gemini-prompting

Gemini Prompting Guide

Gemini excels at two things that Claude does not:

1. Visual analysis — screenshots, mockups, UI layouts, design comparison
2. Design/styling — color palettes, modern frontend aesthetics, creative UI

Prompt Structure

Good Gemini prompts follow this pattern:

<context>
Brief project context and what the user is working on.
</context>

<task>
Clear, specific instruction. One task per prompt.
</task>

<constraints>
Output format, style guidelines, framework requirements.
</constraints>

Visual Analysis Prompts

When the task involves visual input:

• Describe what the screenshot/mockup shows
• Be specific about what to look for (spacing, color, alignment, hierarchy)
• Ask for structured observations, not free-form descriptions

Design/Styling Prompts

When the task involves UI aesthetics:

• Reference the existing design system or framework (Tailwind, CSS vars, etc.)
• Ask for specific CSS/component code, not just suggestions
• Include the current state so Gemini can compare

Anti-Patterns

• Do not dump entire codebases into the prompt — Gemini works best with focused context
• Do not ask Gemini to reason about complex logic — that's Claude's strength
• Do not ask Gemini to write backend/infrastructure code — delegate only visual/design tasks
• Do not include prompts longer than ~4000 words — keep it focused