Skip to content
Agentic Levels

Everything starts here.

GuestLocal progress only
PreferencesSign in
01Start with one taskBest first move for beginners.02Check your LevelMeasure where you are.03Score an AI resultFind the habit to practice first.04Return to Your WorkScores, links, and checkpoints.
Start here

Begin

HomeThe main entry point.New to AIStart with one useful task.
Know where you are

Measure

Check your LevelUse this after you have tried AI.Fluency ScoreScore an AI result you can review.
Build the habit

Learn

LevelsLessonsTracks
Find the reference

Library

PromptsReferenceResourcesCompare Tools
Turn it into work

Apply

Your Next MoveChoose what AI should change next.Tool SetupGet the tools ready.
Come back later

Return

Your WorkScores, links, and checkpoints.My PathContinue from your level.Updates
Site

Site

PricingAboutFAQ & FeedbackPreferences

© 2026 Fuentes Studio

Privacy·Terms
yourCouncil
Ready to help
✦

What do you want to understand?

Ask anything about what you're learning.

Tracks›Slides & Pitch Decks
L2Lesson 18Free

Build visual hierarchy

What the eye should read first

After this, you'll be able to create a hierarchy review and use it to move a deck from rough material toward a presentable file.

Before you start

Complete Apply brand or template rules first.

The idea

Visual hierarchy tells the audience what to read first, second, and third. This lesson asks you to make a hierarchy review, not a prettier version of scattered notes. The output should be specific enough that someone could open the deck file and see what changed.

Slide elements compete equally for first read.
The first move: turn the lesson input into a hierarchy review.

Here is the before and after: Before, every element competes for attention. After, the claim, evidence, and action have clear weight and the slide can be scanned quickly. For example, if you are preparing a sales presentation, the artifact should name the audience, slide job, proof, speaker note, or export check where that detail matters. A reviewer should be able to tell whether the deck is closer to being presented, sent, or handed off.

Now try it: Review five slides for first read, second read, third read, and remove anything that fights the order. Make one choice before asking Claude to write: which audience, which decision, which proof, which slide job, or which delivery mode matters most right now. That choice keeps the deck from becoming a generic presentation outline.

The deck works when a hierarchy review connects the input, the check, and the next step.
BeforeAfter
InputScatteredNamed
OutputGuessinga hierarchy review
CheckHiddenVisible
Next stepUnclearReady

The lesson turns a loose pitch deck idea into an artifact you can inspect.

The lesson is done when the artifact moves the deck toward a real room, reader, or file handoff.

Try it (16 min)

Watch out for

  • Making everything large because everything feels important.
  • Letting logos or decorative images compete with the claim.
  • Using color for decoration instead of meaning.

Paste this into Claude

Review these slides for visual hierarchy. For each slide, identify First Read, Second Read, Third Read, Competing Elements, What To Remove, and Suggested Layout Change. Slides: [paste or describe].

If any input is missing, ask me up to three questions before producing the artifact. Then return five sections: Finished Artifact, Realistic Deck Example, Assumptions To Check, What I Should Use In The Next Lesson, and One Risk If I Present Or Send This Without Fixing It. Keep the answer practical enough that I can paste it into my deck working doc.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 What a good response looks like

Finished Artifact:
- a hierarchy review
- Why it matters: it gives the deck a concrete thing to inspect instead of a vague intention.
- Use it next: paste this artifact into the next lesson before asking Claude to write, build, import, publish, or review anything.

Reality Check:
- The artifact names the user, input, decision, owner, or proof it depends on.
- The weakest assumption is visible.
- The next step can be completed in one sitting.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 What good looks like

  • Every slide has a clear first read.
  • Competing elements are named.
  • The claim and proof are visually connected.
  • The suggested fix is concrete.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 Go deeper (8 min)

Paste this into Claude

Without rereading the lesson, explain why a hierarchy review matters in three bullets. Then apply it to a second deck example: [describe a different audience, room, or topic]. Return What Changed, What Stayed The Same, What To Check Before Presenting Or Sending, and the exact next action.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 What a good response looks like

Transfer Check:
- What changed: the second example has a different audience, input, or delivery context.
- What stayed the same: a hierarchy review still needs a source, a review check, and a next step.
- Before trusting it: inspect the delivery check that would catch a wrong assumption.
- Next action: run the check once, then carry the revised artifact into the next lesson.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 What good looks like

  • You explained the lesson idea from memory before applying it again.
  • The second example changes the artifact instead of copying the first answer.
  • The delivery check names a real risk.
  • The next action can be done in one sitting.

When this breaks

  • Breaks when nothing has priority because the audience scans randomly.
  • Fails when proof and claim are separated because the point takes too long to understand.

AI can help with this

Paste the exercise prompt into Claude with your real deck context. Ask Claude to interview you one question at a time, produce a hierarchy review, challenge the weakest assumption, and rewrite the artifact once so it is ready for the next deck step.

One hierarchy path shows first read, second read, third read, and what to remove.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 You can now

✓

You can explain a hierarchy review in one sentence.

  • ✓You can name the source material or decision it depends on.
  • ✓You can name the assumption that still needs checking.
  • ✓You can point to the check that proves it is ready for the next deck step.

Key takeaways

Hierarchy is how a slide tells the audience what matters before the presenter speaks.

  1. 1Every slide needs a first read.
  2. 2Scale, spacing, and color create priority.
  3. 3Decoration should not compete with meaning.
  4. 4Hierarchy reviews catch clutter fast.

Was this helpful?

Up nextMake the image and diagram plan→

Related lessons

Apply brand or template rulesMake the image and diagram plan
← Back to Slides & Pitch Decks