Back to: AI Image & Video Studio
Define the visual job, audience, frame, and non-negotiables on one page before opening an image tool.
Reviewed September 2026. Generation controls, supported edits, metadata, and plan access vary by tool and account. Check the linked first-party documentation before production work.
The situation
Prompt roulette starts when the brief consists of “make it look premium.” The tool offers attractive possibilities, the brief changes to match the latest result, and nobody can explain why the chosen image is right.
For this lab, imagine a neighborhood evening market that needs a campaign image. The picture must feel welcoming after work, leave room for a headline, and avoid showing any identifiable real person.
Do the work
- Write the communication job in one sentence: what should the viewer notice, feel, and do?
- Describe the audience and placement. A vertical story, square card, and wide website hero need different negative space and focal scale.
- Define five art-direction layers: subject, environment, composition, light and color, and material or capture character.
- List non-negotiables separately: aspect ratio, safe area for text, prohibited logos, representation requirements, and elements that must remain consistent across variations.
- Collect references for composition, palette, and texture—not for copying a living artist’s signature style. Add a note explaining what each reference contributes.
- Sketch three thumbnail compositions with boxes and arrows. Choose one before generating.
Copyable workbench
ART DIRECTION CARD Communication job: Audience: Placement / aspect ratio: Subject: Environment: Composition + text safe area: Light / palette: Material or capture character: Must include: Must avoid: Reference notes: Success looks like:
Quality check
- The brief describes a communication job.
- Placement and aspect ratio are known.
- Negative space is intentional.
- References are analyzed, not copied wholesale.
- Success can be judged without asking whether it is “cool.”
Keep current
Use these official product and provenance references for current behavior. Rights, consent, disclosure, and accessibility obligations depend on the real project and destination.