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Make a static figure

Written for version 0.1.5.

Stages 1 to 4 of How it works. The result is one approved static SVG for each view.

Ask

Say what you want explained, in your own words. For example:

  • “Draw a figure explaining how our weekly literature search works, for clinicians who’ll use the results.”
  • “I need a diagram of the study design for the methods page: two arms, a run-in period, and the follow-up visits.”

If you already have an exact outline, paste it and say “draw this”. The assistant treats an exact outline you supply as confirmed.

What the assistant asks you

It asks only what changes the figure, at most three questions at a time:

  • what the figure should answer, for whom, and what they should understand afterwards;
  • which situations it must cover, such as first use, routine running, or what happens when something is missing;
  • one view or several, and what each view explains.

If you say “don’t ask, just draw”, it does, and states the assumptions that matter.

Confirm the outline

Before drawing, the assistant writes each view as a plain-language outline: who does what, inputs, decisions, what is read or saved, outputs, and waits. It marks what is live, planned or not yet confirmed.

Read it as you would a colleague’s description of your process. This is where most later rounds are saved: a wrong step caught here is one sentence to fix, not a redrawn figure.

Approve each SVG

The assistant draws each view, checks the rendered picture, and for a substantial figure gets an independent design review when the app allows. Then it shows you each view in the chat.

Say plainly which views you approve. Approving the content earlier, or simply not replying, does not count as approving the picture. You can skip this checkpoint, but only by saying so; it’s never assumed.

For a small change later (a word, a logo, spacing), the assistant makes the change and checks it; it doesn’t restart the questions or the full review.

Tips

  • Say who will read it and where. A slide, a printed page and a phone each need different text sizes.
  • Point out what’s wrong, not just that it’s wrong. “Arrow from B goes to the wrong box” is faster than “the flow looks off”.