Learn to think visually with ChatGPT

June 23, 2024

I admire AI artists who can think of the right prompt to illustrate a concept or story. But I’m not a visual thinker, so the hardest part of image creation is often thinking about how to represent an idea visually.

For my newsletter this week, I wanted a header image about the pace of change. So I asked ChatGPT for help thinking about visual approaches, before turning to Ideogram for the actual image creation. Here’s what that looked like, using the Ideogram Prompt Muse custom GPT.Screenshot of custom GPT chat ALEX Suggest 5 potential prompts that would generate an evocative, appealing header image for this newsletter How to find your own pace of change [full text of newsletter included in prompt] IDEOGRAM AI PROMPT MUSE Hello! I'm here to help you create stunning Ideogram AI prompts that combine images and typography beautifully. Please hold on while I brew up some Ideogram magic. Here are five potential prompts to generate evocative and appealing header images for your newsletter: 1 Prompt Style 3: Description: "A serene landscape with a flowing river at dawn, symbolizing finding your own rhythm. The text 'How to Find Your Own Pace of Change' in elegant, flowing script appears in the sky." Selected style: illustration, vibrant, typography 2 Prompt Style 2: Text: "How to Find Your Own Pace of Change", depicted as gears and clock faces interlocking, highlighting the concept of time and cycles. Style: typography, conceptual art, poster 3 Prompt Style 4: Description: "A person sitting peacefully by a lake during sunset, with an aura of calmness and reflection. The text 'How to Find Your Own Pace of Change' in a gentle, cursive font appears above them." Selected style: typography, portrait photography, vibrant 4 Prompt Style 3: Description: "A detailed timeline on a parchment background, illustrating various phases of life and career. The text 'How to Find Your Own Pace of Change' in a historical script is prominently displayed." Selected style: typography, illustration, vintage 5 Prompt Style 2: Text: "How to Find Your Own Pace of Change", illustrated with a tree showing different seasons, symbolizing cycles and growth. Style: typography, poster, vibrant Each prompt follows the structured format and style guidelines to ensure a visually compelling and thematic output. Let me know if you'd like further adjustments or additional prompts! ALE Can I get a hybrid of .... "How to Find Your Own Pace of Change", depicted as gears and clock faces interlocking, highlighting the concept of time and cycles. Style: typography, conceptual art, poster [ I like gears and time as cycles htat lock together, and style as typography/linocut] and A person sitting peacefully by a lake during sunset, with an aura of calmness and reflection >> for the woo energy, and "How to Find Your Own Pace of Change", illustrated with a tree showing different seasons, symbolizing cycles and growth >> for the feeling of natural world I don't think I want the actual words/title text. Maybe something like gears made out of something natural? So a kind of steam punky hybrid of natural seasons/cycles and gears that fit together? IDEOGRAM AI PROMPT MUSE Sure! Let's create a hybrid prompt that captures the elements you like: gears and clock faces, a peaceful lakeside scene, and natural cycles like seasons. Here's a refined prompt: Prompt Style 3: Description: "A serene lakeside scene at sunset with gears and clock faces interlocking, made out of natural elements like branches and leaves, symbolizing cycles and growth. The imagery blends a steampunk aesthetic with the tranquility of nature, highlighting the concept of time and change." Selected style: typography, conceptual art, linocut This prompt should evoke the feeling of natural cycles and growth, combined with the mechanical interlocking of gears, all in a visually appealing and harmonious way. ALE no lakeside scene IDEOGRAM AI PROMPT MUSE Understood! Let's remove the lakeside scene and focus on the steampunk aesthetic with natural elements. Prompt Style 3: Description: "Interlocking gears and clock faces made from natural elements like branches, leaves, and flowers, symbolizing cycles and growth. The imagery blends a steampunk aesthetic with the tranquility of nature, highlighting the concept of time and change." Selected style: typography, conceptual art, linocut ALEX More like: A diagram of the changing seasons and natural cycle of the year, where the seasons lock together as gears made out of natural elements like vines and flowers IDEOGRAM AI PROMPT MUSE Got it! Here's the refined prompt: Prompt Style 3: Description: "A diagram of the changing seasons and natural cycle of the year, where the seasons interlock as gears made out of natural elements like vines, flowers, and leaves. The imagery blends a steampunk aesthetic with the beauty of nature, highlighting the concept of time and change." Selected style: typography, conceptual art, linocut [IMAGE: Ideogram initial results. Very mechanical looking, hardly any natural elements visible] ALEX ok this was too gearlike: I want the season of the year adn the gears only gently evocative A compelling diagram of the changing seasons and natural cycle of the year, where the seasons interlock as gears made out of natural elements like vines, flowers, and leaves. The imagery blends a steampunk aesthetic with the beauty of nature, highlighting the concept of time and change.Selected style: conceptual art, linocut, natural, vibrant. IDEOGRAM AI PROMPT MUSE Absolutely, here's the revised prompt with a more subtle gear-like element: Prompt Style 3: Description: "A compelling diagram of the changing seasons and natural cycle of the year, where the seasons gently interlock as gears made out of natural elements like vines, flowers, and leaves. The imagery blends a steampunk aesthetic with the beauty of nature, highlighting the concept of time and change." Selected style: conceptual art, linocut, natural, vibrant [IMAGE: Ideogram final results. 4 images that are a true hybrid of natural and mechanical elements, evoking the seasons in different ways]

Which image did I end up choosing? Find the answer in this week’s newsletter.