Picture this: creating stunning AI visuals for work

Scenario: You're preparing a business presentation and want a striking visual that lands your message. You've got a theme - but no image. Stock photography is too bland. You want something original, memorable, and a little bit clever.

Say your slide says: "We're ignoring the elephant in the room." That's your starting point. Let's build an image with AI that brings that metaphor to life.

What you'll learn

• How to use image generation tools like ChatGPT or Copilot to create powerful, tailored visuals
• How to refine AI images through creative prompts and tweaks
• How visual storytelling can drive your message home

Before you start: you'll need ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot with image generation. If you haven't set it up, go back to the first lesson in Module 5. On the free version you may be limited in how many images you can create each day, so this may take longer.

Step 1 - Start simple: describe the literal idea

Create an image of a large elephant standing in the middle of a modern office meeting room. The people in the room are ignoring it and continuing their meeting.

A visual metaphor made literal - a fine start, but it won't wow your audience yet.

⬆️ Level up 1 - Add a creative style or twist

Make the image look like a bright, stylised cartoon - almost like a Pixar movie still. The elephant should be colourful and exaggerated, while the people are all looking serious and ignoring it.

This makes the image visually striking so it stands out on a slide, and reinforces the idea.

Note on copyright: when referencing well-known aesthetics (like "Pixar-style"), avoid infringing copyrighted characters or brands. Instead of "Pixar movie still", try:

Make it look like a bright, stylised 3D cartoon - playful, expressive, and high quality, but without copying any known characters or studios.

⬆️ Level up 2 - Add surprise or futuristic flair

Same cartoon-style elephant-in-the-room idea, but now the meeting room is in a futuristic setting - glass walls showing flying cars outside, holograms on the table, and the elephant is wearing an augmented reality headset.

This pushes the image from clever to unforgettable - even in a futuristic workplace, we're still ignoring the obvious problems.

⬆️ Optional experiment

Ask the AI for a photorealistic version; a version in the style of a famous painter (e.g. "Make it look like a Salvador Dali painting"); or "Make it look like a slide from a corporate PowerPoint template - with the elephant awkwardly squeezed between bullet points."