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Replace a $5,000
Designer With AI

An agency brand identity often starts around $5,000 and goes way up from there. Here’s how I’d do it myself in one afternoon with ChatGPT and Claude. Exact prompts included.

  1. ChatGPT. Any plan can make images. Free has a daily cap that OpenAI doesn’t publish, so a paid plan gets you more rounds on your logo.
  2. Claude. Claude Design is on every plan now, Free included. It runs on your normal Claude usage limits, so paid plans get more rounds.
  3. Your current brand. A screenshot of your website, plus your brand kit if you have one. The screenshot alone is enough.
How It Works

01

Audit and describe your brand in ChatGPT

Drop your screenshots into ChatGPT and paste Prompt 1. Push back until the description feels like you. Try "make the palette warmer" or "I want bolder fonts."

02

Make your logo and wordmark

Stay in the same chat so it keeps your brand context. Paste Prompt 2 for the logo, then Prompt 3 for the wordmark. Change one thing per round, and download your favorites.

03

Build the whole system in Claude Design

Open a new Claude chat, attach your logo and wordmark, and paste Prompt 4 with your brand description. Claude opens Claude Design and builds your style guide, homepage, slides, social templates, business card and email header on a live canvas.

Anthropic’s Claude Design guide →

Step 1: Brand Analysis

Attach your website screenshot and brand kit, fill in the brackets and send.

Prompt 1: Brand Audit + Description
You are a senior brand strategist doing a full brand refresh for me. I've attached a screenshot of my current website [and my brand kit, if I have one]. About me: [what my business does, who I serve, and 2-3 brands I admire] Do this in three parts. PART 1: AUDIT MY CURRENT BRAND Look at the colors, fonts, layout, imagery, copy and overall vibe. Tell me: - What's working and should stay - What feels dated, generic or forgettable - What sends the wrong message or attracts the wrong audience - How it compares to modern brands in my space Be honest. I want real feedback, not compliments. PART 2: WRITE MY REFRESHED BRAND DESCRIPTION 1. Positioning: one confident paragraph on who I help, what I do differently and why someone should choose me. A paragraph, not a tagline. 2. Personality: describe the brand as a person. Give 5 traits with one sentence each. 3. Color palette with hex codes: 1 primary, 1 secondary, 1 accent (buttons and calls to action), 2 neutrals (background and text). Say why you chose each one and the feeling it gives. 4. Fonts: free Google Fonts only. One headline font, one body font that reads well small, and an optional accent font. Show a sample headline and paragraph. 5. Visual direction: photo style, icon style, layout (airy or dense, grid or editorial) and any textures or patterns. 6. Voice: 3 sample sentences in the new voice and 3 things this brand would never say. PART 3: FORMAT FOR HANDOFF Put the whole description in one clearly labeled block I can paste into Claude Design to build my visual identity. Include every hex code and font name. Nothing vague. Rules: keep what already works from my current brand. Don't invent facts about my business. If you need something you can't see in the screenshot, ask me before Part 2.
Step 2: Your Logo

Logos usually take 2 to 4 rounds. Say exactly what to change, like "thicker lines" or "try a rounder icon."

Prompt 2: Logo
Using the brand description you just wrote, generate a logo for my brand. STYLE - Clean, modern and professional, like a real studio made it - Plain white background only. No mockups, scenes, shadows or gradients. - Uses my primary brand color - Simple enough to work as a 32x32 favicon, a profile photo and a website header - Original and intentional. No clip art, no generic icons. MAKE 3 OPTIONS 1. An icon logo (a symbol that represents the brand, not just a letter) 2. A monogram using my initials 3. A combination mark: the icon plus the brand name in one lockup Make each one large so I can see the detail. AFTER Tell me which option is strongest and why, then ask what I want to change before we do the wordmark.
Step 3: Your Wordmark

Spelling is where AI images still slip, so check every letter before you download.

Prompt 3: Wordmark
Now generate a wordmark for "[YOUR BRAND NAME]". Spell it exactly like that, letter by letter: [S-P-E-L-L I-T]. REQUIREMENTS - Plain white background, no mockups or decorations - The headline font style from our brand description - My primary brand color for the text - Readable at every size: website header, business card, email signature, social banner - Even letter spacing with no awkward gaps MAKE 3 VERSIONS 1. All uppercase, bold and confident 2. All lowercase, modern and friendly 3. Mixed case with one small design touch (a colored dot, an underline accent or one special letter) For the version I pick, also make a dark version for light backgrounds, a white version for dark backgrounds and a one-color version for merch and watermarks. Then tell me which version fits my brand personality best and why. Do not add any text besides my brand name.
Step 4: Your Brand System

In Claude, just ask for a design in any chat, or start from a Design template in the Artifacts tab. Attach your files, then paste this.

Prompt 4: Full Brand System
You are my brand designer. I just finished a brand refresh and I've attached my new logo and wordmark. Here is my full brand description: [PASTE THE WHOLE BRAND DESCRIPTION FROM CHATGPT: positioning, personality, hex codes, fonts, visual direction, voice] Build me a complete brand system. Use my exact colors, fonts and visual direction everywhere, so every piece looks like it came from the same studio. 1. BRAND STYLE GUIDE (one page) - Color grid with hex and RGB values and labels - Color rules: which color is for headlines, body text, buttons and backgrounds - Both fonts shown at H1, H2, H3, body and caption sizes - Logo and wordmark with clear-space rules - A do and don't section for logo use (no stretching, recoloring or clutter) 2. WEBSITE HOMEPAGE (works on desktop and phone) - Hero: big headline, subheadline, a main button in my accent color and a second button - Social proof bar - Short about section in my brand voice with an image placeholder - 3-4 service cards with icons in my visual style - One testimonial block - A full-width call-to-action banner in my primary color - Footer with links, social icons and copyright 3. SLIDE DECK TEMPLATE (8 slides) Title, agenda, text plus image, 3-4 big stats, pull quote, two-column comparison, team, and a closing slide with contact info. 4. 4 INSTAGRAM TEMPLATES (1080x1080) A bold tip post, a carousel cover that stops the scroll, a branded photo frame and a launch announcement. 5. BUSINESS CARD Front: logo, name, title. Back: email, phone, website, handles and a subtle pattern from my palette. 6. EMAIL HEADER (600px wide) Logo, a one-line tagline and my brand colors. Rules: use placeholder text in brackets for anything you don't know about me. Don't invent testimonials, client logos or stats. Build the style guide first, show it to me, and wait for my OK before you build the rest.

Refine By Clicking

Click any element and leave a comment for small fixes, like "make the hero taller." Use chat for big swings like "try a darker background on every slide."

Want A Real Website?

Hand the homepage to Claude Code and it builds the design into working code. You can also export to PDF, PPTX or HTML, or send it to Canva so your team can edit it there.

What You Walk Away With
  1. A brand audit, positioning and voice
  2. A new logo, wordmark, color palette and font pairing
  3. A one-page brand style guide
  4. A homepage design, an 8-slide deck and 4 Instagram templates
  5. A business card and an email header

Total cost: what you already pay for AI. Total time: one afternoon.