[Just Answer AI's Questions] Eliminate the "Something's Off" Feeling! Articulate Your Ideal Design with DESIGN.md

When you have generative AI create slides, don't you sometimes think, "Oh, something's off"? Whether I have NotebookLM generate slides or have Gemini create other materials,

• "The color schemes are inconsistent"

• "The font style isn't unified"

• "The spacing is different every time"

—I was feeling this subtle stress.

There are many people who publish prompts for specifying tone and manner, but when I try using them, they don't quite hit the mark.

Using generative AI brings the realization that it produces variations I wouldn't have thought of myself. On the other hand, if you restrict it too much with prompts, it becomes monotonous.
I spent days struggling to adjust because that balance could not be expressed in words.
Perhaps some of you feel the same way?

Recently, I found a way to solve that problem. It is the

that became a trending topic on note. This is a "design system for AI coding agents" proposed by Google, but it is a powerful tool that can also be applied to the production of slides and note articles. This time, I created it with Grok, so I will introduce it.

1️⃣ What is DESIGN.md—A Design Instruction Manual for AI

"DESIGN.md" is a file that clearly describes

• color palettes

• typography

• spacing

• component rules

in text using Markdown format.

💡 Why it's amazing

• When you use this as an additional document for NotebookLM or Gemini, the AI understands that "this is the design for this project."

• Eliminate the mismatch of "That's not the color scheme I wanted" every time

• Clearly articulate your own "ideal design"

However, there was one problem with this.

That was it. At first, I was just as vague, saying things like, "Hmm, the colors should be... bright, techy..." How did I go from there to making DESIGN.md "my own"?
—I will tell you about that process.

2️⃣ Dialogue with AI articulates your "preferences"

I asked Grok the following:

Then, Grok fired off the following questions one after another.

Example questions from Grok:

My answers:

What's amazing about this dialogue is that it doesn't just ask for "preferences"; by presenting options, I myself

am able to realize it.

3️⃣ Your "ideal design" becomes concrete numbers and colors

As we continued the dialogue, the content Grok proposed looked like this.

## Project Overview
このプロジェクトは、**しげちーSS**のnote記事スタイルを基調としたWeb/UIプロジェクトです。

- **コンセプト**: 「知的で実践的なAI活用の外部脳・司令塔」
- **雰囲気**: Intelligent Cyber Tech（知的なクリーンさ + 軽やかなサイバーニュアンス）
- **トーン**: 論理的・実用的・読みやすく・伝わりやすい。AIツールのTipsやまとめを、数字やリストで整理して提供するスタイル。
- **ターゲット**: AIを日常的に活用したい実務者。速く・正確に情報を吸収したい人。
- **主なテーマ**: 明るいライトテーマ中心。ブルー（知性・AI）とグリーン（成長・テック）のアクセントで、未来感と親しみやすさを両立。

・・・（中略）・・・

## Color Palette

### Core Colors
- **Primary (メイン・AIアクセント・リンク・ボタン)**: `#0066FF`（鮮やかな知的なブルー）
- **Primary Hover**: `#0055DD`
- **Secondary (成長・成功・アクセント)**: `#00CC99`（明るいティールグリーン）
- **Secondary Hover**: `#00B388`

・・・（以下略）・・・

In other words, the vagueness of "Oh, bright" and "techy" turned into concrete instructions like #0066FF and #00CC99.

4️⃣ DESIGN.md in practice

The completed DESIGN.md can be used as follows.

🔖Pattern 1: As an attachment to NotebookLM prompts

※ Please see the following article for the steps on how to execute prompts from sources in NotebookLM. ⬇️

🔖Pattern 2: Paste directly into Gemini prompts

Add the following to the end of your prompt.

【デザインシステム】
以下のDESIGN.mdを厳密に遵守してください。
特にTypography、Spacing、Components Guidelinesを優先。
[ここにDESIGN.mdの内容を貼る]

⭐Actual Results

When I had NotebookLM generate slides, the result was overwhelmingly"a design I love" compared to before. The color balance was consistent, and the diagrams were well-placed.

※ In the past, if I restricted the prompt too much, diagrams would almost disappear or colors would be lost.

I've posted both slides with and without DESIGN.md using the comic viewer feature. Please try comparing them.
Huh? You just want to try out the new feature?
I-it's not like that, you know!

5️⃣ Why don't you try verbalizing your "favorite design" too?

What do you think? Don't you want to try it too?
The important thing is that even if you start by thinking "I don't know what my preferences are," through dialogue with AI, that can turn into concrete instructions.

💡Steps to try it out

💡Why did I use Grok?

Because I didn't know what an actual "DESIGN.md" was and couldn't explain it.
Since it's becoming popular, I thought that Grok, which is strong in its integration with X, could pick up information from X and reduce unnecessary adjustments or misunderstandings.
As someone who didn't know "DESIGN.md," I didn't know how it would turn out until I tried creating the slides, so I wanted to minimize the waste of adjustments as much as possible.

📌Summary: Giving shape to design

"Design is difficult," "You need a sense for it"—that's what I used to think.
But with dialogue with AI, you can verbalize your "favorite design" in the form of a "DESIGN.md" and apply it consistently.
It's not just "instructions to AI," but also a process of visualizing your own design philosophy.
Whether writing a note article or creating slides, from now on, why not choose the path to DESIGN.md as your partner and being freed from "Oh, something's off"?