Start a project and write a first prompt
After this, you'll be able to start a new project in Claude Design and write a rich first prompt that names your goal, your audience, your sections, and the feeling you want, so the first build comes back close to right.
Before you start
Do Talk, don't drag: the canvas mental model first; once you know you steer by describing, this lesson shows you how to write the very first description so the first build lands close.
The idea
A new project in Claude Design begins with one thing you type: a prompt (the description you write to tell Claude what to build). The richer that first prompt is, the closer the first build lands.
You open the tool at claude.ai/design and start a new project. Then you describe what you want, in plain words, and Claude builds it on the right.
This first prompt matters more than any other moment in the session. Remember the usage allowance from the last module. Each build (also called a render, one finished design Claude makes) spends part of your current allowance.
Your first build is the most valuable one you will spend, so it is worth a minute of thought before you press send.
A weak first prompt is vague: "make me a website." Claude has to guess everything, so it gives you something generic that you then rebuild from scratch.
A rich first prompt is the opposite. It hands Claude enough to nail the build on the first try.
Here is the before and after: Someone types "make me a website for my bakery" and gets back a plain, anybody's-bakery page they do not like. So they spend three more builds fixing it.
Someone else types a full paragraph: who it is for, what sections they need, the feeling, the colors. They get a warm, specific bakery site on the first build, and spend their other builds polishing instead of starting over.
The five things a rich first prompt names are easy to remember:
- The goal (what the page is for). - The audience (who will read it). - The sections (the blocks you need, like a hero (the big banner area across the top of a page), pricing, contact). - The feeling (warm, bold, calm, premium). - A direction for color and font (earthy and rounded, or crisp and modern).
Name those five and Claude has almost everything it needs.
Why this works is simple: Claude is not reading your mind, it is reading your words. The more true detail you give, the less it has to invent.
And the less it invents, the closer the first build sits to what you actually pictured. A detailed prompt is not extra work, it is the work that saves you the most builds.
Start the project, then spend your richest description on that first prompt. It is the cheapest way to get a build you love.
Try it (9 min)
Watch out for
- Sending a vague first prompt like 'make me a website' to save time. It costs you more builds later, because Claude has to guess and you have to rebuild.
- Forgetting to name your audience. 'A site for nervous first-timers' produces very different copy and tone than 'a site for serious collectors,' and Claude needs to know which.
- Leaving out the sections you need. If you don't list the hero, pricing, and contact blocks, Claude picks its own, and they may not match what you pictured.
- Skipping the feeling and color direction. Without it, you get a safe, generic look; one line like 'warm earthy colors, rounded friendly font' steers the whole build.
Paste this into Claude
I'm about to start my first project in Claude Design and I want my first prompt to be rich enough that the first build lands close. Help me write it before I open the tool. My project: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT TO MAKE, e.g. "a one-page site for my pottery class"]. Please write me ONE detailed first prompt I can paste into Claude Design. Make sure it names all five of these: 1. The goal (what this page is for). 2. The audience (who it's for). 3. The sections I need (hero, about, pricing, contact, etc.). 4. The feeling I want (warm, bold, calm, premium, playful). 5. A color and font direction (e.g. "earthy colors, rounded friendly headings"). Then show me a vague version of the same request next to my rich version, so I can see exactly why the rich one will save me builds.
What a good response looks like
Here's your first prompt for the pottery-class site: **Your rich first prompt (paste this):** "Build a warm one-page site for my beginner pottery classes, Clay & Calm, in Asheville. It's for nervous first-timers who have never touched a wheel and want a relaxed, no-pressure place to start. Sections: a hero with the studio name and 'Beginner pottery, zero experience needed,' a short 'what a class feels like' block, a class schedule with prices, two student testimonials, and a contact section with a sign-up button. Feeling: calm, friendly, hand-made, not slick or corporate. Use soft earthy clay tones, a warm rounded heading font, and a simple clean body font. Make it one page I could put online." **The vague version (don't send this):** "Make me a website for my pottery classes." **Why the rich one wins:** the vague version makes Claude guess your audience, your sections, and your whole look, so you'd rebuild it two or three times. The rich one hands Claude all of that up front, so your first build already feels like *your* studio.
What good looks like
- You can name the five things a rich first prompt should include (goal, audience, sections, feeling, color/font direction)
- You have one detailed first prompt written and ready to paste, not a vague one-liner
- You can explain why the first build is the most valuable build you spend in a session
- You can spot the difference between a vague prompt ('make me a website') and a rich one
- name the five things a richYou can name the five things a rich first prompt should include goal, audience,
- You have one detailed firstYou have one detailed first prompt written and ready to paste, not a vague one-liner
- explain why the first buildYou can explain why the first build is the most valuable build you spend in a session
- Write a first prompt forWrite a first prompt for any page you'd want to make, then check it out loud: does it
When this breaks
- Breaks when you treat the first prompt as a throwaway you'll fix later. The first build is your most valuable one, so a thin first prompt wastes the build that matters most.
- Breaks when you describe the look but not the purpose. Claude can make something pretty, but if it doesn't know the goal and audience, the pretty thing solves the wrong problem.
AI can help with this
Not sure how to describe your project? Open regular Claude and say: 'Help me write a detailed first prompt for Claude Design for a [your project]. Ask me about the goal, audience, sections, feeling, and colors, then write it for me.' Claude interviews you and hands back a prompt you paste straight in.
You can now
You can complete the lesson outcome in Claude Design or in the supporting tool the lesson names.
- You can name the five things a rich first prompt should include (goal, audience, sections, feeling, color/font direction).
- You have one detailed first prompt written and ready to paste, not a vague one-liner.
- You can explain why the first build is the most valuable build you spend in a session.
- You can spot the difference between a vague prompt ('make me a website') and a rich one.
Key takeaways
Starting a project is easy; the skill is the first prompt. Name your goal, audience, sections, feeling, and a color or font direction, and Claude's first build comes back close to right.
- You start a project at claude.ai/design and describe what you want; the first prompt is the description you type in.
- The first build is the most valuable one you spend from your allowance, so invest a minute in the prompt.
- A rich first prompt names five things: goal, audience, sections, feeling, and a color or font direction.
- A vague prompt ('make me a website') forces Claude to guess and forces you to rebuild from scratch.
- More true detail means less guessing, which means the first build lands closer to what you pictured.
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