# Cut-paper guide to practical use cases

> A use-case deck that pairs audience roles with problems and workflows, illustrated with sculptural cut-paper metaphors on cream: scales, a dragon, a microphone, a telescope. A NotebookLM deck; the creator published its slide instructions.

- Kind: Slides
- Live deck: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/f7607d7a-584c-4f35-96fc-f6815c573a6c
- Page: https://meetreference.com/v/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/
- Ready-to-use agent handoff: https://meetreference.com/v/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/agent.txt
- Exact prompt as plain text: https://meetreference.com/v/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/prompt.txt
- Authorship: AI-made, per the source
- Made with: Not stated
- Model: not stated
- Built with: not stated
- Services: NotebookLM
- Style: Decks; cut-paper, tactile, illustrated, warm-neutral, serif-headlines, layered, editorial
- Playback: a muted visual reference. The original soundtrack is available only at the source.
- Shared by @stevenbjohnson in X, Jan 23, 2026: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson/status/2014773931782340842
- Prompt fidelity: Verbatim. This is the complete prompt exactly as the creator published it.

## Before you start

Guidance from Reference, separate from the creator's instructions.

1. Read the reference and inspect the project, installed libraries, and available agent skills before writing code. Reuse suitable tools already present.
2. Prefer the creator-reported libraries and skills when they fit the task. Explain what useful additions help with, and install missing project dependencies or relevant skills from official sources when the environment and the user's existing permissions allow it. Respect the project's package manager and setup rules; do not ask again for routine setup already authorized.
3. Distinguish tools used by the creator from your own recommendations. A listed tool is not automatically required, and an empty tools or requirements list means the setup is unknown, not that nothing is needed.
4. Ask concise questions when missing inputs or choices materially affect the result: paid services, credentials, the user's assets, or a different production approach. Use existing answers and permissions; continue independent work while waiting.
5. If a useful library, skill, or service cannot be installed or used, explain an available alternative and its expected effect on quality, features, or effort. Get the user's choice before a material compromise; otherwise state the fallback and continue. Never silently simplify the result or claim to have used a tool you did not use.

Requirements reported by the source: Source documents loaded into NotebookLM.

## Recreating this deck

These are the creator's published instructions, unedited.

## Prompt

```text
Create a visually striking guide to using NotebookLM covering 10 different use cases/professions -- from students to lawyers to D&D players. One slide for each use case. Include specific tips on how the tool can be used for each example. Illustrate each use case with beautiful, 3D cut-paper style illustrations. No screen grabs or other high-tech elements. Just text advice and a single beautiful image per page.
```

## What it looks like

Written by Reference from the recording frames, not by the creator.

A cut-paper-style guide presenting NotebookLM use cases for different roles, pairing each scenario with a themed illustration, explanatory text, and a practical tip.

- Color: Warm cream and off-white backgrounds with navy, teal, green, muted blue, and tan accents; subtle paper-like shading and texture.
- Type: Large, dark serif titles with smaller sans-serif body copy and bold labels such as “Pain Point,” “Solution,” and “Pro Tip.”
- Framing: Wide slide designs place text alongside a prominent central illustration, with a bordered tip panel near the bottom. Illustrations use layered paper-like shapes and soft shadows.
- Structure: A sequence of role-based examples, from students and professionals to creators and analysts, each organized around a pain point, a NotebookLM solution, and a tip.

Storyboard, nine frames spread across the recording: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/storyboard.webp

- Frame 1 at 1.9s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f1.webp
- Frame 2 at 5.7s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f2.webp
- Frame 3 at 9.5s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f3.webp
- Frame 4 at 13.3s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f4.webp
- Frame 5 at 17.1s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f5.webp
- Frame 6 at 20.9s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f6.webp
- Frame 7 at 24.7s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f7.webp
- Frame 8 at 28.5s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f8.webp
- Frame 9 at 32.3s: https://meetreference.com/media/cut-paper-illustrated-guide-to-use-cases/f9.webp

## How it was made, per the creator

- Notes: Deck lives in NotebookLM's featured 'Intro to NotebookLM' notebook. Creator: 'Most important phrase: "beautiful, 3D cut-paper style illustrations."'

## Links

- View deck: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/f7607d7a-584c-4f35-96fc-f6815c573a6c
- Original post: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson/status/2014773931782340842