# Prompt Improvement Guide — Frenzy Salon

Correction layer for Frenzy Salon image-generation prompts and copy. Read after the brand
guide (`FrenzySalon_brand_guide.md` / `02_brand_kit/Frenzy-Salon-BrandKit.html`) and the
rules in `01_knowledge_base/rules/`, and before writing any slide prompt or content piece.

**Purpose:** a checklist every image prompt must pass before reaching image generation.
Used manually today; once `prompt-improvement-filter` exists it will read this file
automatically — this file does not change when that happens.

**Canonical tokens: Brand Palette v2 (client-directed 2026-09-28).** The `02_brand_kit/Frenzy-Salon-BrandKit.html`
(Brand Guidelines v1.0) is the declared SOURCE but still shows the **old v1.0 palette** —
it has not been regenerated. Until it is, the v2 system below governs all prompts. See `## Gaps`.

---

## 1. Palette — exact hex only, Brand Palette v2

Gold is **logo-only**. The composition is defined as a ratio:

| Color | Hex | Share | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory | `#F7F3EE` | ~65% (with White) | Dominant background — large photographic fields, negative space |
| White | `#FFFFFF` | (part of the 65%) | Cards, reversed type, clean fields |
| Greige | `#C9C0B2` | ~20% | Secondary neutral — surfaces, rules, quiet blocks |
| Espresso | `#352A24` | ~10% | Anchor dark — text, **buttons**, footers, dark sections (replaces black/navy) |
| Dusty Rose | `#D6A79F` | ~5% | Sophisticated small accent only — never the protagonist |
| Logo Gold | `#B49434` | — | **Logo mark inside the wordmark/isotipo ONLY.** Never a fill, text, button, border, or accent. |

**Retired (must not appear):** Navy `#002C50`, Green `#61CE70`, Blue `#6EC1E4`, Dark/Medium/Light Grays `#54595F` / `#7A7A7A` / `#BBBBBB`, Black `#000000` as a brand color, cream `#FBF9F4`. The research-doc template gold `#d4af37` is not a brand color.

**Never** vague "brand colors." **Dusty rose stays a rare detail** — at most one accent moment per composition.

## 2. Typography in image — editorial usage

| Use | Font | Spec |
|---|---|---|
| Display headlines (editorial) | **Roboto Slab** | 400, serif, large sizes — the magazine voice |
| UI / headings | **Urbanist** | 700 (500/600 also in use), sans-serif |
| Body / text | **Roboto** | 300 / 400, sans-serif |
| Buttons / uppercase / eyebrow | **Albert Sans** | 400, uppercase, generous letter-spacing |
| Long-form / fine print | **Roboto Condensed** | 400, sans-serif |

Large type, generous white space, few elements. No other typefaces. No em dashes (—) or en dashes (–) in in-image text.

## 3. What to verify in EVERY image prompt

1. **Palette:** exact hex from the v2 set; ivory/white dominate (~65%), greige ~20%, espresso ~10%, dusty rose ~5% and never the protagonist; **gold only inside the logo mark**; no retired colors.
2. **Typography:** editorial hierarchy — Roboto Slab 400 for the big display headline, Urbanist 700 for UI/headings, Roboto for body, Albert Sans for all-caps moments, Roboto Condensed for fine print. No em/en dashes. No long text blocks.
3. **Art direction:** luxury beauty boutique — large editorial photography, generous negative space, very few decorative elements, espresso buttons. Not a classic salon.
4. **Language / context:** English-primary in-image copy (Spanish only for proper nouns, cultural warmth, or quoted reviews); scenes and settings read as Pembroke Pines / South Florida. No snow, foreign architecture, currency, or signage.
5. **Remove AI Slop preamble:** included, unless explicitly excluded. Natural skin texture, no posterized skin, no cinematic lighting.
6. **Composition / framing:** specify it ("display headline in Roboto Slab 400 over an ivory `#F7F3EE` field"), not just the subject matter.
7. **Text layout sub-areas:** break into headline, supporting text, service block, CTA — without forcing the ones that don't apply.
8. **Visual continuity:** within a carousel, keep the same location, same subject, and same treatment across all slides.
9. **Persona alignment:** match the message and the person to the buyer profile (see §6). One persona per asset; never blend two.
10. **Design sheets:** cite the client-profile design sheet's tokens and keep the depicted character consistent with it (`02_brand_kit/design_sheets/01_client_profiles/`). MAIN sheet does not exist yet — see `## Gaps`.
11. **Model recommendation:** appropriate to the asset (Flux for lifestyle/portrait photography, DALL·E/GPT-image for text-heavy or infographic work).
12. **Logo:** never requested in the prompt — the real wordmark/isotipo (and its gold) is composited in post-production.

