Prompts for text and graphic SHI-agents: learning to create competently

What is a prompt and why is it important?

A prompt is an instruction or a request that we give to the AI to perform a certain task. The accuracy, relevance and creativity of a service's response depends on the quality of such a request. A correctly formulated prompt helps:

• Avoid misunderstandings.
• Get the expected result from the first time.
• Save time for revision.

The use of queries helps both experienced copywriters, SMM specialists, graphic designers and beginners. Of course, the first prompt may not be perfect. But over time, by trying to change the wording and refine the details, you can learn to write really good prompts.

Basic principles of creating quality prompts for text-based AI models

Effective interaction with text-based AI models like ChatGPT and others like it is based on these key principles:

1. Clarity and specificity

AI requires clear instructions as it analyses text literally. Therefore, ambiguity and overly general wording should be avoided. For example:

• Low-quality prompt: "Write an article about marketing".
• High-quality prompt: “Write a 1000-word article on modern digital marketing strategies with examples of using social media”.

2. Context

Add context to better understand the task. It's important to explain who the content is being created for and for what purpose:

• Low-quality prompt: “Write a text about sports”.
• High-quality prompt: “Write a motivational text for young people about the benefits of playing sports with a focus on popular activities”.

3. Format and style

Clearly state the desired format, style or tone of the text:

• Format: “Prepare a list of 5 points about …”.
• Style: “Write the text in a formal style with a scientific approach”.
• Tone: “Make the text light and entertaining”.

4. Avoiding excessive complexity

Prompts that are too long or complex can confuse the AI. So break tasks into parts if they are too extensive:

• Complex prompt: “Write an article, create an infographic, and suggest a tagline for a marketing campaign”.
• Broken prompt:
1. “Write an 800-word blog post about the benefits of our product”.
2. “Make an infographic that demonstrates the key features of the product”.
3. “Suggest three variations of marketing slogans for a campaign”.

Peculiarities of creating prompts for graphical AI models

Graphical AI such as DALL-E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion work with descriptions that include style, object details, composition, and colours. Here's how to optimise queries when working with them:

1. Descriptive detail

Include all important details: for example, what you want to see in the image, the shape of the graphic elements, the size/resolution of the image, and other technical requirements, if necessary.

• Low-quality prompt: “Draw a house”.
• High-quality prompt: “Draw a modern house with large windows, set in a pine forest at sunset, at a resolution of 1280x720”.

2. Style Indication

Describe the desired style:

• “Impressionistic style”.
• “Minimalist design”.
• “Like 80's posters”.
• “Focus on composition”.

Describe exactly how objects should be arranged:

• “A field of flowers in the foreground, snow-capped mountains in the background”.
  

3. Colour palette

Add information about the colours in which the image is desired:

• “Use pastel colours with an emphasis on beige and olive”.

4. Avoid technical language

Graphic AI works better with artistic descriptions than with terms that may not be understood by the system. So too, consider this nuance when drafting subheadings. 

Examples of quality prompts

Here are some more examples of competently created prompts that will be useful in working with different types of AI agents.

For text-based AI models

• Entertainment: “Make a list of 10 ideas for family outdoor activities, adding short descriptions of each activity”.
• Education: “Write an explanation for 8th-grade students about how solar panels work, avoiding complex technical terms”.
• Film: “Create a script for a short film about three friends who discover superpowers, focusing on the characters’ adventures and dynamic scenes”.
• Marketing: “Write a 500-word text for a corporate blog about the importance of SEO for small businesses. Include 3 practical tips and examples of successful case studies”.

For graphical AI models

• Product illustration: “Picture a cup of coffee on a wooden table near a window. The window overlooks an autumn park with golden trees. Use a warm colour scheme”.
• Character creation: “Draw a fantastic character: a man with wings, dressed in medieval armour, against the background of a sunset”.
• Poster design: “Create an 80’s style poster for a music festival. Use bright neon colours and an image of a guitar”.
• Logo design: “Draw a minimalistic round logo for a yoga studio with a pink lotus flower on a blue background and white lines as an additional design element”. 

Specialised services to optimise your work with prompts

To empower your AI tools, you can take advantage of a variety of innovative services:

• Promptable — a tool that offers a wide range of prompts for multiple topics and industries. It is suitable for creating a variety of content types in ChatGPT: ideas for marketing campaigns, headlines, advertising texts, product descriptions, answers to customer questions, blog articles, songs or books. 
• FlowGPT — a pioneering platform where registered users can create and share with other community members the most effective and proven prompts for AI models like ChatGPT. 
• PromptLayer — a web-based platform that allows you to create, monitor, analyse real-time performance and share your GPT prompts.
• IMI Prompt — a simple and intuitive to-use service for working with Midjourney, with the latest version of which it syncs in real-time. It helps in creating illustrations for social networks, blogs, advertising and educational materials, artwork and other graphic projects.
• PromptBase — an online resource with a huge range of prompts for popular AI tools: DALL-E, GPT, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. Here you can not only find the optimal prompt for your tasks but also create your prompt and earn on its sale. Users are given 5 free credits to generate every day. 
• PromptPerfect — a universal service that helps to improve and optimise the text of prompts for different AI models (GPT-4, Claude, Midjourney), increasing the accuracy and quality of results.

Conclusions

Properly formulated prompts are the key to successful collaboration with AI agents. By investing time in creating high-quality queries, you'll not only get the results you want, but you'll also make the process of collaborating with AI-based services faster and more efficient. Use the above principles to make your prompts clear, specific and relevant — and neural networks will become your reliable assistants in solving any tasks.