Prompting Guide
A practical guide to writing effective prompts for Ideogram.
1. Overview
1.1 What is Prompting?
Prompting is the process of providing a description or instruction to an AI model to generate a specific output. In the context of Ideogram, you write a textual description of the image you want to create, and the AI generates an image based on that description.
For example:
“A serene landscape with rolling hills under a starry night sky.”
This prompt guides the AI to produce an image matching the described scene.
A good prompt can be short or detailed, precise or poetic, depending on your goals. You'll learn how to choose the best approach based on the type of image you want.
1.2 Why Prompting Matters
Prompting is how you describe to a text-to-image AI exactly what you want to see. The words you choose directly influence the result—whether you're aiming for something precise or exploring a creative idea. A clear, well-structured prompt helps the AI produce accurate and visually appealing images.
This guide teaches you effective prompting techniques, balancing clarity and creativity to get the best results possible.
1.3 Why Structure and Wording Matter
Text-to-image AI models like Ideogram don’t interpret meaning intuitively like people do. They follow your instructions literally and try to visually represent every word in your prompt. Because of this, your prompt’s wording and structure significantly affect image quality.
A clear prompt structure helps Ideogram:
Understand the main subject clearly.
Focus on important visual attributes.
Separate foreground from background elements.
Accurately apply artistic style, lighting, and atmosphere.
2. Prompting Fundamentals
This section covers the key concepts that will help you write effective prompts for Ideogram. Whether you're aiming to generate the exact image you have in mind or to explore more creative, open-ended interpretations, these fundamentals apply to both prompting styles.
2.1 Prompting Uses Natural Language
Ideogram uses plain natural language to interpret prompts. There are no hidden parameters, weights, or coded instructions you can embed in the prompt—everything must be described the way you would say it to another person.
This means:
You can’t assign weights to parts of a prompt (e.g.,
::1or(important)You can’t use hex codes or RGB values for colors (e.g.,
#E4BC73). Describe them instead with ordinary words (e.g., “deep red,” “pale blue,” “golden-yellow”). You can still influence the color in the image to be generated with the Color function.You can’t use technical flags or shortcuts like
--aror--vor--style
Positioning still matters: things written earlier in the prompt tend to be given more importance. So place the most important subject or idea near the beginning whenever possible.
If you’re coming from other text-to-image tools, this may feel simpler—but that simplicity is also what makes Ideogram especially good at interpreting well-structured, natural descriptions.
You can write your prompt in your preferred language: Ideogram generally understands prompts in any language, but for the most reliable results—especially when including text—write in English. Non-Latin scripts (e.g. Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic) often render incorrectly. Using Magic Prompt will automatically translate your prompt into English.
While short, tag-like prompts (such as “a man in the forest, fire, dramatic, painting”) may work in some cases, Ideogram—especially version 2.0 and higher—responds better to natural, sentence-style prompting. Full sentences or clearly structured phrases help the AI understand context, relationships, and composition more reliably. Writing your prompt the way you'd describe the image to another person generally produces better results. Ordinary grammar, punctuation, and descriptive flow help the model understand context, relationships, and visual intent more accurately.
2.2 How Ideogram Interprets Prompts
When you write a prompt, Ideogram doesn’t guess what you mean like a person might—it tries to visually represent every word. It reads your words literally, and each one affects what appears in the image.
A tall man in a red coat walking through a snowy forest.
Ideogram will try to include all of those elements: the height, the red coat, walking action, snow, and the forest.
The clearer and more specific your wording, the better chance the AI has of generating an image that matches what you imagined.
2.3 The Importance of Visual Grounding
Visual grounding refers to including concrete, observable details in your prompts—such as colors, shapes, objects, and settings—that the AI can accurately render.
For example, instead of saying:
A beautiful scene.
Provide specific details:
A sunset over the ocean with orange and pink hues reflecting on the water.
This specificity helps the AI generate more accurate and visually coherent images.
Even when you’re being creative or poetic, including some visually grounded elements gives Ideogram a stronger base to work from.
2.4 Prompt Length and Clarity
The length of your prompt affects how Ideogram interprets your request. Longer prompts can give you more control and precision, but only if they’re well structured. Short prompts, on the other hand, leave more room for artistic or unexpected outcomes.
