Variant Board

Overview

The Variant Board turns the control-vs-variant method into a workspace surface. Instead of generating ten frames and hoping one lands, you pick the frame that's already winning, lock it as your champion (the control), and spin off variants that each change exactly *one* thing. It's A/B testing for image generation: a clean control, a single variable, and a grid that actually tells you what's better.

How it works

• Open the board. Select a frame, then hit the grid icon in the frame's action rail. The board opens to a contact sheet of every frame in the campaign — starred frames are badged.
• Crown a champion. Pick the frame that's clearly working and *Promote to Champion*. It locks on the left as your control: the image plus an editable control prompt derived from how it was made.
• Add variant rows. The composer is a one-variable chip picker — Lighting, Background/Surface, Action, Subject, Camera, Style, Brand accent — plus a one-line change description. Pick one variable, describe the change concretely (real ratios beat vague words).
• Generate the grid. Each row regenerates from the champion frame, changing only its single clause. Fresh results auto-link to the oldest pending row, and any chat-side run can be pulled onto the board with one click.
• Crown the winner. Compare the variants against the locked control. When one wins, *Save champion as Recipe* to reuse that look anywhere — or promote a stronger frame to champion and run another round.

When to use it

Reach for the Variant Board once you have a frame that's *close* — the composition works but you're not sure about the lighting, the surface, or the camera angle. It's the disciplined alternative to re-rolling the whole prompt: keep everything that's right, isolate the one thing you're unsure about, and let the side-by-side decide. When you've found the winning combination, consolidate it into a Recipe so the look becomes repeatable.