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Module 5 Level 1: AI Foundations for Design and Marketing beginner 30 min

Build Your Creative Context Document

Build it once. Paste it on every campaign.

Build Your Creative Context Document

You start every AI chat cold, re-typing who the brand is and what it sounds like, and the work still comes back generic and on-trend. A Creative Context Document fixes that. It is a one-page brief you paste at the top of every design or marketing chat so the AI shows up already knowing your brand, your audience, your voice, and what you must never look or sound like. Build it once with the tool, then reuse it on every campaign. You stay the art director; the document just stops the AI from guessing.

Recommended tool

claude

Claude is strong at structured, in-your-voice writing and at asking before it assumes, so it is a good place to build a brief you will reuse. If a brand guide or past campaign lives in a PDF, read it in NotebookLM first to keep the read grounded, then build the document in Claude.

Bring to the exercise

  • Your brand or product name and a plain-language description of what it is
  • Who the work is for (your primary audience, in real terms)
  • Three words that describe your brand voice
  • A few competitors or references you admire, and the anti-references you must avoid
  • Your primary call to action and your core design principles
Step 1

Set the Brief and the Voice

Give the AI your brand, product, and audience so it stops guessing who you are.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [BRAND OR PRODUCT NAME] The name customers actually see.
  • [ONE PLAIN SENTENCE ON WHAT IT IS AND WHO IT HELPS] What the thing is and the problem it solves, in one sentence a stranger would understand.
  • [WHO THE WORK IS FOR, IN REAL TERMS, NOT "EVERYONE"] A real, specific audience. "Busy parents of toddlers," not "consumers."
I am building a reusable Creative Context Document for my design and marketing work. Help me write it one section at a time, and ask me a clarifying question before you assume anything.

Start with the basics:
- BRAND / PRODUCT: [BRAND OR PRODUCT NAME]
- WHAT IT IS: [ONE PLAIN SENTENCE ON WHAT IT IS AND WHO IT HELPS]
- PRIMARY AUDIENCE: [WHO THE WORK IS FOR, IN REAL TERMS, NOT "EVERYONE"]

Play this back to me in clean, plain language. If any of it is vague, ask me one question to sharpen it. Do not invent details I did not give you.
What good output looks like
  • Plays your brand and audience back in plain words.
  • Asks a real question where you were vague instead of filling it in.
  • Adds nothing you did not say.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Pin the Voice and the References

Name the brand voice in three words and the references that point the work the right way.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [THREE WORDS, e.g. "warm, plain, confident"] Three honest adjectives for how the brand should sound. Avoid generic words like "professional."
  • [TWO OR THREE NAMES OR LINKS AND WHY] Brands or pieces you would be proud to be compared to, and one reason each.
Now the voice and the references.

- BRAND VOICE IN THREE WORDS: [THREE WORDS, e.g. "warm, plain, confident"]
- COMPETITORS / REFERENCES I ADMIRE: [TWO OR THREE NAMES OR LINKS AND WHY]

For each of my three voice words, write one line on what that sounds like in practice and one line on what it does NOT mean, so the word is usable, not decorative. Then tell me what the references I admire seem to have in common.
What good output looks like
  • Turns each voice word into a "sounds like / does not mean" pair you can apply.
  • Names the real pattern across your references, not a generic compliment.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 3

Draw the Anti-References

Say out loud what the work must NOT look or sound like, the fastest way to kill generic output.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [LIST WHAT IT MUST NOT LOOK OR SOUND LIKE, e.g. "no stock-photo gradients, no buzzwords like 'revolutionary,' not playful or jokey"] Visual and verbal traps your brand must avoid. Be specific and a little harsh.
Now the anti-references, the things my work must NOT look or sound like. This is where most generic, on-trend AI work goes wrong.

Here is what I want to avoid:
[LIST WHAT IT MUST NOT LOOK OR SOUND LIKE, e.g. "no stock-photo gradients, no buzzwords like 'revolutionary,' not playful or jokey"]

Turn this into a clear DO-NOT list I can paste into every prompt. For each item, add a one-line example of the thing to avoid so the AI can actually recognize it. Then tell me if my list is missing an obvious trap for my kind of brand, and list those as suggestions, not as rules you added.
What good output looks like
  • A clean DO-NOT list with a recognizable example per item.
  • Suggested extra traps are clearly marked as suggestions, not silently added.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 4

Add the CTA, Principles, and Accessibility

Lock the action you want, the design rules you hold, and the accessibility floor.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [THE ONE ACTION YOU MOST WANT THE AUDIENCE TO TAKE] The single most important next step: sign up, book a call, buy, visit.
  • [TWO OR THREE RULES YOU HOLD, e.g. "lots of white space, one idea per layout"] The design rules you would defend in a critique.
  • [e.g. "readable contrast, alt text on every image, plain language"] Your accessibility floor, in plain terms.
Finish the document with three more sections:

- PRIMARY CALL TO ACTION: [THE ONE ACTION YOU MOST WANT THE AUDIENCE TO TAKE]
- DESIGN PRINCIPLES: [TWO OR THREE RULES YOU HOLD, e.g. "lots of white space, one idea per layout"]
- ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS: [e.g. "readable contrast, alt text on every image, plain language"]

Write each in plain language I can hold a designer or a draft to. For accessibility, give me a short, checkable floor, the basics every piece must clear, not a legal essay. This is practical guidance, not a compliance audit.
What good output looks like
  • One clear primary CTA, not a list of five.
  • Design principles you could enforce in a review.
  • A short, checkable accessibility floor, not a legal essay.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 5

Assemble and Save the One-Pager

Pull it into one clean page you can paste at the top of every chat and save where it reloads.

Assemble everything into one clean Creative Context Document, one page, plain language, ready to paste at the top of any design or marketing chat.

Use these sections in order: Brand / Product, What It Is, Primary Audience, Brand Voice (3 words), Competitors & References, Anti-References (Do-Not List), Primary Call to Action, Design Principles, Accessibility Needs.

No markdown clutter. Then remind me where to save it so it loads every time: a Claude Project, a Gemini Gem, or a NotebookLM source.
What good output looks like
  • A single, clean page with every section in order.
  • Reads like your brand, not a generic template.
  • Tells you where to save it so it reloads.

Verify before using AI's output