Prompt adherence is influenced by the clarity and specificity of your prompt. Longer, well-structured prompts with detailed descriptions can guide Ideogram to produce images that closely match your vision. However, overly complex or ambiguous prompts may lead to unexpected results.
When to Use a Short Prompt
Short prompts are useful when you want to explore creative or poetic ideas without strict control over the result. They often work best when paired with tools like Magic Prompt or Random Style.
Short and creative:
A woman drifting through a quiet dream, shapes and colors shifting gently around her.
This kind of prompt leaves much up to the AI’s interpretation. You might get surreal, abstract, or symbolic results—great for inspiration or exploration.
When to Use a Longer Prompt
Longer prompts help when you want to control multiple parts of the image: the subject, background, lighting, mood, or style. They’re ideal when you already have a specific result in mind.
Visually grounded and detailed:
A red fox standing beneath bright autumn trees, surrounded by golden leaves falling onto a quiet forest floor.
This kind of prompt tells the AI exactly what to render, and how to stage the visual.
Tips for Using Longer Prompts Effectively:
Break the prompt into logical pieces: subject, details, background, atmosphere.
Put the most important ideas near the beginning.
Avoid packing in too many unrelated concepts—this can confuse the AI.
About the number of words:
Ideogram supports prompts up to approximately 150 – 160 words (around 200 tokens). Prompts longer than this may be ignored or generate less accurate results. Make every word count, and always lead with what matters most.
2.5 Visually Grounded vs. Abstract Prompts
Ideogram responds well to both visually grounded and abstract prompts—but not in the same way. The way you phrase your prompt has a major impact on the kind of image you get, and how closely it matches your intent.
Visually Grounded Prompts
These prompts focus on what can literally be seen in the image: the subject, setting, lighting, style, colors, and composition. They’re best when you have a specific image in mind and want the AI to render it as clearly and accurately as possible.
A stone lighthouse standing on a rocky cliff in heavy fog, its beam shining across calm gray waves at dusk.
A woman sitting in a dark room beside a table, reading a book under the warm glow of a single candle.
Visually grounded prompts tend to produce more consistent and accurate results, stronger prompt adherence, and better layout control, especially when generating images that include text.
Abstract or Poetic Prompts
These prompts use figurative language, emotion, or symbolism to guide the image in a more open-ended way. They’re ideal for creative exploration, unexpected results, or evoking a feeling rather than a scene.
A lighthouse fading into the mist, its light barely reaching the waves as the sea swallows the horizon.
A woman reading by candlelight, her face half-shadowed, as time seems to pause around her.
Ideogram handles abstract prompts surprisingly well—especially when they include some visual or emotional anchors. The results may be unpredictable, but often striking.
Hybrid Prompts
You can also blend both approaches: use a clear visual structure with a poetic tone, or add symbolic elements to an otherwise grounded prompt. This lets you guide the AI while leaving room for interpretation.
A watercolor of a ballerina mid-spin on a quiet stage—like a moment of silence captured in motion.
A detailed ink sketch of an old lighthouse on a cliff. The sea below vanishes into mist like a forgotten memory.
A portrait of a young woman in a red cloak, standing still. The forest behind her blurs into colors like wet paint on glass.
This style is especially useful when:
You want a specific subject but an open-ended or expressive background.
You want artistic interpretation while keeping a core idea intact.
You want to inspire variation in mood or atmosphere while locking down style or composition.
Use hybrid prompts when you want the best of both worlds: direction and discovery.
Tip:
Use visually grounded prompts for accuracy and control
Use abstract prompts for creativity and exploration
Use hybrid prompts when you want something expressive but anchored
2.6 Generating Text in Images
Ideogram excels at rendering text within images—especially for posters, logos, titles, labels, headers, and other designs that incorporate typography—making it a powerful tool for any project that combines visuals and words.
The way you phrase your prompt can influence how well Ideogram renders the text within an image. Below are a few natural-language examples that show how to include quoted text early in your prompt, while keeping the description visually grounded and realistic.
On the wall behind the artist, the phrase “Inspire Daily” is painted in large brush strokes across a mural, at the back of a vibrant and creative studio.
A vintage poster design with the words “Ride Free” curving along the bottom in retro lettering, featuring a smiling woman on a bicycle on a countryside road.
