>_ AI Prompt
Lab.
A construction framework for generating retro-futuristic device imagery. Prompts, parameters, and negative prompts tuned for Midjourney v7, SDXL, and FLUX — tuned to hit Human-Centric Materialism without landing in generic slab territory.
The construction checklist.
Every prompt should clear these six gates. Skip a gate and the model falls back to its default glass-slab priors. Hit all six and it lands inside Human-Centric Materialism.
Object + Context
Specify the gadget (portable synth, handheld cyberdeck, media player) and its functional context — not just the thing, but what it's for.
Form Language
Cassette-futurist silhouette + neo-Memphis geometry + cyberdeck modularity. Stack the three; don't dilute to one.
CMF Selection
Plastics with personality, frosted acrylic, wood or ceramic-feel anchor, gold-plated caps. Material honesty is mandatory.
Tactile Interface
Unlabeled mechanical switches, oversized analog knobs, heavy toggles, small Rams-inspired mono display. Nothing capacitive.
Composition
3D studio render framing, industrial-design-photography angle, 4:5 portrait or hero 16:9. Device dominant in frame.
Lighting Treatment
Dramatic moody key light + subtle 1980s sci-fi analog film grain. Never sterile softbox. The scene should look lived-in.
Drop-in prompts.
Two master prompts — a compact "Dopamine Tech" universal, and a long-form "Boutique Cyberdeck" that leans cassette-futurist + organismic. Swap the object token to adapt.
Tune the generator.
Baseline parameters that keep the output in-style. Stylize too high and you get airbrush kitsch; too low and the model forgets the grain and the reels.
MJMidjourney v7
FXSDXL / FLUX
What to exclude.
The most important half of the prompt. Most "misses" are failures of subtraction — the model defaults to the averaged glass slab unless you explicitly forbid it.
// negative.prompt
EXCLUDEgeneric smartphone slab, bland minimalist UI, plain aluminum unibody, apple-style rounded rectangle, featureless glossy white plastic, flat flat flat, low-contrast corporate rendering, stock photography background, soft studio lighting cliché, sterile showroom, oversaturated neon cyberpunk, chrome gradients, clip-art emoji decoration, generic gaming RGB, washed-out pastel, AI-slop over-rendering, text gibberish, distorted typography, overcrowded compositions, blurry edges, low polygon count, plastic-looking wood grain, unrealistic glass reflections.
Use the lab.
A short operator's manual. Four habits that keep outputs consistent with the movement — and flag when you've drifted.
01 · Material Integrity
Maintain the same material vocabulary across variations of the same object. If you've declared "maple wood + frosted acrylic + powder-coated aluminum," don't swap in ABS plastic on the next gen.
02 · Toy vs Sterile
The balance knob. If it reads as a Fisher-Price toy, add tactile complexity cues (exposed screws, unlabeled toggles). If it reads as sterile tech, add playful Memphis geometry and a wood anchor.
03 · Visible Complexity
At least one transparent element. At least one unlabeled mechanical control. At least one piece of telemetry showing "live" data. These three cues together carry 80% of the aesthetic.
04 · Ritualistic Object
Ask: "Would the owner dust this on Sunday?" If no, re-prompt. The target is a device users bond with — not a commodity. Add grain, weight, patina, and context.
Back to the map.
The manifesto sets the why, the atlas holds the grammar. Cycle back through them after a generation pass.