10 AI prompt lessons I learned the hard way

After 100 hours of prompting AI for UI design, I discovered most designers are doing it completely wrong.

The difference between getting generic templates vs. production-ready components comes down to 10 specific techniques.

Here’s what I learned:

Lesson 1: Specificity beats creativity
Bad prompt: "Design a dashboard"
Good prompt: "SaaS analytics dashboard, dark theme, 3-column layout, card-based metrics, Tailwind CSS"
The AI needs constraints to be creative.

Lesson 2: Steal like an artist (literally)
Don’t ask AI to “be creative.”
Reference real products:
"Design like Linear's issue view but for customer support tickets"
AI understands patterns better than aesthetics. Copy smart, then customize.

Lesson 3: Components > full pages
Building entire pages = overwhelming chaos.
Building components = controllable magic.
Start with: "Create a pricing card component"
Not: "Build me a pricing page"

Lesson 4: The buzzword hack
Generic words = generic results.
Specific buzzwords = sharp designs.
Instead of “modern”: use “glassmorphism”, “brutalist”, “neubrutalism”
Instead of “clean”: use “minimal”, “Swiss design”, “monospace”
Buzzwords are design shortcuts.

Lesson 5: Always include the tech stack
"React component with Tailwind CSS" hits different than just "component."
AI knows framework patterns.
It’ll give you proper JSX, class names, and structure.
The more technical context, the better the output.

Lesson 6: Iterate in public (with AI)
Don’t hide in private chats.
Build in Lovable. Share the process.
Real feedback > perfect prompts.
Ship ugly. Iterate fast.
Users care about function over form anyway.

Lesson 7: Mobile-first prompting
“Mobile-first responsive” isn’t enough.
Be explicit:
"Mobile: single column, touch targets 44px minimum"
"Desktop: 3-column grid, hover states"
Design for thumbs first. Scale up second.

Lesson 8: The 80/20 prompt rule
80% of results come from these 4 elements:

• Component type

• Visual style

• Tech stack

• Layout structure

Everything else is distraction. Master the basics first.

Lesson 9: AI can’t read your mind
"Make it better" = vague feedback.
"Increase contrast, larger text, more padding" = actionable.
Treat AI like a junior designer. Be specific, patient, and iterative.

Lesson 10: Layer your prompts
Don’t try to get perfect results in one shot.
First prompt: "Create a login form component"
Second prompt: "Add error states and loading animations"
Third prompt: "Make it mobile-responsive with proper spacing"
Build complexity step by step. AI works better with focused, layered requests than one-shot prompts.

The reality:
AI isn’t replacing designers.
It’s just exposing who can’t think in systems, structure, and intent.

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