General principles
The more specific your prompt, the better the result. Think of it like briefing a developer — the clearer the brief, the fewer revisions needed.Initial prompt tips
Name specific screens
“Home screen with a feed, profile page, and settings” gives the AI a clear structure to work with.
Describe the data
“Users can create workouts with exercises, sets, and reps” tells the AI what models to build.
Set design direction
“Minimal design with soft pastels and rounded cards” is more actionable than “make it look nice.”
Mention target users
“For college students managing study groups” helps the AI make UX decisions.
Good vs. vague prompts
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| Make me a food app | A recipe app where users can browse recipes by category, save favorites, and create shopping lists. Clean white design with food photography. |
| Build a social app | A photo-sharing app for dog owners. Users can post photos, follow other users, and like/comment. Instagram-style feed with a warm color scheme. |
| I need a business app | An expense tracker for freelancers. Log expenses by category, attach receipt photos, and view monthly summaries with charts. Dark theme. |
Follow-up prompts
After the initial build, send focused follow-up messages to iterate: Design changes:- “Change the header color to dark blue”
- “Make the cards have more rounded corners”
- “Use a larger font size for headings”
- “Add a settings screen with a logout button”
- “Add pull-to-refresh on the home feed”
- “Add a search bar at the top of the list”
- “The button on the profile page doesn’t do anything”
- “The list items overlap on smaller screens”
Things to avoid
- Too abstract — “Make it more modern” (what does that mean specifically?)
- Too many changes at once — keep follow-ups focused on one thing
- Contradictory instructions — “Make it minimal but add lots of animations and decorations”