Prompt Writing Guide

Secant Studio is designed so users can write normal business and creative direction, not engineering prompts. The best prompts still give the system enough context to make strong decisions: brand, goal, audience, channel, format, assets, copy, tone, and constraints.

The High-Fidelity Prompt Formula

Use this structure for most prompts. You do not need every part every time, but high-fidelity results usually improve when these details are present.

Copy And Paste Template

Use this template when you want a complete prompt.

Good Prompt Examples

Creative Director Prompts

Creative Director works best when the prompt describes the whole campaign and names the surfaces you expect. It is the right place to ask for a campaign plan, multiple deliverables, or a full launch package.

What To Include

• The campaign goal, such as grand opening, product launch, event promotion, seasonal drop, paid ad set, or email/social package.
• The brand kit to use, or the brand qualities if no brand kit exists yet.
• The channels you need: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, web, email, presentation, or paid ads.
• The required surfaces: image, vector/logo, InvokeAI refinement, video, Piper voiceover, Audiocraft music, smart resize, and final composite export.
• Source assets you expect the campaign to use.
• Any hard requirements: approved copy only, no internal labels, no silent video, captions on, logo clear space, selected dimensions.

Creative Director Example

Project Prompt Box Prompts

The project prompt box is for one focused output. It inherits the campaign, brand kit, selected assets, and Creative Director context when available. Use it when you want to generate, regenerate, or refine a specific project.

Surface-Specific Guidance

Raster Images

Use image prompts for social posts, posters, email hero images, web hero images, product promos, and composites.

• Choose the platform preset first when the output has a required size.
• Name the background or hero asset.
• State logo placement and clear-space expectations.
• List exact visible copy and CTA.
• Describe the hierarchy: hero image, headline, subhead, CTA, badge, logo.
• Use constraints such as no stretched imagery, no unreadable text, and no prompt or internal instruction text.

Vector And Logo Assets

Use vector prompts for SVG marks, badges, icons, and simple line-art systems. Vector output should stay scalable and simple.

• Ask for a simple SVG structure, not a complex illustration.
• Name the symbol language: shoreline, leaf, wave, badge, monogram, geometric mark, or icon.
• Specify stroke style, fill style, palette, and whether text is allowed.
• Avoid asking for detailed photorealistic scenes in vector mode.
• If the output must be a usable logo, say scalable, legible at small sizes, no raster fallback.

InvokeAI Refinement

Use InvokeAI for refining or extending eligible image/vector-derived assets. It is best for polish, outpaint, and controlled variants, not for replacing a clear layout plan.

• Start from a selected image or vector asset.
• Say what should change and what must stay fixed.
• Use negative direction for artifacts: malformed anatomy, distorted faces, watermarks, random text, and off-brand saturation.
• Example: Refine this image for a softer premium swimwear campaign. Preserve the model, beach setting, logo placement, and approved copy. Improve polish, lighting, and finish. No random text, watermark, distorted anatomy, or neon color.

Video

Video prompts should specify format, assets, audio, captions, pacing, overlays, and export expectations.

• Choose the video preset before generating: TikTok/Reels 1080x1920, square 1080x1080, horizontal 1920x1080, YouTube, presentation, mobile ad, or LinkedIn.
• State whether the output should use still images, video clips, or both.
• If music or voiceover is required, attach those assets or generate them first.
• Ask for captions when needed and state the caption source: voiceover script, approved copy, or campaign copy.
• State motion style: slow pan, gentle zoom, clean cuts, title card, lower third, CTA outro, product reveal, or composite edit.
• Reject bad outcomes: silent export, temporary timeline, still-image-only fallback, jumpy cuts, stretched subjects, unreadable captions.

Piper Voiceover

Voice prompts should include the exact script. Do not ask Piper to invent visible or spoken campaign copy unless you are comfortable reviewing and approving it.

• Use Script: followed by the exact narration.
• Keep scripts short for short-form social video.
• Give tone direction: calm, warm, confident, informative, premium, conversational.
• Spell brand names clearly if pronunciation matters.
• Avoid asking it to read the whole video prompt. The voiceover should read approved script copy only.

Audiocraft Music

Music prompts should describe mood, instrumentation, intensity, duration, and what to avoid.

• Use mood words: calm, warm, cinematic, refined, optimistic, tropical, ambient, energetic.
• Specify vocals or no vocals. For most campaign beds, use instrumental, no vocals.
• Specify duration when the control is available.
• Describe how it should sit under voiceover: restrained, low intensity, not distracting.

Smart Resize

Smart resize prompts should ask Studio to recompose the design for the new canvas, not stretch the original.

• Name the source creative and target formats.
• State the most important element to preserve: face, product, logo, CTA, headline, or background setting.
• Ask for safe areas and readable text in each output.
• Use constraints such as no cropped faces, no broken logo clear space, and no stretched imagery.

Composite Campaign Outputs

Composite prompts should identify the independent pieces that must be combined into the final deliverable.

• Name the image, vector/logo, refined asset, video, music, voiceover, and camera/upload assets to include.
• Ask for asset lineage in the final manifest when you need review proof.
• Use approved campaign copy only.
• State the final export type: campaign proof pack, campaign bundle, presentation package, or social launch set.

Negative Prompting In Plain English

You do not need to write provider-style negative prompts, but it helps to tell Studio what must not happen. Common avoid rules are:

Prompt Patterns By Goal

What Not To Do

Prompt Review Checklist

Before generating an important deliverable, check the prompt against this list:

• Did I select the correct campaign and brand kit?
• Did I choose the correct output surface and format preset?
• Did I attach or select the source assets the output should use?
• Did I write the exact visible copy or voiceover script?
• Did I describe the desired design language, tone, and hierarchy?
• Did I say what to avoid?
• For video, did I include music, voiceover, captions, duration, pacing, and aspect ratio expectations?
• For resize, did I say what must stay visible and unstretched?

How Secant Uses Your Prompt

Secant Studio stores your raw prompt for traceability, but generation providers should receive compiled instructions. The compiler expands your request into:

• A positive prompt for the selected surface.
• A negative prompt or avoid-rule packet.
• Brand rules from the selected brand kit.
• Copy allowlists for visible text and voiceover scripts.
• Asset roles and selected source material.
• Format and aspect-ratio requirements.
• Quality gates that reject missing audio, wrong dimensions, prompt leakage, or misleading success states where supported.