Eric: Bhutan Project — AI Officer Institute

Starting Question

I'm launching a high-end tour company for bespoke private journeys to Bhutan, targeting high-net-worth individuals in Texas. I need a website. How would I actually use Claude and Cowork to design, build, and maintain it?

Watch Out

Don't jump straight into having Claude build artifacts or code. If you skip the strategy step — defining the customer journey, creating a style guide, building a persona — Claude will produce generic output that misses your positioning entirely. "Answer in chat first" is how you keep Claude in thinking mode before it starts building.

Lesson 1

Define the problem and customer journey before touching code

Before any build work, map the full business model and website interaction in plain conversation with Claude.

01

Describe the business model

Curated Bhutan experiences with rare access, helicopter transfers to remote regions, tiered pricing up to ~$25K per person for 10 days.

02

Define the customer journey on the site

Arouse curiosity with a hook, showcase experience tiers as a menu, capture interest through a concierge-style form.

03

Have Claude map the full website structure

Hero, desire section, tier cards, trust section, form, footer — as a chat response, not as code.

04

Validate before moving on

This conversation becomes a reusable context document. Don't skip the sign-off step.

Insight

Use "answer in chat first" to keep Claude in strategy mode. This prevents it from prematurely building artifacts or code before the thinking is done. The chat output becomes your project brief.

Lesson 2

Create a style guide as a permanent data asset

Build a complete brand style guide using the Bhutan flag as the color palette foundation, then refine it for luxury positioning.

01

Seed the palette from a reference

Tell Claude to use the Bhutan flag colors (saffron, crimson, forest green) adapted for a high-end feel.

02

Claude generates the full guide

Full palette with hex codes, typography specs, photography direction, voice and tone rules, and layout principles.

03

Visualize, then export

Have Claude visualize the palette inline for quick review, then produce a downloadable Word document as the formal brief.

04

Save it to the project folder

This becomes a permanent context file that Claude references on every future task in this project.

Insight

A style guide isn't just for designers — it's a data asset for AI. Once saved to your Cowork project folder, Claude will apply it consistently across every output: website code, marketing copy, social posts, email templates. Create it once, use it forever.

Lesson 3

Build a persona using business frameworks

Instead of asking Claude for a generic persona, teach it Harvard Business School frameworks and apply them to the Bhutan buyer.

01

Ask Claude to teach three Harvard persona frameworks

Jobs to Be Done (Christensen), Empathy Map (d.school/HBS), and Purchase Decision Journey (HBS Marketing).

02

Apply all three to the target customer

50–65 year old Texas HNWI, $10M+ net worth, "done everything" mindset.

03

Key finding: the website isn't the acquisition channel

The Texas network is. The website is the credibility checkpoint someone pulls up on their phone after hearing about you at dinner.

04

Save it to the project folder

The persona output becomes another context document that informs every future task.

Insight

Educating yourself on business frameworks while prompting produces dramatically better output. Don't just say "create a persona." Say "teach me Jobs to Be Done, then apply it to my customer." You learn the framework and get a superior deliverable in the same conversation.

Lesson 4

Set up the project in Cowork and build the skeleton

With strategy, style guide, and persona complete, move into Cowork to build the actual site.

01

Create the folder structure

Bhutan → context (for style guide, persona, and brief documents).

02

Set up a Cowork project linked to that folder

Claude now has persistent access to all context files across every session.

03

Build the skeletal HTML structure

Have Cowork build a full skeleton using the style guide as the reference. Full structure in about 15 minutes.

04

Iterate from there

Refine copy, swap placeholder images, adjust tier details, test the form endpoint.

Insight

Cowork's power is persistent context. When the style guide, persona, and brief all live in the project folder, every task Claude performs is automatically informed by your brand, your customer, and your strategy. No re-explaining.

Lesson 5

Use Claude for project management, not just creation

Beyond building the site, Claude can manage the project timeline and automate follow-ups.

01

Create an interactive Gantt chart

Have Claude build a Gantt for tracking project milestones — design, content, development, launch.

02

Schedule automated follow-ups

Discuss scheduling automated follow-up emails from milestone dates so nothing falls through the cracks.

03

Turn Claude into a PM layer

This shifts Claude from a one-off tool into an ongoing project management system for the entire build.

Practical Tips from This Session

Model selection: Use Sonnet for most work (faster, cheaper). Switch to Opus for complex or accuracy-critical tasks.

Images: Connect to Google's Imagen model for AI-generated images rather than relying on Claude natively. Stock photos pulled from the web likely have copyright issues.

Slides and Canva: Claude isn't good enough yet at applying style guides to visual design tools. You still need a human designer for that last 10%.

Prompts You Can Use

Map the customer journey

I'm building a [type of business] targeting [audience]. The price range is [range]. Map the full customer journey from first awareness to purchase. Then recommend a website structure that supports that journey. Answer in chat first.

Use at the start of any new project to get Claude thinking about strategy before code. The "answer in chat first" instruction keeps it in planning mode.

Create a style guide from a reference

Use [reference source, e.g., "the Bhutan national flag"] as the color palette foundation. Create a complete brand style guide including: color palette with hex codes and usage rules, typography recommendations, photography direction, layout principles, and voice/tone guidelines. Adapt the palette for a [luxury / playful / corporate / etc.] positioning. Visualize the palette, then create a downloadable brief.

Replace the reference source with anything that captures the vibe: a flag, a building, a painting, a competitor's site.

Build a persona with frameworks

Teach me 3 Harvard persona frameworks. Then apply all three to my target customer: [describe your customer in 2–3 sentences]. Show me what they say vs. what they actually think and feel, what job they're hiring my product to do, and how their purchase decision journey works. Answer in chat first.

The "teach me" framing means you learn the frameworks while getting the deliverable.

Skeleton site from style guide

Using the style guide in [folder/file name], build a single-page HTML website with these sections: [list your sections]. Use placeholder text and image slots. Make it responsive. Follow the style guide exactly for colors, fonts, and layout rules.

Use in Cowork after your style guide is saved to the project folder. Claude will reference it automatically.

Project Gantt chart

Create an interactive Gantt chart for this project. Milestones: [list your milestones with target dates]. Make it visual and easy to update. Include dependencies where relevant.

Use for any multi-week project. You can ask Claude to update it as milestones shift or add automated reminder logic.

Key Moves from This Session

Start every project in chat, not in code. Map the business model, customer journey, and site structure as a conversation first.

Create a style guide early and save it to your project folder. It becomes a permanent data asset that keeps every output on-brand.

Use business frameworks (Jobs to Be Done, Empathy Map, Decision Journey) to build personas. Learn the framework and get the deliverable in one conversation.

Set up Cowork with a folder structure and persistent context. Claude gets smarter on your project with every file you save.

Use Sonnet for speed, Opus for accuracy. Use "answer in chat first" to control when Claude thinks vs. when it builds.

The full workflow — strategy, style guide, persona, skeleton site, Gantt chart — took about 15–20 minutes. That's the power of structured AI prompting.