# Industry × Visual Style Matrix

This file provides recommended mappings from different industries/categories to visual styles.
Load this file during Phase 2 (INSIGHT) and Phase 5 (REALIZE) when determining visual direction.

> **Important**: This matrix is a **starting point**, not a **destination**. The best ads often break category visual conventions.
> How to use: First understand "what does this category's audience expect," then decide whether to "meet, subvert, or remix."

---

## Food & Beverage

### Visual Expectations
Vivid, appetizing, texture-forward, emphasizing freshness and experience.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Sub-category | Color Direction | Reference |
|-------------|----------------|-----------|
| Beverages | Product color extensions, cool blue-green, bubble textures | Coca-Cola's red universe |
| Snacks | High-saturation warm tones, yellow-orange dominant, energetic feel | Lay's / Doritos |
| Health food | Natural greens, earth tones, organic textures | — |
| Fine dining | Dark backgrounds, precise lighting, gold accents | — |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Slow-motion pouring / food falling
- Cliché: Exaggerated "mmm so delicious" expressions
- Cliché: Generic "ingredient sourcing" footage
- Subvert: Show food's "imperfection" (Burger King Moldy Whopper)
- Subvert: View food from a non-human perspective

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Food textures → `midjourney_image_generation` (`--style raw`)
- Quick concepts → `nano_banana_image_generation`
- Posters with copy → `qwen_image_generation`

---

## Tech / Internet

### Visual Expectations
Clean, futuristic, humanized technology, product UI showcase.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Sub-category | Color Direction | Reference |
|-------------|----------------|-----------|
| Consumer electronics | Ultra-minimal white/black + product accent color | Apple |
| SaaS / tools | Gradient blue-purple, UI screenshot style | — |
| AI / frontier tech | Deep space tones, data visualization blue-green | — |
| Social platforms | Colorful, UGC feel, authenticity | — |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Tech blue + particle effects + future city
- Cliché: Product exploded view + spec list
- Cliché: "Making the world a better place" empty narrative
- Subvert: Show high-tech through the most primitive means (handwriting vs. AI)
- Subvert: Show tech's "awkward moments" instead of perfect ones

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Product rendering → `midjourney_image_generation`
- Abstract concepts → `openai_image_generation`
- UI mockups → `nano_banana_image_generation`

---

## Beauty / Personal Care

### Visual Expectations
Refined textures, soft lighting, skin/hair detail emphasis, elegant colors.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Sub-category | Color Direction | Reference |
|-------------|----------------|-----------|
| Skincare | Soft whites, nude pinks, dewy blues, translucent textures | — |
| Color cosmetics | Product color as dominant, artistic palettes | MAC / NARS |
| Fragrance | Dreamy gradients, metallic textures, ambiguous lighting | Chanel No.5 |
| Men's grooming | Dark tones, wood/leather textures, clean lines | Old Spice |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Flawless model close-up + "make you more beautiful"
- Cliché: Product bottle 360° rotation + ingredient molecule animation
- Subvert: Show real skin / real people (Dove Real Beauty)
- Subvert: Use humor to break the category's "serious elegance" (Old Spice)

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Portraits → `kling_image_generation` (face mode)
- Product texture → `midjourney_image_generation`
- Creative makeup → `nano_banana_image_generation`

---

## Automotive

### Visual Expectations
High production value, dynamic feel, grand settings, precise color.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Positioning | Color Direction | Reference |
|------------|----------------|-----------|
| Luxury | Dark tones, metallic sheen, low-key high-contrast | Mercedes-Benz |
| Sport | High saturation + strong contrast, motion blur | BMW M Series |
| Family | Warm natural tones, sunlit feel, family scenes | — |
| Electric/NEV | Tech blue-green + natural green, contrasting combos | Tesla |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Empty highway + sunset + car body close-up
- Cliché: "Command your life," "The road to freedom"
- Subvert: Never show the car (Volkswagen "Think Small")
- Subvert: Show a stationary car instead of a moving one
- Subvert: View from passenger/pedestrian/city perspective instead of driver's

