Use this when
Use this skill to create prompts/specs for:
- LinkedIn banners
- GitHub profile headers
- article hero images
- YouTube thumbnails
- website section backgrounds
- presentation opening slides
- visual metaphors for frameworks
- “before vs after” illustrations
Core principle
A strong visual should communicate the transformation before the reader studies the text.
Visual formula:
current painful state → transformation mechanism → desired outcome
Step 1 — Define the visual story
Answer:
- Who is the person in the image?
- What do they feel today?
- What do they want to feel instead?
- What obstacle/friction is visible?
- What mechanism creates the transformation?
- What proof or emotional payoff appears on the desired side?
Step 2 — Choose layout
LinkedIn banner / wide header
Use a left-center-right structure:
left = pain/current situation
center = bridge/mechanism/framework
right = desired outcome
Recommended LinkedIn banner ratio:
1584 × 396 pixels, 4:1 ratio
Keep important text away from edges and from profile-photo overlap zones.
Article hero image
Use either:
- left/right before-after contrast
- central metaphor with small before/after cues
- single cinematic scene that implies the problem and solution
Thumbnail
Use fewer elements:
- one dominant emotional face/object
- one conflict
- one outcome or warning
- 3–6 large words maximum
Step 3 — Show emotion with imagery, not labels
Avoid putting marketing-theory labels in the image.
Do not write:
- objections
- risk reversal
- likelihood
- mechanism
- urgency
Instead show them visually.
Examples:
- urgency → red alerts, deadlines, overflowing inbox
- objections → hesitation, confusion, question marks, messy notes
- risk reversal → safety net, stable bridge, fallback path, confident guide
- desired outcome → approval, calm office, clear dashboard, happy stakeholder
- mechanism → bridge, machine, flowchart, operating loop, conveyor, flywheel
Step 4 — Make the mechanism legible
The center/bridge should show the real mechanism.
For a holistic operating model, use a loop or pipeline:
- Decode real need
- Context-engineer
- Find what works
- Compose solution
- Harden learning
- Make it land
If AI is part of the mechanism, show it as one subsystem inside the broader loop, not the whole transformation.
Possible mechanism visuals:
- operating loop
- flywheel
- pipeline
- bridge
- control center
- workflow map
- layered system diagram
- before/after transformation machine
Step 5 — Use text sparingly
A banner should not become a document.
Good text:
- large top-left current-state headline
- large top-right desired-state headline
- one center title
- short labels inside central mechanism if readable
Bad text:
- paragraphs
- tiny labels
- too many boxes
- internal terminology
- dense diagrams that require zooming
Step 6 — Visual style instructions
For professional technical branding, specify:
- cinematic lighting
- high contrast
- dark background
- red/orange chaotic left side
- cool blue/cyan organized right side
- clean system diagram in center
- subtle arrows or energy flow left-to-right
- readable typography
- no clutter around text
- safe margins
Prompt template
Create an ultra-wide professional banner in [aspect ratio]. The image should tell a transformation story from [current painful state] to [desired outcome].
LEFT: Show [audience/person] in [painful situation], with visual signs of [stress/friction]. Use [color/emotion]. Add large readable heading: "[current-state headline]".
CENTER: Show [transformation mechanism] as [loop/pipeline/bridge/flywheel/system map]. Title it: "[framework/title]". Include only these short labels: [labels]. If AI is included, show it as one subsystem inside the broader mechanism alongside [code/humans/data/docs/etc.].
RIGHT: Show [desired situation], with visual signs of [success/adoption/approval]. Use [color/emotion]. Add large readable heading: "[desired-state headline]".
Add subtle arrows or energy flowing left to center to right. Keep all text large, readable, and inside safe margins. Style: [professional/cinematic/systems-oriented].
Quality bar
A strong visual:
- can be understood in 2 seconds
- shows pain before explaining the solution
- makes the desired outcome emotionally clear
- uses minimal, readable text
- shows the mechanism as the bridge
- does not over-index on tools if the real story is broader