{
 "slug": "semantic-compounding",
 "name": "Subject built from a symbol",
 "category": "composition",
 "group": "Meaning",
 "media": [
  "image",
  "video"
 ],
 "checked": "2026-11-13",
 "effect": "The idea arrives without a word, because the subject is made of what it means.",
 "use_when": "Key visuals, ad stills, explainer graphics.",
 "phrase": "the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper",
 "pitfalls": [
  {
   "text": "The test: take the symbol away. If the meaning goes with it, the symbol was doing the work.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "Director Chair notes on Semantic compounding (Jason Murray)"
  },
  {
   "text": "Text and logos come from the brand's files or are typeset. They are never generated.",
   "evidence": "practitioner",
   "source": "Director Chair field notes on b-roll"
  }
 ],
 "per_model": [],
 "external_refs": [],
 "licensed": [],
 "site_names": [],
 "related": [
  "contrast-ladder",
  "preset-broll-pass"
 ],
 "rights": "own-work",
 "evidence": "practitioner",
 "source": {
  "url": null,
  "note": "Own words from Director Chair notes on Semantic compounding (Jason Murray) (the term is art director Jason Murray's, Oct 2026)"
 },
 "body": "",
 "shown_with": null,
 "url": "https://directorchair.ai/composition/semantic-compounding",
 "markdown": "https://directorchair.ai/composition/semantic-compounding.md",
 "prompts": {
  "nano-banana-pro": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper.",
  "nano-banana-2": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper.",
  "gpt-image": "A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting].\nPeople and framing: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper\nExclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo.",
  "seedream-5": "[your subject] in [your setting]. The running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper.",
  "seedance-2.5": "Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].\nFirst frame: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper\nShot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot",
  "seedance-2.0": "Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].\nFirst frame: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper\nShot 1: one continuous shot",
  "kling-3": "[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. The running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper.",
  "veo-3.1": "The running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image."
 },
 "licence": {
  "code": "MIT",
  "text": "CC BY 4.0",
  "third_party": "Clips and card texts inside a \"licensed\" block belong to their makers and are shown with permission and credit."
 }
}