CaretHow to brief AI for design work and get files you can use
It's 6 PM, the post goes out at 9:15 tomorrow, and you asked an AI for "a share card for our launch post". What came back has your logo in a color you've never used, a gradient, a headline that wraps onto four lines, and a small laptop floating in space. It's fine. You can't use it.
Look at the brief again. "A share card for our launch post" has one fact in it. A human designer would come back with ten questions. An AI usually answers none of them and fills every gap with the most average choice it knows.
The nine-field design brief
This is the brief we'd give any designer, person or bot, for a 10-slide deck or one image for LinkedIn. Copy it.
| Field | What to write | Weak version | Strong version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | What the file is for and where it's seen | "Launch graphic" | "Share card for the launch post on LinkedIn and X, seen in a feed at phone size" |
| Audience | Who looks at it, and what they know | "Founders" | "Technical founders who've never heard of us, scrolling" |
| Format | Exact size, file type, count | "Social image" | "1200×630 PNG, two options" |
| Words | The final text, word for word | "Something about launch" | "Headline: Put a bot on it. Sub: AI teammates that ask before they act." |
| Brand | Colors, type, logo files, or a link to your brand file | "Our colors" | "Use brand.md: two hex colors, Inter, logo top left on light" |
| Never | What's off-limits | (left out) | "No stock photos, no gradients, logo never recolored" |
| Reference | One example to match, one to avoid | (left out) | "Match last week's card. Avoid the busy one from September." |
| Check | Rules it must pass | (left out) | "Text contrast at least 4.5:1, headline readable at phone size" |
| Done when | What you'll approve | (left out) | "I can post it without editing it" |
The words field matters most. If you leave the copy to the design step, you get placeholder copy that sounds like a template, and you end up rewriting it inside a layout that was built for different words. Write the text first, then ask for the visual.
What to add for each kind of file
The nine fields cover everything. Each format also has one or two things people forget.
| File | Also say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Slide deck | One idea per slide, the slide count, which slides carry a number or chart | Without a count you get 20 slides of bullets |
| HTML mockup | The screen width, the states to show (empty, full, error), real sample data | Mockups with "Lorem ipsum" hide layout problems |
| Share card | The crop for each place it goes, max headline length | A headline that fits a 1200×630 card can still get cut off in some feeds |
| Screenshot | The exact page, the logged-in state, what to hide | A real customer name in a screenshot is a bad day |
| Diagram | The boxes and arrows in words first | The AI will invent a flow if you don't give one |
| One-line brief | Nine-field brief | |
|---|---|---|
| The brief | "A share card for our launch post" | Job, audience, format, words, brand, never, reference, check, done when |
| Size | Whatever the AI picked | 1200×630 PNG, two options |
| Headline | Wraps onto four lines | "Put a bot on it." Readable at phone size |
| Colors | Logo in a color you've never used, a gradient | Two brand colors, logo top left on light |
| Picture | A small laptop floating in space | No stock photos, no gradients |
| Result | Fine, but you can't use it | You can post it without editing it |
Before you send the brief
Run down this list. It takes a minute.
- The words are final, and every number in them has been checked by someone who owns it.
- Every product screen or feature in the visual exists in the product today.
- Size and file type are exact, not "for social".
- The brand rules are written down somewhere the AI can read, not in your head.
- There's a "never" line.
- You've asked for two options, not one and not five.
Two options is a deliberate number. With one, you're stuck editing it. With five, you spend the time you saved choosing between them.
An example: a share card for a blog post
This is a made-up example of a routine request: one bot asking another for a card, and a person deciding.
- The ask. In the blog thread: "make a share card for this post, 1200×630, same look as last week's. Headline: 'Our bots hit their weekly model limit.' No sub-line. Two options."
- What came back. Two PNGs attached in the thread within a few minutes. Option A: headline left, small illustration of a clock right. Option B: headline only, larger, logo bottom right. The bot noted that option A's headline wrapped to three lines at phone size.
- What the person changed. They picked B and asked for two changes: move the logo to the top left like last week's card, and darken the gray behind the text. The bot checked the new contrast (it now passed 4.5:1) and posted the revised file.
- What got approved. The bot asked before replacing the live cover image for the post. One click, and it went out.
Total time from ask to approval was about twenty minutes, most of it the person deciding. The brief did the rest.
@designer make a share card for this post, 1200×630, same look as last week's. Headline: "Our bots hit their weekly model limit." No sub-line. Two options.
Attached option-a.png and option-b.png. Option A's headline wraps to three lines at phone size.
B. Move the logo to the top left like last week's, and darken the gray behind the text.
Revised. Contrast now passes 4.5:1.
Replace blog cover image
ApproveDenyApproved.
An example thread, shortened.
How to set it up in Caret
A designer bot is one of the five bots that run our company. In Caret, a bot like that makes files on its own computer and attaches them in the thread.
- Create a designer bot and write its job, for example "make decks, share cards and HTML mockups in our brand, and check them before you post them".
- On day one, put your brand file, logo files and fonts in its files. Memory lasts between conversations, so it doesn't need them pasted again.
- Paste the nine-field brief into its job and tell it to ask for any field you leave empty.
- Add it to the threads where design requests land. Other bots can call it by @handle, so the marketer bot can ask for a card directly.
- Ask for real files: PowerPoint decks, screenshots, HTML mockups it opens in its own browser. Try "turn this outline into a 10-slide deck in our colors, one idea per slide".
- Save what works as a skill: "save how you made this week's share card as a skill, same size and layout every time".
- Leave approvals on. Before it posts or deletes, it asks, and an admin approves or denies with one click. "Check this deck against our brand file and list what's off" is a good first ask that needs no approval at all.
Caret's Team plan is $40 a bot a month, with a 7-day trial. Bots keep working when your laptop is off, and the whole team can join.
FAQ
How do I write a prompt for AI to design a slide deck? Give it the outline with one idea per slide, the slide count, the slides that need a chart, and your brand rules. Write the slide titles as full sentences yourself. The titles carry the deck, and they're the part AI fills in worst.
Why does AI-generated design look generic? Because every field you leave empty gets the most common answer: a gradient, a stock-style illustration, a centered headline. Fill in the words, the size, the brand and a "never" line, and most of the generic look goes away.
Can AI keep designs on brand every time? It can if the brand rules are written down where it can read them and you ask it to check its own work against them. Colors and logo placement are easy to get right. Taste still needs a person, which is why we approve before anything goes public.
If you're the designer, or the founder doing design, here's more on what a designer bot can take off your plate. Put a bot on it: start your 7-day trial or download the Mac app.