A chalkboard sign outside the bakery reads “Fresh Bread Daily” in handwritten white letters, surrounded by loaves and pastries arranged on rustic wooden shelves.
To achieve the best results:
Use Visually Grounded Prompts: Clearly describe the text's appearance, placement, and style within the image.
Position Text Early in the Prompt: Mention the desired text near the beginning of your prompt to get better results.
Enclose Text in Quotation Marks: Use quotation marks to specify the exact text you want to appear in the image.
Break longer text into chunks. If you're trying to generate more than one line of text, it's often better to split the content into sections with specific visual placement:
A restaurant sign with the title “La Pasta” at the top, and the phrase “Fresh handmade Italian dishes” written below.
This gives Ideogram clearer structure and lowers the risk of spelling errors.
Reduce visual complexity if possible. The more intricate the rest of the scene is—busy backgrounds, multiple subjects, fine textures—the harder it is for the AI to cleanly render text. Simple backgrounds and good contrast between text and its surroundings improve results.
That said, there are a few limitations to keep in mind:
Text length matters. The longer the text you want to include, the higher the chance of spelling errors, distortions, or incomplete words. Think of it like taking a group photo: the more people in the shot, the greater the chance someone will blink. Short, punchy phrases work best.
Not suitable for layouts with full textual content Ideogram is not designed to generate complete, text-heavy documents—such as full restaurant menus, website mock-ups with all copy in place, or multi-paragraph flyers. It can create the overall design and insert titles or short blocks of text, but long passages should be added later in a graphic editor or page layout application.
Foreign language support is limited. While you can write prompts in your own language, Ideogram’s text rendering is most accurate in English. Other languages, especially those that don’t use the Latin alphabet (like Chinese, Arabic, or Cyrillic scripts), often produce unpredictable or unreadable results.
If precise, readable text is important to your design, consider using Ideogram to generate the visual concept and then add the text manually using graphic editing tools afterward.
3. Prompt Structure
A prompt structure is simply the way you organize your words when asking the AI to create an image. It helps the AI understand exactly what you want to see, like what kind of image it should be, what’s in it, and how it should look or feel.
When your prompt is clearly structured, the AI has a much better chance of generating something that matches your idea. It’s like giving good directions—you don’t need to be an expert, but the more clearly you guide the AI, the better the results will reflect what you have in mind.
3.1 The Different Parts of a Prompt
Each part of a prompt adds structure and clarity. A clear structure also helps with prompt adherence, making it more likely that Ideogram will follow your description accurately and generate results that reflect your intent.
Each part below includes three numbered examples. Each number represents a part of a different image prompt, which will later be assembled into full, complete prompts in section 3.2.
Image Summary
Purpose: This is where the entire image is described in a single sentence. Think of it as how someone might describe the image after glancing at it for just two seconds. If you could only write one sentence for the prompt, this is the part you’d want to get right. It also works well with tools like Magic Prompt to expand on. It establishes the visual form (e.g., photo, logo, painting), identifies the main subject, and gives a hint of the visual tone or context of the image.
Examples:
A product photo of a men’s perfume bottle named “Nightlife for men” in a sleek studio setup.
A whimsical watercolor painting of a little girl playing with her bunny in a flower-filled field.
A logo design for a local football team called “Rhinos” in green, blue, and white.
Main Subject Details
Purpose: This part gives more information about the main subject in the image. What does it look like? What color is it? What shape, material or texture? Whether it’s a person, animal, or object, this section ensures that the subject is described clearly and specifically so the AI can generate it precisely. This is also the best place to include any text you want rendered in the image, such as titles, signs, or labels. For best results, enclose the exact wording in quotation marks “ ” and place it early in the prompt when possible. Describe where the text appears and how it looks to increase accuracy.
The bottle is tall and rectangular with dark glass, a matte black cap, and silver lettering. The text “Nightlife for men” appears on the label in bold, modern font.
The girl has short brown hair, a yellow dress, and rosy cheeks. She holds a fluffy white bunny in her arms, and both are smiling.
The main graphic shows a strong, stylized rhino head viewed from a three-quarter angle, with sharp lines and a bold expression. The word “Rhinos” appears in large, blocky letters beneath the icon.
