Understand the technology
Judge the output against the brief.
For May and November 2027. This introductory lesson is shared SL and HL content.
01 | ATTRACTIVE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN SUITABLE
A generated image can look impressive and still fail its purpose. Imagine an advertisement requesting a calm editorial illustration with room for a headline. A dramatic photographic portrait may be attractive, but it does not follow that brief.
Output quality is the suitability and visual quality of a result for its intended use. Style adherence concerns how well it follows the requested artistic treatment or theme.
The case study asks Visionary Studios to consider resolution, photorealism, stylistic coherence and alignment with project goals. Those qualities must be interpreted in the context of a particular job.
02 | BEGIN WITH AN EXPLICIT BRIEF
A brief states what the image needs to achieve. Before generating, identify the subject, setting, composition, style and intended delivery conditions.
Our fictional classroom brief asks for a full-body editorial illustration of an explorer in a green jacket beside a mountain lake at sunrise, positioned on the right with clear space on the left for a headline.
The explorer and layout are teaching examples, not additional details in the official booklet. They give us specific requirements against which to review candidates.
03 | SEPARATE DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY
One overall impression can hide several different judgements. Ask whether the image is technically suitable, visually coherent, faithful to the requested content and appropriate in style.
A sharp, high-resolution image may show the wrong subject. A correctly placed subject may have distorted hands. An otherwise coherent scene may use a photographic treatment when an illustration was required.
Record these observations separately. That helps the designer identify what needs changing rather than merely saying the result “looks wrong”.
04 | RESOLUTION AND DELIVERY SIZE
Resolution refers here to the image’s pixel dimensions. It affects how much spatial information is available for the intended display or print use.
An image that looks acceptable as a thumbnail may reveal defects when enlarged. Conversely, a very large file is not automatically useful if its details are incorrect.
Check the actual delivery dimensions and inspect at an appropriate viewing scale. The booklet gives no fixed minimum pixel dimensions for every studio project, so any classroom target should be labelled as a proposal.
05 | SHARPNESS, DETAIL AND ARTEFACTS
Sharpness concerns the clarity of edges and detail. Artefacts are unintended patterns or defects, such as broken contours, repeated textures or awkward transitions.
More visible detail can make an image appear rich while adding incorrect features. For a product image, a sharp but invented button can be worse than a simpler accurate representation.
Inspect important regions closely and review the whole composition. Neither a zoomed-in crop nor a small preview is enough on its own.
06 | PHOTOREALISM AND PLAUSIBILITY
Photorealism is resemblance to a photograph. It may be important for some advertising concepts, but it is not the correct target for every creative task.
A photographic-looking scene can still contain impossible reflections, inconsistent shadows or inaccurate product details. Believability does not establish factual accuracy.
For Visionary Studios, the relevant question is whether the treatment supports the project and whether the depicted relationships withstand review.
07 | CONTENT AND PROMPT ADHERENCE
Prompt adherence is how well an output follows the supplied description. Check objects, attributes and relationships, not simply whether a keyword appears somewhere.
An image containing an explorer and a lake may still fail if the explorer is in the water when the brief requires them beside it. A green object elsewhere does not satisfy a green-jacket requirement.
A checklist makes these errors easier to detect. Use requirements that can be observed, and record uncertainty when a feature is ambiguous.
08 | COMPOSITION MUST WORK FOR THE USE
Composition is the arrangement of visual elements. In an advertisement, usable headline space is a functional design need as well as a visual choice.
A subject positioned on the right may still leave a cluttered left-hand area that makes text unreadable. Check the intended use of the space rather than only the subject’s coordinates.
Try a mock layout with the planned headline or an appropriate placeholder. A visually balanced standalone image can fail when placed in the final advertising format.
09 | WHAT DOES STYLE INCLUDE?
Style is the visual treatment of the image. It can involve line quality, shape simplification, colour palette, shading, texture and the degree of realism.
“Editorial illustration” is broader than an exact specification. A style guide can make the intended direction clearer, for example by describing flat colour, restrained detail and a limited palette.
Some artistic judgements remain interpretive. Clear descriptors and agreed references help reviewers explain their decisions without pretending that taste has one universal numerical answer.