## 4. Brand voice in prompts

**Warm, expert, personal. Never clinical, never gimmicky, never salesy.** Like an expert stylist speaking directly to a client — never like an ad (BrandKit Voice & Tone). Now delivered with a **luxury beauty-boutique editorial register**: confident, uncluttered, magazine-like.

**We sound like:**
- A stylist who genuinely knows hair — confident in technique, generous with care
- Specific about craft: name real techniques (balayage, Ouidad's Carve & Slice, gray coverage, Olaplex)
- Personal and conversational ("your style," "your story")

**We avoid:**
- Hype words: "revolutionary," "life-changing," "amazing hair"
- Over-promising; let expertise and results speak
- Cold, corporate, or translated-sounding copy

**Four pillars every asset should protect (BrandKit):** Trusted Expertise · Quality & Care · For Everyone · Personal Experience.

**Personality adjectives (derived from the pillars, not a separate published list):** expert, warm, personal, crafted, confident, welcoming, quality-driven — now with an editorial, boutique refinement.

## 5. On-image copy

- **English primary.** Spanish only for proper nouns, cultural warmth, or quoted client reviews.
- One idea per slide; large editorial display headline in Roboto Slab 400; supporting text in Roboto.
- Name real techniques, not vague claims.
- No em dashes or en dashes anywhere in in-image text.
- Never render the logo in the prompt — it is composited. End every generator prompt with:
  "Do not add any other text, no logos, no labels, no color codes in the image."

## 6. Persona alignment

Match the message to the buyer profile — never a generic "woman."

| Persona | Register | Never |
|---|---|---|
| "The Trust-Building Color Seeker" (PRIMARY) | Trust-first, "natural-looking," "she listened," dimensional color that grows out gracefully | "Trendy," "edgy," "dramatic transformation"; flat "helmet" color |
| "The Exhausted Curl Searcher" (NICHE, HIGH VALUE) | Ouidad-certified expertise, "we cut curly hair dry," curl-by-curl; language of "finally," "understood" | "We can do anything"; brushed-out curls or wet-cut-as-straight imagery |
| "The Color Correction Refugee" (HIGHEST URGENCY) | Compassion + competence; honest "this may take more than one appointment" | "We can fix it in one day"; never depict the bad work as Frenzy's |
| "The Florida Humidity Refugee" (SEASONAL) | Relatable, specific, lightly humorous ("your blowout should survive the brunch"); safe, formaldehyde-free options | Vague "smooth and shiny"; flat, limp, damaged-looking results |
| "The Extension First-Timer" (HIGH TICKET) | Education + reassurance: "seamless blend," "no damage to your natural hair," real clients not models | "Dramatic transformation"; obvious/fake-looking extensions |
| "The Loyal Barber Client (Fred's Guy)" (STABLE) | Direct, simple, masculine: "Master Barber," precision cuts, easy booking | Luxury adjectives, long descriptions, emotional appeals |

## 7. Service / hair-health compliance

- Never guarantee an outcome. "Trusted Expertise" means every claim of skill is backed by real technique, not marketing language (BrandKit).
- Avoid hype and over-promise. No "revolutionary," "life-changing," "permanent."
- Treat hair health as inseparable from the finished look (Olaplex, Davines, Salerm, Dual Senses). Never imply damage is acceptable.
- Extensions: no claims of zero risk; emphasize method, color-matching, and natural blend.
- Color: sell dimensional, natural-looking results; never the flat "helmet" look.
- Correction: honest about multi-appointment processes; never "fixed in one day."
- Smoothing/keratin: address safety directly; position formaldehyde-free options; never fear-monger.
- No competitor disparagement (Maggie The Salon, Axelle Salon, King Rich Luxury, Acqua Salon & Spa, Supercuts, Great Clips, Sports Clips) — anchor on Frenzy's own 4.6-star, 607-review record.
- Products shown must look authentic and clean — never counterfeit, unbranded, or expired.

