AI-Assisted Design & Prototyping
Design faster with AI — from idea to pixel-perfect prototype.
Learn how to use AI tools throughout the design process — from exploration and ideation through to production-ready components. Suitable for both designers and developers.
4 Stages
Objective
Use AI to rapidly explore visual directions
Key Concepts
- AI image generation
- Style transfer
- Mood boarding
- Prompting for visual styles
Tools You'll Use
Tasks
- Generate 20+ variations of your product's visual direction
- Filter and group: what themes emerge?
- Build a moodboard with AI + real references
- Pick 3 directions and present your findings
- Identify which elements you can reuse vs discard
Milestone
You can explore a new product's visual direction in 1 hour instead of 1 week
Objective
Generate UI components with AI and refine them
Key Concepts
- v0 and similar tools
- Design tokens
- Accessibility standards
- Refinement workflow
Tools You'll Use
Tasks
- Generate 3 complete page layouts with v0
- Copy generated code into your Next.js/Astro project
- Refine: adjust spacing, improve typography, add your brand colors
- Make it accessible: check contrast, add ARIA labels, test keyboard navigation
- Build a consistent 5-component library (button, card, input, modal, nav)
Milestone
You can generate, integrate, and polish a production-ready component in under 30 minutes
Objective
Use Figma AI features in your design workflow
Key Concepts
- Variation generation
- Auto Layout mastery
- Component properties
- Variables
- Code export
Tools You'll Use
Tasks
- Build a component system with variables (colors, spacing, typography)
- Use Figma AI to generate variations of a hero section
- Export CSS/React code and compare with AI-generated code
- Design 2 complete page flows with consistent components
- Test: can a developer build this from your exports without questions?
Milestone
Your design system is reusable, your components are consistent, and developers can work from your files efficiently
Objective
Design and build a working prototype of a full product
Key Concepts
- Information architecture
- User flow design
- Prototype testing
- Handoff
Tools You'll Use
Tasks
- Choose a real product idea (yours or a hypothetical)
- Map user flows and create wireframes
- Design high-fidelity screens with AI assistance
- Build a clickable prototype that works in the browser
- Test with 3 users: where do they get confused? What delight them?
Milestone
You have a working prototype that someone can click through and understand as a real product