# Subject built from a symbol

Frame / Composition / Meaning. Checked 2026-11-13.

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
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/composition/semantic-compounding
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/composition/semantic-compounding.json

## Watch out

- The test: take the symbol away. If the meaning goes with it, the symbol was doing the work. (practitioner; Director Chair notes on Semantic compounding (Jason Murray))
- Text and logos come from the brand's files or are typeset. They are never generated. (practitioner; Director Chair field notes on b-roll)

## 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 2.5

```
A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting].
People and framing: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper
Exclusions: 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].
First frame: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
First frame: the running shoe drawn entirely in city street maps, the outline of the shoe intact, on plain paper
Shot 1: one continuous shot
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[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.
```

## Goes well with

- Contrast in four levels: https://directorchair.ai/hook/contrast-ladder
- B-roll pass: show or explain: https://directorchair.ai/preset/preset-broll-pass

## Source

Own words from Director Chair notes on Semantic compounding (Jason Murray) (the term is art director Jason Murray's, Oct 2026)

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.