Real Benefits of AI
Light-Speed Ideation
AI writes code and sets up design systems faster than any human can. This can be leveraged heavily in the exploration and ideation phases.
Instead of manual, time-consuming look-dev, we can move through a large volume of ideas quickly and discard them as needed, without attachment bias.
Systemic Prompting
This approach will burn through AI credits like no tomorrow. A systemic prompting method, with controlled keyword variations targeting design or structure is essential for strong price-to-performance results.
Setting the Context
These early-stage prototypes can be elevated by attaching Midjourney renders to prompts to set the tone and direction more clearly.
Functionality & Backend
Using AI agents to help write code marks a monumental shift in extending the reach of a talented designer.
We already have the underlying principles of structure and aesthetics established, which enables us to explore conditioning logic, backend solutions, and specific agents and channel them into polished and intuitive products.
Digital products are solved in pixels, and now a high-performing designer can go further to deliver the final feel of a shipped product early in the process.
Extended Horizons
This puts designers in the perfect position for the future. We already have the taste and intuition to build products and now the direct access to the tech stack and the APIs as well.
Component Granularity
Perhaps the biggest unlock for day-to-day design workflows is the ability to target specific flows or components in Figma and infuse them with AI. This allows for fast, flexible iteration at any point in the design process.
Instant Enterprise Value
When building cross-platform SaaS products, AI is often ineffective because of limited contextual understanding and an inability to interconnect and build on complex concepts.
With this method, we eliminate the need for LLMs to understand the broader landscape and instead focus their power on specific chunks.
Sobering Limitations
Sub-par Output
AI will not turn mediocre designers into top performers. The initial output is often painfully mid, comparable to a junior or intern-level designer, and requires a large amount of re-prompting to reach high-quality results.
LLM Blindness
A painfully obvious limitation of vibe coders is that they don't actually see the output they create; they only interpret it from code.
This means they often stumble on accessibility, content layering, spacing, hierarchy, and consistency, issues that to humans appear obvious at a glance.
Taste Is King
In the era of AI, top-tier results will still come from top-tier designers. While these tools raise the floor for product design and open the field to many newcomers, they don’t seem to raise the ceiling in any meaningful way.
Arguing With a Child Prodigy
Hallucinations and errors in judgment are common across all LLMs. They can appear in frustrating ways, with concepts flying straight over AI's head as soon as a hint of interdependence is introduced.
We have to be ready to take control and break out of loops or prompts that lead nowhere as soon as we notice them.
Taking Manual Control
This is the time to dive into the code and make changes manually. Even copying the problematic code into ChatGPT can help diagnose or solve the issue.
Learning to Let Go
For detail-oriented designers who can visualize output clearly, it can be difficult to accept the unpredictable results produced by AI.
A helpful approach is to step back and evaluate the output based on how well it meets the requirements rather than how closely it matches our expectations.
Usage Limit Hell
Sooner or later, we run into usage limits for prompting. Some companies are even reducing available quotas in real time to maximize profit margins.
The crucial thing is to gain as much experience as possible now, while generous free tiers are still available. Another hack is Figma Make, which does not yet enforce limits, making it an excellent learning resource.
The Workflows
Full AI Vibe Ride
Undoubtedly, the industry benefiting most from the AI boom is the entrepreneurial sector.
Taking digital products from idea to shipping has never been easier. The obvious question is how we ensure that actual value is delivered to users and the correct products are built. That is the part AI cannot help with.
Solid Basics are Key
In these circumstances, where AI brings you to a good-enough starting point, solid principles of user-centric design are crucial.
To avoid producing AI slop nobody actually needs, it is more important than ever to understand your user base and market fit.
AI can be leveraged here by going to market fast, testing MVPs early and pivoting on the spot as needed, with the flexibility of quick re-builds.
Control Workflow
This flow focuses on delivering instant value to targeted bottlenecks in the digital product design process.
Sub-loops of this workflow can be deployed in enterprise pipelines today to facilitate innovation, requirement shaping, design system prototyping, early feature flow exploration, and internal MVPs.
Innovation Phase
Vibe coders perform much better with visual references. A major advantage of using AI in the initial stages is the ability to quickly achieve a high-quality visual look and feel of a product through Midjourney.
It is also easier than ever to explore alternative directions and gather inspiration before committing to a specific path.
Feature Prototypes & MVPs
Digital products breathe in pixels, which is why I place high value on high-fidelity screen design.
With vibe-coded prototype flows or components, we can quickly achieve the real product feel and gather genuine feedback from live interactions.
Design Systems
Using AI within an existing design system can be tricky. The key is having impeccable structure in auto layouts, variables, components, and spacing to provide the LLM with a solid reference.
Once the basics are established, AI can be leveraged for rapid iteration of components based on specific parameters.
Final Results
Presentation Website
A fully functional, one-page presentation designed to catch the curiosity and set the stage in terms of characters, story, and basic mechanics.
Character Generator
The best way to get user buy-in is by offering a hands-on experience, which is exactly what this fantasy character generator provides. It is empowered with AI to deliver real-time visuals and descriptions.
Developed Game Idea
This project explored the conceptualization of a tabletop game and assessing the limitations of AI in terms of fully sjipping an idea from scratch.
Deliverables included an initial sketch of the concept and basic game systems, the development of characters and the storyline behind them, and the exploration of world-building.
Part of the concept also examined the conversion of digital visuals into real-world, physical tabletop elements.