Pose or Action
Purpose: This section describes what the main subject is doing — or how it’s placed. If it’s a person, maybe they’re smiling or sitting. If it’s an object, is it standing upright or tilted? This adds life and personality to the image, even when it’s still.
The bottle stands upright with a slight reflection on the surface below.
The bunny is leaning into her, with its ears flopping gently.
The rhino’s horn points slightly forward and up, adding a sense of motion.
Secondary Elements
Purpose: These are the smaller things around or near the main subject. They help tell the story, establish relationships or complete the scene, but they don’t steal the spotlight. Think of things like props, background objects, accessories, ambient visual details, or smaller characters that make the image feel fuller.
A wristwatch and a pair of sunglasses sit nearby, adding a masculine vibe.
Wildflowers, butterflies, and a toy picnic basket surround them.
Stars and shield shapes accent the logo without crowding it.
Setting & Background
Purpose: This part explains where the image takes place. Is it outside or indoors? In a forest, a city, a room, or an empty space? You can also say if it’s daytime, sunset, or a certain time in history. Whether highly detailed or minimalistic, the background contributes to anchor the image in a coherent visual context.
The scene is set on a smooth black surface with blurred city lights in the background.
They are outdoors in a grassy meadow, under a wide blue sky.
The background is flat white, with no scene or setting.
Lighting & Atmosphere
Purpose: This is about how the light looks and how the image feels. Is the light soft or bright? Is it warm and cozy, or dramatic and dark? Atmosphere includes mood-related descriptors like ethereal, cozy, ominous, cinematic, etc. This helps set the mood of the image and makes it feel more real or more emotional.
Lighting is moody and cool, with soft blue highlights and deep shadows.
The light is soft and sunny, with warm pastel tones and a dreamy atmosphere.
The color palette is vivid, with deep blue outlines, white highlights, and green fills.
Framing & Composition
Purpose: This describes how the subject and elements are visually arranged within the frame. It can describe the camera or viewer angle (top-down, low angle), shot type (close-up, wide), and subject placement (centered, rule of thirds). For non-photographic works, it still applies—e.g., how a figure is balanced in a painting or how elements are spaced in a logo. It enhances clarity, focus, and aesthetics.
The bottle is centered in the frame, captured at eye level.
The girl and bunny are slightly off-center, framed from a gentle downward angle.
The logo is center-aligned with a tight, symmetrical layout.
Technical Enhancers
Purpose: These are the extra details that make the image look more polished or professional. They don’t change the content, but they improve how it looks — like lens type, lighting effects, bokeh, brush textures, or rendering style. These are useful when you want a certain artistic finish.
A shallow depth of field gives the image a polished, professional look.
The brush strokes are loose and textured, with light color bleeds that add charm and softness.
The lines are clean, the edges sharp, and the style is vector-based with a modern, sporty look.
It is not necessary to use all the parts described above. For example, when prompting for a logo design, you might not need to add anything about any secondary elements. Your prompt can be short or detailed, depending on your goal. The more parts you include, the more control you’ll have — but sometimes, a short or abstract prompt is the best way to explore creative results.
Now that you’ve seen each part in isolation, let’s bring them together.
3.2 Assembling the Parts
Here’s a basic prompt template that is making use of all the parts described above:
[Image summary]. [Main subject details], [Pose or action], [Secondary elements], [Setting & Background], [Lighting & Atmosphere], [Framing & Composition], [Technical enhancers]
By combining all the example parts from the example in section 3.1 above, we can build the following three complete prompts:
A product photo of a men’s perfume bottle named “Nightlife for men” in a sleek studio setup. The bottle is tall and rectangular with dark glass, a matte black cap, and silver lettering. The text “Nightlife for men” appears on the label in bold, modern font. The bottle stands upright with a slight reflection on the surface below. A wristwatch and a pair of sunglasses sit nearby, adding a masculine vibe. The scene is set on a smooth black surface with blurred city lights in the background. Lighting is moody and cool, with soft blue highlights and deep shadows. The bottle is centered in the frame, captured at eye level. A shallow depth of field gives the image a polished, professional look.
