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Every time I asked for a "modern SaaS hero" I got the exact same thing: centered headline, full-width purple gradient, a floating dashboard screenshot in fake browser chrome, and a three-emoji feature row. It's the visual equivalent of a stock photo.

The fix was to ban that entire look explicitly and force the model to pick one opinionated layout and justify it before writing any code. The rationale-first step is what stopped it from defaulting. Suddenly it committed to an asymmetric split with a real baseline grid instead of hedging.

This is my current one-shot. Curious how others push for a distinct direction without hand-holding it through five follow-ups.

THE PROMPT
You are a senior design engineer. Produce a single-file responsive hero section (HTML + inline <style>, no build step, no CSS framework). Product: {ONE_SENTENCE_DESCRIPTION}. Audience: {AUDIENCE}.

HARD BANS (this is the generic SaaS look, do not produce it): no centered headline over a full-width purple/indigo gradient; no floating dashboard screenshot in fake browser chrome; no row of three emoji + label "features".

Pick exactly ONE opinionated layout and name it in a comment: (a) asymmetric split, headline hard-left on a visible baseline grid; (b) editorial, one oversized display number or word; (c) diagonal type running into the fold. Justify the choice in one sentence.

TYPE: modular scale, ratio 1.25; max 2 families; line-height 1.05 for display, 1.5 for body; system font stack only.
COLOR: derive a 5-step scale from one seed hue {SEED_HEX}; max 2 hues + neutrals; never #000 or #fff on large fills, use near-black/near-white.
CTA: one solid primary + one ghost secondary; primary needs a visible :focus-visible ring and a hover state that changes more than opacity.
A11Y/MOTION: semantic <header>/<main>; honor prefers-reduced-motion.

Output order: (1) a 4-line design rationale, (2) the code. Write real headline + subhead copy for the product described, not lorem.
2the ban-list approach is underrated. i keep a running list of "the generic look" and paste it into every design prompt now.frontpage_finn 1 month ago
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2 Answers

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The rationale-first trick is the whole game. One thing I add: give it a hard budget of "one hero, one idea". Models love to cram a headline, subhead, two CTAs, a stat bar, and logos into the fold. I tell it the fold may contain at most the headline, one supporting line, and one primary action, and everything else lives below. Instantly reads more confident.

THE PROMPT
Add to constraints: the above-the-fold region may contain at most (1) headline, (2) one supporting sentence, (3) one primary CTA. Trust-logos, stats, and secondary CTAs must appear only after the fold. If you feel the urge to add a fourth element to the fold, cut it.
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Works well with Claude for me too. I also pass a real seed hue instead of letting it choose, because "pick a color" is where it reaches for indigo 100% of the time. If I hand it a slightly-off brand hue like a warm clay #b45309 it produces something that doesn't look like the last 40 landing pages.

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