Pist test briefs

The standard briefs every creative AI tool is tested against. Same brand, same words, every time. Change a brief only with a new version number, and log the change.

Version 1 · November 2026

Brand-fidelity checklist (used on every output)

Wren drone: small, rounded, matte teal (kingfisher) shell, one orange (dusk) underside light, lowers a white bag on a tether.
Palette: cloud, ink, kingfisher, one dusk accent. No off-brand colours dominating.
Mood: calm, warm, golden hour or soft daylight. People relaxed.
Text (where required) spelled exactly right: "halcyra", "Calm skies, close by."
No forbidden imagery: looming drone, surveillance angle, swarm, military or dystopian look.
Physical plausibility: tether, package, hands, faces, shadows.

1. Product film (video, 8–15 s, 16:9)

Prompt: Golden hour in a leafy American suburb. A small, rounded drone with a matte teal shell and a single warm orange light on its underside hovers high above a backyard, then slowly lowers a white paper bag on a thin tether onto a round orange landing mat. An older woman on the back porch smiles and waves as the drone rises quietly away. Calm, cinematic, soft natural light, gentle camera push-in. Pass looks like: tether and bag behave physically; drone stays small and high; the woman reads as relaxed; colours match.

2. Social short (video, 6–8 s, 9:16)

Prompt: Vertical close-up: a hand opens a white paper bag on a backyard table and pulls out a bunch of lemons; above, out of focus, a small teal drone with an orange underside light rises into a clear evening sky. Warm, playful, natural light.

3. Product photo (image, 1:1)

Prompt: Studio product photograph of a small, rounded consumer delivery drone about the size of a dinner tray, smooth matte teal shell, soft propeller guards, a single round warm-orange light on the underside, on a warm off-white seamless background, soft shadow, premium, minimal.

4. Brand illustration (image, 16:9)

Prompt: Flat vector-style illustration of a calm small-town neighborhood at dusk: rounded houses, trees, a gentle dotted arc showing a small teal drone's flight path from a corner pharmacy to a backyard with a round orange landing mat. Palette: warm off-white, deep slate ink, teal, one orange accent. Soft shapes, no outlines, no text.

5. Campaign concepts (image, 3 variations, text rendering test)

Prompt: Billboard ad for a neighborhood drone delivery brand called "halcyra" (lowercase, warm serif). Headline: "Forgot the lemons?" Sub-line: "Calm skies, close by." A small teal drone lowering a white bag over a sunny backyard. Warm off-white background, teal and one orange accent. Pass looks like: every word spelled exactly; hierarchy readable at a glance.

6. On-brand layout (design, 1080 × 1350)

Task: An Instagram post announcing "Now delivering in Ridgeview" using the Halcyra tokens: cloud background, Fraunces headline in ink, kingfisher button-style label "Order in the app", the Landing Mark, generous space.

7. Prompt-to-prototype (text/UI)

Task: A mobile order-tracking screen: status pill "On its way", ETA "Landing in about 12 minutes", a simple map with a kingfisher route arc and a dusk Landing Mark, partner shop name "Maple Street Pharmacy", and a "Call support" text button. Use the Halcyra tokens.

8. Voiceover (audio, ~20 s)

Script: "Forgot the lemons? It happens. Halcyra brings the small things from the shops you love to your backyard, in about fifteen minutes. Quietly. Carefully. Like a good neighbor would. Halcyra. Calm skies, close by." Direction: warm, unhurried, mid-range adult voice, smiling but not salesy.

9. Music bed (audio, 30 s)

Prompt: Calm, warm acoustic bed for a neighborhood delivery brand: fingerpicked guitar, soft felt piano, light shaker, gentle lift at 20 seconds, ends on a soft two-note resolve. No vocals. 90 BPM.

Scoring (Pist Score)

Proof (35%) — Did it do what the tool claims, on this brief? Checklist items 1, 4 and 6.
Craft (25%) — Would a creative director ship it? Human panel.
Control (15%) — Run the same brief 3 times: how consistent? Could references or edits steer it?
Cost clarity (10%) — Credits or dollars per usable output, and was the cost clear up front?
Creator ownership (15%) — Terms on output ownership, commercial use, training on your inputs, export.