A whimsical watercolor painting of a little girl playing with her bunny in a flower-filled field. The girl has short brown hair, a yellow dress, and rosy cheeks. She holds a fluffy white bunny in her arms, and both are smiling. The bunny is leaning into her, with its ears flopping gently. Wildflowers, butterflies, and a toy picnic basket surround them. They are outdoors in a grassy meadow, under a wide blue sky. The light is soft and sunny, with warm pastel tones and a dreamy atmosphere. The girl and bunny are slightly off-center, framed from a gentle downward angle. The brush strokes are loose and textured, with light color bleeds that add charm and softness.
A logo design for a local football team called “Rhinos” in green, blue, and white. The main graphic shows a strong, stylized rhino head viewed from a three-quarter angle, with sharp lines and a bold expression. The word “Rhinos” appears in large, blocky letters beneath the icon. The rhino’s horn points slightly forward and up, adding a sense of motion. Stars and shield shapes accent the logo without crowding it. The background is flat white, with no scene or setting. The color palette is vivid, with deep blue outlines, white highlights, and green fills. The logo is center-aligned with a tight, symmetrical layout. The lines are clean, the edges sharp, and the style is vector-based with a modern, sporty look.
4. Handling Negatives
4.1 Why Negative Phrasing Often Fails
Ideogram, like many text-to-image AIs, struggles with understanding negation. When you describe something in terms of what it shouldn't include, the AI often misinterprets or ignores the negation. Instead, it focuses on the keywords themselves. For example, prompting “a man without a beard” may result in an image of a man with a beard, as the AI emphasizes the word “beard” without processing the “without” modifier.
This issue arises because these models are trained to associate words with visual elements, but they don't inherently grasp the concept of absence or exclusion. Therefore, using negative terms like “no,” “without,” or “not” can lead to unintended results.
4.2 Turn Negatives Into Positives
When people want to exclude something from the image, they usually write the prompt using negative concept and phrasing of what they don't want—“no people,” “without clouds,” “not dark.” That’s completely natural in everyday language, but it doesn’t work well with text-to-image AI like Ideogram.
Instead, try to shift your thinking: describe the positive visual opposite of the thing you want to exclude.
Ask yourself: “If this thing wasn’t there, what would I see instead?”
For example:
Don't write “no people in the room” but write “an empty room with chairs neatly arranged”
Avoid “without hair” → and replace it by “a bald figure with smooth skin”
Instead of “a beach without people” use “an empty beach at sunrise”
Rather than “a robot with no eyes” try “a robot with a smooth, featureless face”
Don't write “no cars on the street” but opt for “a quiet pedestrian-only street”
This might feel less intuitive at first, but it gets easier with practice and is far more effective. If you're unsure how to flip your idea into a positive phrase, turn on Magic Prompt—it will often converts the sentence to a positive phrase—or use a Large Language Models AI (LLM) like ChatGPT to suggest an affirmative rewrite.
5. Common Pitfalls & Fixes
Even with a good understanding of prompting, it’s easy to make small mistakes that lead to strange or disappointing results—especially when you're trying to get a very specific image from the AI. This section highlights some of the most common issues users run into when they want precise results and shows how to fix them with simple changes.
These tips are especially useful when you have a clear image in mind and want Ideogram to follow your descriptions closely. If you're prompting more for creative discovery or artistic exploration, some of these “mistakes” may actually lead to interesting results—so feel free to experiment.
5.1 Vague Adjectives
Issue: Using non-specific descriptors like “beautiful,” “interesting,” “nice” or “cool” can lead to unpredictable outcomes, as the AI lacks a clear visual reference for these terms.
Fix: Replace vague adjectives with specific visual details.
Instead of: “A beautiful forest” &#xNAN;Try: “A dense forest with tall pine trees and soft rays of sunlight filtering through the branches”
Instead of: “A beautiful dress.” &#xNAN;Try: “A red satin evening gown with intricate lace details.”
5.2 Generic Style Terms
Issue: Using broad style descriptors like “artistic” or “modern”—often seen at the beginning of the prompt to define the medium and style of the image—may not provide the AI with enough guidance to what kind of art you expect.
Fix: Specify the desired style using well-known art movements, techniques, or mediums.
