How to Brief a Custom AI Photo Booth Theme: A 10-Point Checklist

A good custom AI photo booth theme brief covers your key visual, colour palette, outfits and scenes, banned elements, output format and a named approver. The more complete the brief, the faster the theme moves from concept to signed-off design, and the closer every AI portrait stays to your campaign.

What is a custom AI photo booth theme?

An AI photo booth is an interactive on-site installation that captures guests in the moment, generates stylised images with an AI model and delivers them on the spot. AI photo booth theme customisation means setting the generation style around an event's key visual, colour palette, outfits and scenes, so every AI portrait matches the campaign.

That is different from a filter or a frame, and the three are often confused when agencies compare suppliers. A filter is a preset visual effect with limited room for branding. A frame adds a logo or pattern around the portrait but leaves the portrait itself untouched. A theme decides how the guest appears: the look, the outfit, the setting and the colour grade. It is the only one of the three that puts your brand inside the picture. Our AI photo booth themes page explains the difference in more detail.

When do you need a custom theme instead of a ready-made style?

FaceVibe Booth works on two theme levels. The FaceVibe Style Library holds ready-made AI styles that can be used straight away. Campaign Custom builds a dedicated theme around your key visual. Here is how they compare:

(Sources: Themes page, Packages page)

A simple test: if the event only needs a fun, polished AI look, a ready-made style is enough. If the marketing team wants every shared photo to be recognisable as part of the campaign, start writing a custom brief.

What should the brief include? A 10-point checklist

This checklist builds on the "What to include in a brief" guidance on our Themes page. Copy it straight into your internal brief template.

1. Objective and audience: the event type, who the guests or participants are, and what the AI portraits should achieve on site and on social media.
2. Key visual and colour palette: the final key visual and colour codes, not a draft that is still changing.
3. Reference images: a handful of images that show the direction, with a note on what you like in each.
4. Outfits, scenes or characters: the look guests should take on, and whether to keep an "own outfit" option for guests who prefer not to change.
5. Logo and typography rules: placement, minimum size, and anything that must not be distorted or recoloured.
6. Banned elements: colours, symbols, clothing, gestures or anything else that does not fit the brand.
7. Output format: portrait or landscape, the ratio for digital sharing, and whether on-site printing is needed.
8. Must-have looks: if there is more than one look, rank them. The number of versions per guest depends on the package: 3 with Essential and Signature, 5 with Headline (source: Packages page).
9. Timeline and sign-off date: the event date, the expected design sign-off date and the time your internal approval needs.
10. Approver: the person who signs off samples, plus a back-up. Agencies briefing on behalf of a client should name the end client.

If you choose the Brand Edition, its full-height side panels can be designed around the same key visual, so include panel artwork in the same brief. The Mirror Booth keeps its own finish and does not offer exterior branding. Both booths run the same FaceVibe AI themes, so a custom AI theme works on either.

One practical tip before you send it: keep the brief in a single shared document and attach the final files themselves, rather than links to folders that may still change. When the key visual, the references, the banned elements and the approver's name all sit in one place, the team can turn round design proofs without chasing missing details, and your internal reviewers can see exactly what they are signing off.

How do you build brand safety into the brief?

Brand safety starts in the brief, not on the event floor. First, list the banned elements in writing. Second, review and approve theme samples before the event. FaceVibe Booth shares samples with the organiser for approval ahead of the event, and on the day each guest picks their favourite from several AI versions, so only the portraits they are happy with are saved and shared. For product launches or events with press in the room, add a simple rule to the brief: when in doubt, go with the more conservative version. It gives the creative team a clear direction and speeds up internal approval.

What are the three most common briefing mistakes?

Mistake 1: sending a logo but no direction. A logo can go on a frame, but an AI theme needs to know the outfits, setting and colour grade. A logo-only brief tends to produce little more than a branded filter, which wastes the point of a custom theme.

Mistake 2: no clear approver, or a change of direction mid-production. Campaign Custom timing runs from design sign-off, and changing direction partway through can affect the delivery date (source: Themes page). Name one final approver when you send the brief.

Mistake 3: forgetting how the portraits will be used. The same theme needs different framing for phone sharing and for prints. If the event needs physical keepsakes, say so in the brief so the design leaves room for the right ratio.

What happens after you send the brief?

A FaceVibe Booth Campaign Custom theme takes 15 working days, counted from design sign-off. Once the brief is in, the team develops the theme direction and shares design proofs. If the event is less than 15 working days away, rush production can be arranged and is quoted per event (source: Themes page). Before the event, the team tests the approved theme, checking portrait quality, generation time and the download flow. Our guide How an AI Photo Booth Works walks through each step. If you are still comparing suppliers, start with the Hong Kong AI photo booth rental buyer guide.

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