Welcome to the team. Before you start ringing up design prompts at the register yourself, work through this course: 3 aisles, 7 COSTAR+ elements, one bonus locker. At the end, you'll get your own training receipt.
Based on the COSTAR+ framework from the Mastering AI Workshop Series · August 2026 — walk through all seven elements here, step by step.
Before a model can help with design work, it needs to know who you are and what you're actually asking for. Two elements set that frame.
Sets the stage — who you are and what environment you're working in.
Background information and framing conditions that define the context of the request.
You are a UX Design Expert at Kaiser X Labs (KXL), Allianz's UX agency, designing digital experiences for regulated insurance products in Germany.
What environment am I working in? Client, project, workstream?
The one thing the prompt actually needs to accomplish.
The concrete goal or task the prompt should accomplish.
Develop a redesign concept for the claims-submission flow that reduces the drop-off rate and lowers cognitive load for customers.
What's my main goal? What do I need to deliver?
You want to ask a model to develop a redesign concept. What belongs in Context, and what belongs in Objective?
Once the model knows the frame, four elements shape how it speaks and what it hands back.
The structural shape of the answer — how it's built, not how it feels.
The desired writing and response style of the generated output.
Concept-driven and structured, with a clear design rationale, evidence-based arguments, and concrete next steps for the engineering handoff.
What's my working style? Methodical, creative, data-driven?
The emotional register — how the answer should feel to read.
The emotional tone and stance the response should convey.
Professional and confidence-building, but accessible to stakeholders without a design background. Constructive and solution-oriented.
What tone shapes my communication?
Who actually reads this, and what they already know.
The target audience the output is intended for.
Product owners and engineering leads across Allianz entities in Germany, plus compliance reviewers who need to sign off on the design.
Who are my stakeholders and target audiences?
The deliverable's shape — decide it before you ask, not after.
The desired output format and structure of the response.
A structured design brief with problem framing, wireframe references, a rationale section, and a handoff checklist for development.
What artifacts and formats do I deliver?
You're writing a prompt for a design brief aimed at stakeholders without a design background. Which element controls how understandable the language stays?
The "+" in COSTAR+ — the guardrails that keep a good answer from being unusable.
What's off the table, or what fixed rules the answer has to respect.
What exactly should not be done, or which fixed constraints apply.
The design must comply with BaFin/DORA accessibility and data-privacy requirements, and must be implementable without custom components outside the existing design system.
What boundaries must — and do I want to — stay within?
Your prompt asks for a concept that must work without custom components. Which COSTAR+ element does that requirement belong in?
Five small habits that make COSTAR+ prompts land faster. 2 points each — check them off as you apply them.
Prompt Receipt Co. · UX Design Expert
Still in training …
Points are symbolic and meant to motivate — not a measured quality score.
Source: Mastering AI · GPC Offsite, July 2026