Instead of: “a modern painting of a landscape” &#xNAN;Try: “An impressionist painting of a rolling countryside with thick brushstrokes and pastel tones”
Instead of: “an artistic photo of a dancer” &#xNAN;Try: “A soft-focus photo of a ballet dancer mid-leap on a dimly lit stage”
5.3 Contradictory Descriptions
Issue: Writing conflicting information in a prompt can confuse the AI, leading to inconsistent or nonsensical images.
Fix: Ensure all elements of the prompt are coherent and compatible.
Instead of: “A minimalist sculpture with fine and intricate details” Try: “A minimalist sculpture with smooth, simple geometric shapes in white marble” &#xNAN;Or: “A detailed sculpture carved with delicate patterns and ornamental features, displayed on a minimal white pedestal”
Instead of: “A clean, empty room cluttered with artifacts” Try: “A clean, empty room with plain white walls and a single wooden chair” &#xNAN;Or: “A room filled with ancient artifacts, displayed on simple white pedestals in a clean, open space”
5.4 Abstract Concepts Tied to a Subject
Issue: Prompts centered on abstract ideas without concrete visual elements can lead to a wide variety of results.
Fix: Anchor abstract concepts with tangible visuals.
Instead of: “A symbol of hope” Try: “A single flower blooming through a crack in the concrete”
Instead of: “A child caught in a moment of wonder” Try: “A child staring up at a night sky filled with stars, mouth slightly open in awe”
Instead of: “An old man lost in regret” Try: “An old man sitting alone on a park bench, staring down at a faded photo in his hands”
5.5 Aspect Ratio Influence on Framing
Even with the exact same prompt, Ideogram may generate very different results depending on the aspect ratio you choose.
This is because the AI tries to fill the entire canvas based on the image it was trained with, and different aspect ratios naturally suggest different types of framing. For example:
A prompt like “A woman walking on a busy city street sidewalk”
In portrait (1:2), the result may show her full body from head to toe.
In landscape (2:1), the framing may shift closer—showing her from the waist up or knees up to fit the wider format.
If you're aiming for a specific composition—like a wide scenic view, a full-body portrait, or a tight close-up—it helps to:
Choose an aspect ratio that matches your intent
Include clear framing cues in your prompt, such as “full-body,” “head and shoulders,” “wide establishing shot,” and so on
However, even with a matching prompt and aspect ratio, the AI may still frame your subject differently than expected. For example:
You might ask for a full-body view in landscape format, but the result shows only the upper body
Or you might want a close-up in portrait format, but the AI includes the full body anyway
To guide the framing more precisely, here are two simple strategies that work in both cases:
Include visual elements that hint at how much of the subject should be shown
For full-body results, describe things near the feet—like shoes, sidewalk texture, shadows, or puddles
For close-ups, focus only on upper-body features—like eyes, lips, hands, or shoulders
Adjust the focus of the prompt
For wider framing, make the environment the main subject (e.g., “a crowded city sidewalk”) and describe the person as a key detail within it
For tighter framing, keep the person as the main subject and avoid describing large-scale surroundings that suggest a wide shot
These small changes help steer the AI toward the type of framing that fits your goal—whether it’s a full scene or a focused portrait. Combining descriptive language with the right aspect ratio gives you much better control over what appears in the final image.
In conclusion, learning to spot these small issues—and knowing how to fix them—can make a big difference in how well your prompt is understood. With just a few adjustments, you'll start getting images that feel a lot closer to what you had in mind.
In the next section, you’ll see how to iterate and refine your prompt step by step.
6. Prompt Iteration & Refinement
Even with a well-structured prompt, the first image you generate might not be exactly what you envisioned. That's perfectly normal. Refining your prompt through small, thoughtful changes can help you get closer to your desired result.
This section covers practical strategies for adjusting and improving your prompts to achieve better outcomes.
6.1 Why Iterate?
Each prompt you write is a starting point. If the result isn't quite right—maybe the composition feels off, or the subject isn't clear—making small adjustments can lead to significant improvements. Iteration helps you fine-tune your prompt to guide the AI more effectively.
6.2 The One-Change Rule
When refining your prompt, it's helpful to change only one thing at a time. This approach allows you to see how each specific change affects the outcome, making it easier to understand what works and what doesn't.
