Share Brand Guidelines with AI

By Melon Cut ·

A designer can ask you what you meant. A picture generator cannot. If you want to share brand guidelines with AI, you need to give it everything in a form it can use, because it will not guess your preferences from last week's posts. This article explains what AI needs, what you should leave out, and a simple routine for keeping it on brand.

What AI needs to know

Think of a new freelancer on day one. They need:

  1. The logo and the rules for placing it.
  2. The colors with their roles.
  3. The fonts.
  4. The voice, in examples more than adjectives.
  5. The imagery style: light, mood, subjects, what to avoid.
  6. The subjects that must stay the same, such as a mascot or a product.
  7. The layouts you repeat.

Without the last two, you get a nice picture that does not look like your brand.

Keep the guidelines in one place

Pasting a long block of rules into each prompt is slow, and you will forget part of it. A better habit: keep the guidelines in one place and reference them by name. In Melon Cut Design, type @ and pick the brand, and the picture is made following its logo, colors, fonts, voice and the way the logo is used.

Write rules AI can follow

Vague rules give vague pictures. Compare:

  • Vague: "Feel premium and modern."
  • Useful: "Plenty of empty space, one subject, soft side light, muted backgrounds, no more than two lines of text."

Replace feelings with things you can see.

Add what a prompt cannot hold

Some things are easier to show than to write. Attach photos, documents or fonts to a prompt, and treat an attached picture as a reference for the new one. Store a character or product as a Model and a layout as a Template, then name them with @.

A simple routine

  1. Name the brand with @.
  2. Describe only the new content: subject, purpose, words.
  3. Pick the format.
  4. Generate, then compare against your guidelines.
  5. Note what went wrong and add it to the guidelines if it is a rule.

Step five is where the improvement happens. Each repeated mistake becomes a line in the guidelines, and the next picture is better.

@Brewhouse Story. A barista pouring a flat white, close-up, steam visible, warm morning light. Headline: "Open from 7".

@Brewhouse Square post. Our window display with autumn pastries, evening light, no people.

What to check every time

  • Text: spelling, prices, dates and opening hours.
  • Colors on large areas.
  • Logo position.
  • Any claim about health, safety or legal matters.

AI output is not guaranteed accurate, so a human reads it before it goes out.

Be careful with what you share

Brand guidelines can contain unreleased products or private plans. Decide what belongs in them. If something is not yet public, leave it out of the guidelines the AI will read, or keep that brand private. See Public or Private Brand Guidelines.

In Melon Cut

Melon Cut Guidelines holds the brand; Melon Cut Design reads it when you type @. For prompt writing tips, see Write a Brand Style Prompt for AI.

Keep reading