## 8. Format & technical

- Carousel / single-post social: **4:5 vertical, 1080 × 1350 px** (system default). Stories: 9:16 / 1080 × 1920. Blog / newsletter banners: 16:9.
- **Buttons / primary CTAs: espresso `#352A24`.** Quiet contrast on ivory — never gold, never navy.
- Editorial slides sit on **ivory `#F7F3EE`** with espresso type; dark sections use espresso `#352A24` with ivory or white type.
- The logo is never requested in the prompt; it (and its gold) is composited in post-production.

## 9. Faces and people

- Social assets may show people (this is a person-first brand) — keep results natural: real skin texture, healthy-looking hair, subtle and believable, but photographed with editorial confidence.
- Depict the persona from the design sheets so characters stay consistent across a cycle.
- Never show fused, melted, or broken hair; never show a color-correction client's damage as Frenzy's work (show the reassurance and the consult, not the result-as-damage).
- Keep the salon setting clean, bright, and boutiquelike — uncluttered.

## 10. Typical transformations (before → after)

- "brand gold accents" → "ivory `#F7F3EE` field with an espresso `#352A24` button; gold only in the composited logo"
- "elegant serif headline" → "large editorial display headline in Roboto Slab 400, supporting text in Roboto 400"
- "luxury salon" → "luxury beauty boutique — large photography, generous negative space, very few decorative elements"
- "dusty rose brand color" → "a single refined dusty-rose `#D6A79F` detail, never the protagonist"
- "dramatic transformation" → "natural-looking, dimensional color she can live with"
- "we can fix it in one day" → "this is a process; here is the honest plan"
- "smooth and shiny" → "less frizz, more control, faster styling that survives the humidity"
- "revolutionary / life-changing" → name the real technique (balayage, Ouidad Carve & Slice, Olaplex)

## 11. Brand-specific prompt patterns that work well

[Populate this over time as good prompts get identified — empty at creation, this is the
section most worth revisiting after a few real cycles]

## 12. Known weak patterns to avoid for this brand

[Empty at creation — same maintenance pattern as `FrenzySalon_negative_prompt_block.md`'s
"add as discovered." Add with a date/cycle reference when found.]

## 13. Gaps

**Flagged, not invented:**

1. **BrandKit HTML not regenerated.** `02_brand_kit/Frenzy-Salon-BrandKit.html` (Brand Guidelines v1.0) still shows the retired palette (gold/navy/green/blue/grays/cream). The client-directed **Brand Palette v2** (ivory/greige/espresso/dusty-rose; gold logo-only) is authoritative across these rules and the design sheets, and the SOURCE HTML should be rebuilt to v2. **Pending client ratification of the exact hex.**
2. **MAIN design sheet does not exist.** `02_brand_kit/design_sheets/00_MAIN/` is empty, so client-profile prompts cite the v2 tokens directly and mark MAIN as pending.
3. **Brand-guide filename mismatch.** `AGENT.md` / `CONTEXT.md` refer to `02_brand_kit/FrenzySalon_brand_guide.html`; the actual file is `02_brand_kit/Frenzy-Salon-BrandKit.html` (root `.md` is `FrenzySalon_brand_guide.md`).
4. **No per-platform social specs file.** `FrenzySalon_social_media_specs.md` not created; formats above use the system defaults.
5. **No documented monthly deliverable count rule.** July 2026 used 10 carousels / 5 blogs / 5 newsletters / 2 infographics / stories — a plan, not a documented rule.
6. **Infographics may be in scope.** July produced 2 (`04_infographic_briefs/` is otherwise empty). See `FrenzySalon_design_sheet_lookup.md` for the Graphic Assets decision.
7. **Stub files.** `FrenzySalon_Sitemap.md` and `FrenzySalon_marketing_hub_url.txt` are stubs.
8. **No published adjective list.** The adjectives in §4 are derived from the four BrandKit pillars, not a separate approved list.