💡 This article is a knowledge base for Product Designers using AI tools.

It covers best prompting practices, real use cases and expert tips


🎯 Scope of Product Design Prompting

AI can enhance our workflows in:

  • Design critique
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Content generation
  • Accessibility checks
  • Storyboarding & user flows

This article will be focused on vibe-coding and vibe-design using tools like:

Tool Description Link
V0 AI-powered UI generator using Next.js and Tailwind; good for dev-ready UIs v0.dev
Lovable Prototyping tool with a Figma-like interface and AI features lovable.so
Bolt Build production-ready SaaS apps with AI and prebuilt templates bolt.new
Firebase Studio AI-powered Firebase app scaffolder with UI, auth, and DB integration firebase.studio

🧱 Prompting Fundamentals

✳️ High-Level Prompting Structure (Start Here)


🚀 TL;DR Prompting Checklist

  • Role: Useful for general-purpose AI, less needed with specialized models
  • Context: Set the scene
  • Task: Define what you want
  • Instructions: Include constraints, logic, tools
  • Examples: Optional but powerful
  • Output Format: Specify how you want it back

1️⃣ Context

Why does this matter? What’s the background or goal?

Give AI the big picture—tone, domain, complexity.

Example:

“I'm building a budgeting app for Gen Z users who love TikTok-style UIs.”


2️⃣ Task / Objective

What should the AI do specifically?

Be clear—code generation, naming ideas, UX review?

Example:

“Generate a React component to display upcoming subscription renewals.”


3️⃣ Instructions / Constraints

What rules or preferences should it follow?

Specify:

  • Fields, logic, behavior
  • Tech stack
  • Services or libraries to use/avoid

Example:

“Use TailwindCSS, include dark mode toggle, and pull brand icons via Clearbit.”


4️⃣ Examples (Optional but Powerful)

Sample input/output for guidance.

Example:

"Spotify — $9.99 / month — Renews May 1"

"Spotify $9.99"


5️⃣ Output Format

Define the structure of the response.

Markdown, code-only, bullet points, etc.

Example:

“Output a TypeScript file with a SubscriptionCard component only.”


🧠 Mapping Prompt Labels

Label Meaning
Context Background
Problem Task
Instructions Constraints
Examples Demos
Output Format Desired result

💡 Pro tip:

If unsure how to start, ask ChatGPT to create the prompt for you based on your tool. Still provide some context.

You can also copy the TL;DR checklist above and ask the AI to fill it in.


🔁 Prompt Refinement

Iterate!

  • Add follow-ups
  • Rephrase tasks
  • Provide more context or examples
  • Try different models or reset the chat

Einstein said it best:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”


📌 Improve Clarity with Examples

❌ "Update the image on the thing that switches the dark mode"

✅ "Replace the dark mode icon in the component with a moon SVG from Feather Icons"


🧠 Expert Prompting Tips

💬 Speak the AI’s Language

  • Refer to components/files by exact names (home-page.tsx)
  • Use single backticks for inline code
  • Use triple backticks for code blocks

🖼️ Use Visual + Structural Context

  • Upload UI screenshots
  • Include folder structure, diagrams
  • Screenshot component trees

🧩 Example Prompt Format

Feature: Dark Mode Toggle

Context  
We want users to toggle between dark/light themes.

Instructions  
- Add button in navbar  
- Store preference in local storage  
- Use Tailwind for styling

🧪 Prototyping & Visual Prompts

Upload wireframes, hi-fi prototypes, and UI screenshots. Reference them clearly.

Example:

👉 “The first image is the homepage UI. The second is the user profile.”


🧾 Folder Structure Prompting

Include structure when relevant.

Example:

src/
  components/
    SubscriptionCard.tsx
  pages/
    index.tsx

💡 In-Component Prompting

In the , add a new tab called “Insights”

// index.tsx
import { Global, css } from "@emotion/react";

const GlobalStyles = () => (
  <Global
    styles={css`
      .docblock-source {
        margin: 0;
      }
    `}
  />
);

🔧 Prototyping Tools (e.g. V0) Prompt Template

Task  
Build a [Descriptive Name] Web App using Next.js.

Context  
Create a fast, appealing UI to [briefly describe purpose].

Features & Instructions  
- Feature 1: [List feature details]  
- Feature 2: [Details]

Additional Requirements  
- Multi-currency support  
- React Lucide icons  
- Supabase for data

Tech Stack  
- Next.js, TypeScript, TailwindCSS  
- APIs: ExchangeRate-API, Faker API

Output Format  
Component breakdowns, folder structure suggestions

🌐 Useful tools to use in prototpying

Look for thousands of public APIs here: https://publicapis.io/

📸 Image APIs

API Purpose URL
Unsplash UI placeholders unsplash.com
Lorem Picsum Random images picsum.photos

👤 Fake Data APIs

API Purpose URL
Random User Generator Fake profiles randomuser.me
Faker API Names, addresses, etc. fakerapi.it

📊 Data APIs

API Purpose URL
OpenWeatherMap Weather data openweathermap.org
ChartJS Charting chartjs.org