10 | STYLE ADHERENCE WITHIN ONE IMAGE
Check whether the treatment is coherent across the image. A flat illustrated background combined with an unexpectedly photographic face may look inconsistent when that mixture was not intended.
Deliberate mixed-media work can be valid. The issue is whether the result matches the agreed direction, not whether all images must use one uniform technique.
For the fictional brief, examine the character, background and surface treatment together. Do they appear to belong to the requested visual approach?
11 | STYLE AND CHARACTER CONSISTENCY ARE DIFFERENT
Style adherence concerns the requested artistic treatment. Character consistency concerns the recurring character’s recognisable appearance across outputs.
Two images can use the same palette and brush treatment while depicting noticeably different faces. Conversely, the same recognisable character can be rendered in two different styles.
The studio may need both requirements. Review style within each image and across a campaign, then review character identity separately. The next lesson examines character consistency more closely.
12 | BUILD A REVIEW RUBRIC
A rubric defines criteria and performance descriptions. For our classroom trial, use five criteria: subject and attributes, setting and relationships, layout, visual integrity, and style adherence.
Score each from 0 to 2: 0 means not met, 1 partly met, and 2 met. A total is therefore out of 10. These are invented classroom descriptors, not an official IB marking scheme.
Refine descriptors for the task. “Layout met” could mean a full-body subject on the right and a genuinely usable left-hand headline area. Reviewers need more than an unexplained score.
13 | CRITICAL FAILURES SHOULD NOT DISAPPEAR IN A TOTAL
Some requirements are essential. If the asset cannot accommodate the required headline, strong colour and detail scores cannot make it suitable for that placement.
A critical gate records whether an essential condition passes. For this classroom exercise, the candidate must have a usable headline area and no unacceptable defect in the main subject, as well as meet a proposed total threshold.
The threshold and gates must be agreed before the trial. They are choices for the exercise, not guarantees that a score can replace professional judgement.
14 | TRY AN EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION
Score an imagined candidate using the rubric below. Add an observation explaining your judgement. The classroom rule requires at least 8/10 and both critical gates to pass.
The calculator applies your supplied judgements; it cannot inspect an image or verify your observations. Passing this exercise’s rule is not automatic approval for publication.
15 | COMPARE THREE CANDIDATES
| Candidate | Observation | Judgement |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sharp photographic portrait; cropped legs; no headline space | Fails requested style, framing and layout despite visual polish |
| B | Coherent full-body illustration and usable layout; distorted hand | Needs correction of a main-subject defect before acceptance |
| C | Appropriate illustration, layout and subject; slightly softer background texture | Could be suitable if it meets delivery and essential quality requirements |
The table describes hypothetical outputs, not measured images from a model. A justified review identifies evidence and its consequence for the brief.
16 | MAKE REVIEW MORE RELIABLE
Different reviewers may interpret style descriptors differently. Use a shared rubric, discuss example judgements and record reasons, then compare ratings.
Where practical, hide which system produced each candidate to reduce brand preference. Include repeated outputs and representative briefs rather than only a hand-picked success.
Automated similarity measures can support investigation, but a high similarity score does not prove that every layout, defect or identity requirement is met. Use appropriate human checks alongside relevant measurements.
17 | USE FINDINGS TO GUIDE REVISION
If style is wrong, revise the supported style guidance. If layout is wrong, consider clearer composition guidance or visual conditions. If critical details are defective, editing or regeneration may be needed.
Record changes and recheck the complete image. Fixing one problem can introduce another, so do not inspect only the edited area.
18 | WRITE A JUSTIFIED ACCEPTANCE DECISION
Choose one candidate from the table. In your book, identify two strengths or failures, link them to requirements and recommend acceptance, revision or rejection.
Then explain why the largest file or most realistic image is not automatically the best result. Propose one way to make style review more consistent.
Reveal a possible response
Candidate B meets the illustration and layout needs but contains a distorted hand. Because the defect affects the main subject, it needs correction and a fresh review before acceptance. Appropriate style cannot compensate for that critical failure.
Reviewers could agree style descriptors and discuss sample ratings before the trial. Final suitability depends on the project, not simply file dimensions or photographic appearance.
Read alongside the output quality and style adherence discussion in the official 2027 booklet. All campaign candidates and scoring rules here are independent teaching examples.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING | WHAT KIND OF QUALITY EVIDENCE?