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Vehicle scenes → `midjourney_image_generation` (`--ar 16:9`)
- Concept art → `nano_banana_image_generation`

---

## Fashion / Luxury

### Visual Expectations
Artistic, unique perspectives, emphasis on craftsmanship and attitude, bold composition.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Style | Color Direction | Reference |
|-------|----------------|-----------|
| Classic luxury | Black-gold-white, low saturation high quality | Chanel |
| Avant-garde fashion | Bold clashing colors, fluorescent/neon | Balenciaga |
| Casual luxury | Earth tones, natural light feel | Loro Piana |
| Streetwear | High contrast, graffiti textures, colorful | Supreme |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Aloof supermodel + minimal white background
- Cliché: Expressionless "sophistication"
- Subvert: Show real life of the wearer instead of posed shots
- Subvert: Use documentary/gritty style instead of retouched perfection (Gucci's meme marketing)

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Fashion editorial → `midjourney_image_generation`
- Style transfer → `kontext_image_generation`
- Character styling → `kling_image_generation`

---

## Finance / Insurance

### Visual Expectations
Trust, stability, clarity, data visualization.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Type | Color Direction | Reference |
|------|----------------|-----------|
| Traditional banking | Deep blue, deep green, gold, stable | — |
| Fintech | Gradient blue-purple, tech feel, youthful | — |
| Insurance | Warm tones, warmth and safety | — |
| Investment | Dark background + data green/blue, professional | — |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Handshake + smile + "Trusted partner"
- Cliché: Happy family scene + "Prepare for the future"
- Subvert: Use humor to discuss serious financial topics
- Subvert: Show real financial anxiety instead of idealized futures (Thai Life Insurance series)

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Concept scenes → `nano_banana_image_generation`
- Data visualization → `openai_image_generation`

---

## Non-Profit / Social Cause

### Visual Expectations
Authenticity, emotional impact, concise power, call to action.

### Recommended Color Schemes
| Cause | Color Direction | Reference |
|-------|----------------|-----------|
| Environmental | "Damaged" versions of natural colors (withered yellow, grayed-out green) | WWF |
| Equality | Multicolor/rainbow, or extreme black-and-white | — |
| Health | High-contrast black-and-white, or medical white-blue | — |
| Education | Warm and bright, hopeful | — |

### Category Visual Conventions (Subversion Opportunities)
- Cliché: Emotional suffering imagery + "Please help"
- Cliché: Shocking statistics in large type
- Subvert: Use beauty to tell harsh truths
- Subvert: Make the "victim" the protagonist rather than "the one being saved"

### Recommended Generation Tools
- Documentary feel → `nano_banana_image_generation`
- Concept posters → `midjourney_image_generation`
- Text posters → `qwen_image_generation`

---

## Cross-Category Strategies

### Remix Formula

When a brand crosses traditional category boundaries, use this remix formula:

```
Primary category's trust elements + Secondary category's creative techniques + Third category's emotional tone
```

Examples:
- Tech + Fashion = Minimal product display + bold colors + attitude copy
- Finance + Non-profit = Stable composition + real documentary + social insight

### Category Subversion

The most memorable ads often subvert category visual expectations:

| Strategy | Description | Example |
|----------|------------|---------|
| Anti-color | Use an opposing category's color palette | Insurance ad using streetwear clashing colors |
| Anti-texture | Use an opposing category's visual quality | Luxury brand using smartphone-shot texture |
| Anti-tone | Use an opposing category's emotional tone | Financial ad using comedy |
| Anti-medium | Use an unexpected medium format | OOH brand doing ASMR |

> **Note**: Subversion must have a reason — either it serves the insight, or it breaks the audience's stereotypes. Subverting purely for the sake of "being different" will only confuse the audience.