Why prompts are not the starting point

Most beginners start with a prompt like "make an image about AI learning." That is too vague. The model has to guess the audience, style, composition, mood, and purpose. Sometimes it guesses well; usually it gives you generic glowing robots.

A better workflow starts with an image brief. A brief describes the job the image must do. The prompt is just the model-facing version of that brief.

The seven-part brief

Use this structure:

1. Purpose — what should the image help explain or sell?
2. Audience — who is this image for?
3. Asset type — course cover, lesson diagram, thumbnail, hero image, worksheet visual.
4. Subject — what should be visible?
5. Style — editorial illustration, flat vector, realistic product photo, 3D render, classroom diagram.
6. Composition — wide, square, centered, left negative space, top-down, close-up.
7. Constraints — no text, no logos, no distorted UI, no fake brand marks.

Example: weak vs strong

Weak:

Make an image about prompt engineering.

Strong:

Course thumbnail for beginners learning prompt engineering. Show a clean desk with prompt cards being arranged into a simple flow: context, task, constraints, output. Modern editorial illustration, black/white palette with tonal contrast for emphasis, square composition, no readable text, no logos.

The strong version is not longer for the sake of being longer. It gives the model decisions it would otherwise make randomly.

A reusable template

Copy this for every lesson image:

Asset type:
Teaching purpose:
Audience:
Subject:
Style:
Composition:
Color palette:
Must include:
Must avoid:
Alt text:

Image generation brief

Asset: Lesson diagram Prompt: Create a clean educational diagram showing the path from image brief to final image: Brief → Prompt → Generate → Review → Refine → Publish. Use simple cards connected by arrows on a neutral background. Modern monochrome style with tonal contrast for emphasis. No tiny unreadable labels; if text is included, use only the six exact words: Brief, Prompt, Generate, Review, Refine, Publish. Alt text: A six-step visual workflow from brief to prompt, generation, review, refinement, and publishing.

Try this: Pick one existing page on your site and write a seven-part image brief for it without generating the image yet.