Prompt library
Find the words for a visual direction
Direction words with anti-words give a moodboard its rejection criteria, which is what makes curation converge instead of sprawl. Hunting references outside the product category and describing qualities instead of naming artists produces directions a team can own rather than imitate.
Last reviewed July 17, 2026
The prompt
Help me articulate a visual direction before I collect a single reference.
The project and audience: {{project}}
Fragments I have (feelings, brands I glance at, anti-references): {{fragments}}
Produce:
1. Three candidate directions, each named with a two-word handle ("engineered warmth"). Per direction: the emotional target in one sentence, 8-10 direction words spanning texture, color temperature, geometry, motion, and typography voice, and the 3 anti-words (what this direction must never feel like).
2. For each direction: the reference-hunting queries that would fill a moodboard (what to search, which domains of imagery: architecture, print, industrial design, nature), because references from outside the product's own category age better.
3. The tell: for each direction, the quick test that a candidate reference belongs (the question to ask of an image before pinning it).
4. Where the three directions would each break: the content type or use case each handles worst.
Do not name specific artists or living designers as anchors; describe qualities instead, so the board leads to a direction, not an imitation.Run in idaptOpens a new chat with the prompt prefilled. Nothing sends until you press send.
Fill in the variables
| Variable | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {{project}} | What needs the visual direction | a rebrand for a 20-year-old accounting firm going digital |
| {{fragments}} | Your raw impressions and anti-references | should feel calm and precise; NOT startup-playful; client likes stone and archives |