EHLDs from Figma and validate them
 - `VERSION` - Current release version number
 
 ## Prerequisites
-
 - Python 3 with `requests` (`pip install requests`)
 - Docker (for the [illustration-validator](https://github.com/reactome/illustration-validator))
-- A Figma personal access token
+- A Figma personal access token — stored as a GitHub Actions secret (`FIGMA_TOKEN`) for the GitHub Actions workflow, or set as an environment variable for local use
+
+---
 
 ## Usage
 
+There are two ways to download and validate illustrations: via **GitHub Actions** (recommended) or **locally** via the command line.
+
+---
+
+### Option 1: GitHub Actions (Recommended)
+
+This is the preferred method. Everything runs on GitHub's servers — no local setup required beyond having write access to the repo.
+
+#### How to trigger a download
+
+1. Go to the **Actions** tab in the repository
+2. Select **"Download illustrations from Figma"** from the left sidebar (it may be pinned at the top)
+3. Click **"Run workflow"**
+4. Fill in the options (see below) and click the green **"Run workflow"** button
+
+#### Workflow options
+
+- **What to download** — choose one of:
+  - `everything` — downloads all EHLDs and all icons
+  - `ehlds-only` — downloads EHLD diagrams only
+  - `icons-only` — downloads icons only
+
+- **Specific EHLDs to download** — optional. If you selected `ehlds-only` and only want to update certain diagrams, enter their IDs here space-separated (e.g. `R-HSA-1234567 R-HSA-9876543`). Leave blank to download all EHLDs.
+
+- **Specific icons to download** — optional. If you selected `icons-only` and only want to update certain icons, enter their IDs here space-separated (e.g. `R-ICO-012345 R-ICO-012346`). Leave blank to download all icons.
+
+> **Note:** The specific ID fields are always visible but only take effect when `ehlds-only` or `icons-only` is selected.
+
+#### Use case 1: Full fresh download (new release)
+
+Use this when preparing a new release and you want to pull everything fresh from Figma.
+
+1. Make sure you are running the workflow from **main** (default)
+2. Select `everything`
+3. Leave both specific ID fields blank
+4. Click **Run workflow**
+
+A new branch called `figma-download-YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM` will be created automatically with all the downloaded files. Validation runs automatically after the download. Once you're happy, open a pull request from that branch to main.
+
+#### Use case 2: Updating specific files (e.g. fixing a single EHLD or icon)
+
+Use this when an illustrator has updated a specific file in Figma and you just want to pull that one change without re-downloading everything.
+
+1. If a download branch already exists (e.g. `figma-download-2026-03-13-1603`), select it from the **"Use workflow from"** dropdown — this will update files directly on that branch instead of creating a new one
+2. If starting fresh, leave it on **main** and a new branch will be created
+3. Select `ehlds-only` or `icons-only`
+4. Enter the specific ID(s) in the relevant field
+5. Click **Run workflow**
+
+Only the specified files will be updated — everything else on the branch stays untouched.
+
+#### After the workflow runs
+
+- If **validation passed** → open a pull request from the download branch to main. The validator will run again automatically on the PR as a final check before merging.
+- If **validation failed** → the branch still exists. Fix the issue (e.g. drag a missing XML file into the `icons/` folder on GitHub), then manually re-run the **"Validate illustrations"** workflow on that branch from the Actions tab.
+
+Once the PR is merged into main, files are automatically uploaded to S3.
+
+---
+
+### Option 2: Running locally
+
+Use this if you prefer to run the download script directly on your machine.
+
+#### Setup
+
 ```bash
+pip install requests
 export FIGMA_TOKEN="your_figma_token"
+```
+
+On Windows (PowerShell):
+```powershell
+pip install requests
+$env:FIGMA_TOKEN = "your_figma_token"
+```
+
+#### Commands
 
+```bash
 # Download everything (icons + EHLDs) and validate
 python3 download_illustrations.py
 
@@ -31,10 +108,19 @@ python3 download_illustrations.py --ehlds
 
 # Download without validating
 python3 download_illustrations.py --skip-validation
+
+# Download specific EHLDs only
+python3 download_illustrations.py --ehlds --only R-HSA-1234567 R-HSA-9876543
+
+# Download specific icons only
+python3 download_illustrations.py --icons --only-icons R-ICO-012345 R-ICO-012346
 ```
 
-## What the script does
+After running, create a new branch, commit the changes, push, and open a pull request to main.
+
+---
 
+## What the script does
 1. Connects to the Figma API and finds all components/frames on the "Export" page
 2. Exports icons (`R-ICO-*`) and EHLD diagrams (`R-HSA-*`) as SVGs
 3. Clears existing SVGs and saves the new ones (icon XML metadata files are preserved)
@@ -42,18 +128,17 @@ python3 download_illustrations.py --skip-validation
    - **Icons**: XML metadata (categories, references, curator info)
    - **EHLDs**: SVG structure (BG, LOGO, REGION/OVERLAY groups)
 
-## Icon XML Metadata
+---
 
+## Icon XML Metadata
 Each icon has a corresponding XML metadata file (`R-ICO-XXXXXX.xml`) containing categories, curator/designer info, descriptions, and database references. These are stored alongside the SVGs in the `icons/` directory.
 
 To create new XML metadata files, use the **Icon XML Metadata Generator** (see below).
 
 ## Icon XML Metadata Generator
-
 `icon-xml-generator.html` is a self-contained HTML tool for generating icon XML metadata files. Open it in a browser — no build tools or dependencies required.
 
 ### Features
-
 - **Category selection** — loaded from the [illustration-validator](https://github.com/reactome/illustration-validator) `categories.txt`
 - **Curator search** — searches the Reactome Content Service for people by name, auto-fills ORCID
 - **Designer info** — pre-filled with defaults (Cristoffer Sevilla)
@@ -63,10 +148,9 @@ To create new XML metadata files, use the **Icon XML Metadata Generator** (see b
 - **Download** — saves the XML file with the correct filename
 
 ### How to use
-
 1. Open `icon-xml-generator.html` in a browser
 2. Enter the icon identifier (e.g. `R-ICO-012345`)
 3. Select a category, search for a curator, and fill in the remaining fields
 4. Add references and synonyms as needed
 5. Click **Download XML** to save the file
-6. Move the downloaded `.xml` file into the `icons/` directory
+6. Move the downloaded `.xml` file into the `icons/` directory
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