This guidebook is continuously updated with new lessons, workflows, and case studies. The structure may expand over time as AI tools evolve and design practices adapt.

Preface

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a futuristic concept—it has already entered the core of architectural and design practice. Tools like Nano Banana and ChatGPT are reshaping how architects, landscape designers, urbanists, and interior designers visualize, test, and communicate ideas.

This guide is created as a hands-on prompt manual—a step-by-step companion to help designers quickly move from sketches to images, plans to 3D models, models to renderings, and moodboards to full design outputs.

Each section is structured around practical workflows:

• Prompts Guide introduces the fundamentals of image generation and rendering prompts.
• 2D to 3D and 3D to 2D cover transformations between design representations.
• Moodboard explores material palettes and concept visuals.
• Advanced Practice modules dive into specialized workflows for landscape and urban design applications.

Table of Contents

How to Use

• Nano Banana (free version)
• ChatGPT
• Gemini 3
• Preface

Prompts Guide

• Sketch to Image
• Model to Rendering
• Photo to Rendering
• Retexture
• Prompt to Diagram

2D to 3D

• From Plan to Bird’s-eye and Perspective
• Photo to 3D Building Model
• Photo to Model on Desk
• Photo/Plan to Isometric Diagram
• Section to 3D

3D to 2D

• Photo to Elevation
• Front and Side View

Moodboard

• Image to Material Moodboard
• Moodboard to Image

Advanced Practice for Landscape Design

• Streetscape
• Planting
• Plan to Perspective

Advanced Practice for Urban Design

• Trace Google Aerial Photo
• Contour Map to 3D

New Chapter-Layout & Technical Drawing

• Presentation Board
• Rendering to Presentation Board
• Landscape Design Board

This book is not just a technical manual—it’s a creative toolkit. By mastering these prompts, you’ll be able to integrate AI seamlessly into your design process, speeding up production while opening new creative directions.

Whether you’re a student experimenting with design ideas, or a professional looking to enhance workflows, this guide will give you the methods and confidence to work at the intersection of AI and design innovation.

Welcome to the future of design.

— Jojo Qiao