What you will take away
- Ask ChatGPT for the missing decisions, not for a prettier adjective list.
- A good brief names the audience, the one message, the format, the copy, and the review criteria.
- Turn the brief into a visual prompt only after the copy is settled.
The hardest part of using AI for design is not the image generation. It is the brief. A vague request produces a vague image, and then everyone blames the model. The model was never given a clear job.
ChatGPT is useful here because it can interview you. It can find the missing decisions, turn a messy request into a structured brief, and separate the copy from the visual direction. The twelve prompts below are designed for that job. Use them before you open an image generator.
How to use these prompts
Copy one prompt, replace the bracketed details, and answer ChatGPT's follow-up questions. Do not ask for a final image prompt on the first turn. Ask for the brief first. Once the brief is clear, ask for the visual prompt.
The pattern is:
- Describe the job.
- Ask ChatGPT to find the missing decisions.
- Answer the questions.
- Ask for a one-paragraph brief.
- Turn the brief into an image prompt.
- Generate the visual without text.
- Set the copy in an editable PSD layout.
1. The missing-decisions prompt
I need a design for [asset]. The audience is [audience]. The goal is [goal]. Ask me the five questions I have not answered yet, then wait for my answers before writing the brief.
This is the most useful prompt in the list. It turns ChatGPT into a brief editor instead of a copy machine.
2. The one-message prompt
Here is my current request: [request]. Rewrite it as one primary message and three supporting details. If there are several competing messages, tell me which one should be the headline and why.
A design with five messages has no message. This prompt forces a hierarchy.
3. The audience prompt
Describe the audience for [asset] as three specific people, not a demographic. For each person, tell me what they care about, what would make them ignore the design, and what would make them act.
Specific people produce better design decisions than “millennials aged 25–40.”
4. The format prompt
I need this design for [placements]. Tell me the aspect ratio, the reading distance, the smallest text size I should consider, and the one layout constraint that matters most for each placement.
This catches the “one design for every channel” mistake before it happens.
5. The headline prompt
Write ten headlines for [asset] that are three to five words each. They should be specific, honest, and readable at thumbnail size. Do not use puns or vague adjectives.
Short headlines are harder than long ones. This prompt gives you options and a constraint.
6. The visual-direction prompt
Based on this brief, describe three visual directions: one photographic, one illustrated, and one typographic. For each, give me the scene, composition, lighting, palette, and the area where the headline will sit. Do not write the image prompt yet.
This separates the creative decision from the prompt wording. Choose a direction first; then write the prompt.
7. The no-text prompt
Turn the chosen visual direction into a single image-generation prompt. Include the subject, scene, composition, lighting, palette, and an explicit instruction to leave a quiet area for the headline. Add “no text, no logo, no watermark.”
This is the bridge from brief to image. The “no text” instruction is not optional.
8. The copy-fit prompt
Here is the headline and body copy: [copy]. Tell me which parts are essential, which parts can move to a second page, and which parts are too long for the chosen format. Suggest a shorter version without changing the meaning.
This is useful when the design is crowded but the client does not want to cut anything. It gives you a reasoned edit.
9. The hierarchy prompt
For this design, define three levels of information: what the viewer sees first, second, and third. Give each level a type size, weight, and position. Do not use more than two typefaces.
Hierarchy is the difference between a design and a pile of text. This prompt makes it explicit.
10. The accessibility prompt
Review this design brief for readability: contrast, text size, line length, color dependence, and clarity for someone with low vision. Suggest specific changes, not general advice.
Accessibility is not a separate project. It is part of whether the design works.
11. The review prompt
Act as a skeptical creative director. Review this brief and list the three weakest assumptions. For each, tell me what evidence or decision is missing.
This is the prompt that saves you from a confident but wrong direction. It is especially useful before a paid campaign.
12. The handoff prompt
Turn this approved brief into a handoff note for a designer: audience, message, hierarchy, copy, format, references, constraints, and what is still undecided. Keep it under one page.
A good handoff note is short. If it takes three pages, the brief is not finished.
A brief template you can reuse
After the prompts, consolidate the answers into one page:
- Asset: what are we making?
- Audience: who is it for?
- Primary message: the one thing they should remember.
- Supporting details: the facts that must appear.
- Format: size, placement, reading distance.
- Visual direction: scene, composition, lighting, palette.
- Text area: where the headline and body will sit.
- Constraints: brand, legal, accessibility, print.
- Review criteria: what will make us approve it?
If any line is blank, do not generate yet. A blank line is a decision you have not made.
From ChatGPT to the image prompt
Once the brief is clear, write the image prompt in this order:
- Scene or backdrop.
- Subject.
- Composition and text area.
- Lighting and mood.
- Palette and materials.
- What to avoid.
Example:
A neighborhood coffee shop flyer background: a pour-over coffee setup on a wooden counter, warm morning light, cream and terracotta palette, generous quiet space at the top for a headline and at the bottom for event details, no text, no logo, no watermark.
That prompt is specific without being a novel. It gives the model a job and leaves the typography to the layout studio.
From the image to the PSD
The last step is where the workflow becomes useful. Take the generated visual into a PSD layout, set the real headline and body copy, and export. The AI poster maker and the Text to PSD workspace are built for this stage.
Do not ask ChatGPT to write the final typography into the image. It can write the words; it cannot set them reliably. The layout is a human decision, even when the visual is generated.
Common mistakes
Asking for the image prompt first. You will get a pretty prompt for an unclear job.
Treating ChatGPT's first answer as the brief. Ask it what is missing.
Letting the model write the headline into the image. Use editable text.
Skipping the format. A design for a phone and a design for a poster are not the same.
Ignoring the review criteria. If you do not know what “good” means, you will keep revising.
A final checklist
- The audience is specific.
- The primary message is one sentence.
- The supporting details are listed.
- The format and reading distance are decided.
- The visual direction has a quiet text area.
- The image prompt says “no text.”
- The headline and body are editable layers.
- The review criteria are written down.
If you want to put the brief into practice, start with the editable poster workflow. If you are designing a book cover, read the AI book cover workflow. If you need to test the result in a paid channel, read the AI ad creative guide.
FAQ
Can ChatGPT write a design brief?
Yes. It is useful for structuring the brief and finding gaps. You still need to confirm the facts, the brand constraints, and the final copy.
Should I ask ChatGPT to write the image prompt too?
Yes, after the brief is clear. Ask it to separate the scene, subject, composition, lighting, and constraints into one prompt.
How do I get a more specific answer?
Give ChatGPT the audience, format, channel, existing copy, and one example of a design you like. Then ask it to list the decisions that are still missing.
