Welcome: stop renting design
What changes, what does not, and how you will know this course worked.
The problem this course attacks
When the tab dies, the work dies.
Success = file you can open tomorrow.
Aha: offline deck + stills + campaign folder
Repeatable: DESIGN.md · Kimi · Imagine · handoff
- design-lab/course root
- └ brief.mdspine
- └ brand/DESIGN.mdcontract
- └ decks/PPTX · HTML
- └ images/stills
- └ images/prompts-used.mdregenerate
- └ content/[campaign]/pack
- └ handoff/README.mdoffline
Most “AI design” dies in a browser tab: a pretty PNG you cannot rebuild, a Canva project locked to a subscription, a slide deck nobody versioned. When the chat scroll is gone, the work is gone. That is renting.
Here the unit of success is a folder on disk. Hermes (your agent from Course 01) and Open Design (local design workspace) produce files you can open in PowerPoint, a browser, or a zip to a client, without the chat that made them.
| Rented | Owned (pass) |
|---|---|
| Screenshot of a chat image | images/*.png + prompts-used.md |
| Slides only inside one SaaS | decks/*.pptx or HTML you open offline |
| “Make it pop” every time | brand/DESIGN.md the agent must follow |
| Hope you remember the prompt | brief.md + dated filenames |
Two parts: do not skip ahead
Part I is the aha: stack + deck + images + one content pack. Part II is the system: brand, models, skills, export, habits. If you jump to brand theory before a real deck, you will produce prettier emptiness.
| Part | You must produce | You may not skip |
|---|---|---|
| I | deck file + image set + content/ folder | Opening files offline |
| II | DESIGN.md used once + handoff zip | Regenerate without re-explaining brand |
Prerequisite (hard gate)
If Hermes does not chat yet, stop. Finish Open Harness Part I first. Design without an agent that can write files is just another prompt box.
Folder contract (create it now)
Every module writes under one tree. Create it empty before module 01. Do not scatter files across Downloads.
design-lab/
brief.md
brand/DESIGN.md
decks/
images/
prompts-used.md
content/
handoff/README.md
First proof action
You wrote design-lab/brief.md with audience, goal, and one campaign name, before opening any generator.
Stored on this device only, not sent anywhere.