The trap with design prompts is asking for the finished thing. Ask for options instead, then bring your taste to the edit.
Make the output reviewable
Lock the parts that never change and leave one slot for the variable. Now every run shares a family resemblance instead of starting from scratch.
- Compare two outputs instead of trusting one
- Keep one ask per prompt — chaining beats cramming
- Name the audience and the single goal before you generate
Anchor to one reader
Write down what you never want as explicitly as what you do. The exclusions often do more work than the instructions.
Cut before you polish
Write down what you never want as explicitly as what you do. The exclusions often do more work than the instructions.
- Name the audience and the single goal before you generate
- Save the prompt that worked so the next person reuses it
- Lower the reading level, then check what broke
Treat the first output as a draft, not a verdict. The prompt does the typing; you keep the judgment about what ships.