Original: &#xNAN;“A black cat sitting on a windowsill during a storm” Possible changes: 1. “A black cat sitting on a windowsill during a light drizzle” 2. “A black dog sitting on a windowsill during a light drizzle” 3. “A black dog sitting on a porch during a light drizzle”
By altering just the nature of the storm, you can observe how this single change impacts the image.
6.3 Prompt Chaining (Progressive Detailing)
Start with a simple prompt and gradually add more details in subsequent iterations. This method helps you build complexity step by step, ensuring each addition enhances the image without overwhelming it.
Step 1: “A medieval castle” Step 2: “A medieval castle on a hilltop”* Step 3: “A medieval castle on a hilltop at sunset” &#xNAN;Step 4: “A medieval castle on a hilltop at sunset with a dragon flying overhead”
Each step adds a new element, allowing you to monitor how the image evolves.
6.4 Try Alternate Wording
Sometimes a specific word or phrase just doesn't produce the result you're looking for. When that happens, try swapping it with a synonym, rephrasing the idea in a different way, or using a slightly different expression. Even a small change in wording can lead to very different outcomes—especially if the new term is more visually recognizable to the AI.
Instead of “lush jungle”, try “dense rainforest” or “tropical forest” Instead of “futuristic city”, try “sci-fi metropolis” or “neon cyberpunk skyline” Instead of “sad expression”, try “a face with downturned eyes and a slight frown”
If something isn’t working right, it doesn’t mean your idea is wrong—just that the phrasing might need a small nudge.
A quick thesaurus search—or even asking a language model—can help you find wording that triggers the look you really want. Keep experimenting, one small change at a time, and you’ll quickly discover what works best.
6.5 Emphasize Important Parts of the Image
Sometimes the AI might generate your image correctly in general, but miss something that feels too small, unbalanced, or visually incorrect. In these cases, two small techniques can make a big difference: repetition and description for emphasis.
Repeat Key Elements
You can repeat the same element in different parts of the prompt to reinforce its importance. This doesn’t mean saying the exact same thing twice, but rather referencing the same subject in multiple ways.
A product photo of a men’s perfume bottle named “Nightlife for men” in a sleek studio setup. The bottle is tall and rectangular with dark glass… The bottle stands upright… The bottle is centered in the frame…
By mentioning the bottle multiple times — in the summary, the details, and the framing — the AI is more likely to understand it’s the focal point and treat it with more visual weight.
Add Extra Description to Reinforce Details
If the AI keeps omitting or downplaying something important, try describing it more fully:
Add more visual detail about size, color, texture, or placement
Mention it in different parts of the prompt (e.g., summary and composition)
Reinforce its relationship to the rest of the image
For example, if the shoes of a person are missing or awkward, adding “wearing black leather boots that cast a shadow on the sidewalk” gives the AI both a visual anchor and spatial context.
These two techniques are especially helpful when:
The AI misplaces or forgets a key detail
You’re generating a busy or layered scene
You want to draw focus to a specific object or subject
Use them as subtle tools to guide the AI’s attention — without needing to rewrite the entire prompt.
7. Creative Tools in Ideogram
Ideogram comes with several built‑in helpers that can shift or amplify whatever your prompt says. Think of them as “prompt modifiers.” They don’t replace good wording, but they can change the direction, polish, or diversity of the result.
Below is what each tool does to your prompt or image—and when to reach for it. (Full button locations and step‑by‑step instructions live in the official docs.)
7.1 Describe – “Image to Prompt”
What it does: Reads an existing image (uploaded or generated) and writes a fresh prompt that would recreate something similar.
Why use it:
Kick‑start a new idea when you don’t know how to word it.
Borrow phrasing tricks from images whose style you like.
Best practice: Treat the generated text as a draft. Edit details, reorder parts, or shorten it before re‑using.
Describe documentation link to come.
7.2 Magic Prompt
What it does: Expands or beautifies your text with an on‑device LLM. Short prompts grow; long prompts change only slightly.
Why use it:
Add richer adjectives, lighting cues, or stylistic hints automatically.
Translate your ideas from any language into well‑formed English if desired.
Best practice:
Short, exploratory prompt? Let Magic Prompt run wild.
Highly detailed prompt? Expect tiny tweaks—review to be sure it hasn’t added unwanted elements.
Examples:
Short prompt: &#xNAN;Photo of a cat sitting, gazing outside at the falling snow. Magic Prompt: &#xNAN;A cozy, warm photograph of a fluffy Persian cat sitting on a window sill, gazing intently at the falling snow. The cat has long, luxurious white fur, bright emerald-green eyes, and a slightly flattened face, creating a charming and endearing expression. Outside the window, large snowflakes gently drift down, partially obscuring a blurred landscape of snow-covered trees and rooftops. Soft, diffused light illuminates the cat’s fur from within, casting a gentle glow on its face and creating a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere.\
Long prompt: &#xNAN;A cozy indoor photo of a black-and-white cat sitting peacefully on a wooden windowsill. The cat has thick, fluffy fur and green eyes, looking outside with a calm expression. Snow is falling gently outside the window, creating a soft wintery backdrop. A leafy houseplant in a terracotta pot sits nearby, and light condensation covers the lower edge of the glass. The scene is lit by natural morning light, with soft shadows and a warm, quiet atmosphere. The cat is centered in the frame, captured at eye level, and the background is slightly blurred to focus attention on the subject. Magic Prompt: &#xNAN;A serene, soft-focus photograph of a black-and-white cat perched gracefully on a weathered wooden windowsill, its thick, fluffy fur contrasting with the aged wood. The cat's bright green eyes gaze thoughtfully outwards, reflecting the gentle snowfall beyond the windowpane with a calm, almost contemplative expression. Outside, delicate snowflakes drift past a frosted window, while inside, a vibrant fiddle-leaf fig in a terracotta pot provides a splash of life near a softly blurred stack of antique books. Natural morning light illuminates the scene, creating a cozy and quiet atmosphere with subtle shadows and a delicate layer of condensation on the lower edge of the glass.
Magic Prompt documentation link to come.
7.3 Random Style & Reference Style
Reference Style: Lets you supply an image (uploaded or existing Ideogram output) whose look guides the next image.
Random Style: Injects an unpredictable and random image as a reference style before generation—ideal for visual experimentation.
Why use them:
Random Style pushes a familiar prompt into new artistic territory—great for concept discovery.
Reference Style anchors colours, textures, or composition to a source image—useful when you want variation without losing a core aesthetic.\
Random/Reference style documentation links to come.
7.4 Remix
What it does: Use an existing image (uploaded or generated) as a parent image for the AI to regenerate while re‑using the prompt and other settings to make small or big changes.
Why use it:
Fix small flaws without re‑writing the entire prompt.
Try minor lighting, color, or pose changes but keep overall composition.
Best practice:
Identify what you like in the current image.
Change one phrase in the prompt (see Section 6).
Hit Remix to preview the tweak side‑by‑side.
Remix documentation link to come.
7.5 Combining Tools for Different Goals
Use these tools as levers: push them when you want more variation, pull back when you need precision. Mastering when—and when not—to use them will make every iteration (Section 6) faster and more intentional.
For example:
Rapid visual exploration
Short prompt → Magic Prompt → Random Style
Style transfer
Clear prompt → Reference Style (upload reference)
Polish an almost‑perfect image
Existing image → Remix (tweak one word)
Learn how to phrase
Inspiring image → Describe → edit → generate
8. Troubleshooting
Even with a well-structured prompt, the AI may not always interpret your intent exactly as expected. This section highlights common issues that can occur while prompting, along with practical fixes and links to relevant sections of the guide where you can learn more.
This section doesn’t cover every possible scenario, but these are the most frequent issues users run into and most image issues can be fixed with one of these strategies. With time and a little experimentation, you’ll find the right combination of clarity and creativity to make each prompt work better. If something still isn’t working, try breaking your idea into smaller parts and building it up again, one step at a time.
9. Conclusion
Prompting with Ideogram is both a skill and a creative process. Whether you’re aiming for a specific visual or simply exploring artistic ideas, writing clear, thoughtful prompts gives you more control over the results. As you’ve seen throughout this guide, even small changes in structure, wording, or strategy can make a big difference. With practice, experimentation, and the right tools, you’ll learn how to shape the AI’s output to better match your intent—or discover something unexpectedly brilliant along the way.
Happy prompting!
Appendices
To come...
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