AI prompts for designers
Copy-paste prompts for journey maps, personas, IA, specs, critique, and AI feature design. Use in ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor when you need a strong starting point without installing an agent skill.
Journeys, personas & IA
Journey maps, personas, user flows, and information architecture.
- ResearchUser Persona CreationStakeholder-facing personas from research you already have. Do not invent demographics. Prefer Behavioral Persona From Research after affinity or insight statements; use this only when the room still wants a named persona card.
- UX designUser Journey MappingCreate detailed user journey maps with touchpoints, emotions, and opportunities.
- UX designUser Flow MappingCreate detailed user flow diagrams with decision points, interactions, and edge cases.
- UX designInformation Architecture PlanningDesign the information architecture for a website or application with navigation and content structure.
Spec & handoff
Component specs, design handoff, wireframes, and briefs.
- Visual designUI Component SpecificationGenerate a detailed UI component specification with states, variants, and interaction patterns.
- Visual designDesign Handoff DocumentationCreate comprehensive design handoff documents with specs, assets, and implementation details for developers.
- UX designWireframe GenerationGenerate detailed wireframes with layout, hierarchy, and interaction patterns.
- UX designDesign Brief TemplateCreate a comprehensive design brief that captures project requirements, goals, constraints, and success criteria.
Critique & polish
Frontend polish, structured reviews, accessibility, and hierarchy.
- Visual designPolish frontend UICoding-agent prompt for Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex: fix AI-slop UI with a bold direction, type, color, layout, motion, and a concrete polish plan.
- Visual designDesign Apple-style UICoding-agent prompt for Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex: fluid gesture UI, springs, interruptible motion, materials, depth, and web implementation notes.
- UX designGrill my designChat or agent grill-me prompt: relentless one-at-a-time design questions with a recommended answer until decisions are resolved.
- Visual designUnslop my UICoding-agent prompt for Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex: strip AI-slop tells from a UI and ship a concrete anti-slop rewrite plan.
- Visual designPolish UI motionCoding-agent prompt for Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex: purposeful enter/exit, springs, hover/focus craft, and an anti-slop motion audit.
- Visual designAdd taste to my designCoding-agent prompt for Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex: infer the brief, set variance/motion/density dials, and lock one non-generic direction.
- UX designDesign Critique FrameworkStructure design critiques with clear feedback categories and actionable recommendations.
- UX designAccessibility Audit ChecklistCreate a comprehensive accessibility audit checklist for websites or applications.
- UX designHeuristic UX ReviewReview UI designs using UX best practices and common usability heuristics.
- Visual designVisual Hierarchy DesignDesign effective visual hierarchy for layouts to guide user attention and improve readability.
Research & validation
Test plans, interviews, synthesis, insight statements, and research readouts.
- ResearchUsability Test PlanCreate a comprehensive usability test plan with scenarios, tasks, and success metrics.
- ResearchUser Interview GuideSimple generative interview outline: objectives, question sets, probes. Need a timed session with tasks or a concept? Use Moderated Discussion Guide Generator, Usability Test Script, or Concept Test Protocol instead.
- ResearchAffinity Mapping AssistantSynthesize raw qual data (interviews, usability, diaries) using an affinity-style flow: clean, code, cluster into themes with evidence counts, outliers, severity-weighted ranking, and surprises.
- ResearchInterview Batch ReportFirst-pass report across several interview notes. For one session use Session Debrief From Transcript. For a full study use Affinity Mapping Assistant, then Research Insight Statement Writer. Same outline as Mixed-Source Research Synthesis, interview-only.
- ResearchMixed-Source Research SynthesisCombine already-coded interviews, surveys, and analytics into one report. For a single session use Session Debrief From Transcript. To cluster interview notes, use Affinity Mapping Assistant, then Research Insight Statement Writer.
- ResearchResearch Insight Statement WriterTurn themes and observations into decision-ready insight statements (Observation, Pattern, Implication, Recommendation) plus a short exec "So What" summary. Use after synthesis or affinity output.
- ResearchResearch Readout BuilderBuild a research readout deck structure: TL;DR, overview, one slide per finding with evidence and recommendations, prioritized actions, unknowns, appendix, plus speaker notes. More research-specific than generic shareouts.
- ResearchBehavioral Persona From ResearchBuild 2-4 behaviorally distinct personas from qual synthesis: archetype, grounded quote, mental model, needs vs wants, day-in-life, design implications - without inventing demographics. Complements the broader User Persona Creation prompt.
AI product UX
Feature briefs, error states, and agent project files.
- UX designAI Feature Design BriefCreate comprehensive design briefs for AI-powered features including behavior, trust patterns, and error handling.
- UX designAI Error Handling UXDesign error handling patterns for AI features including error messages, recovery paths, and user guidance.
- AI WorkflowsOptimize My PromptDiagnose a weak prompt and rewrite it with clearer task, context, constraints, and output format.
- AI WorkflowsCreate a DESIGN.md FileWrite a design-system file agents can follow for tokens, components, content, and accessibility.
- AI WorkflowsCreate an AGENTS.md FileWrite repo-root instructions so coding agents know the product, conventions, tools, and what needs approval.
Design systems
Audits, tokens, Figma extraction, and AI-ready system prompts.
- Visual designDesign System AuditConduct a comprehensive audit of a design system for consistency and improvements.
- Visual designDesign Tokens DefinitionCreate a comprehensive design tokens system for design systems.
- Visual designExtract Design System from ScreenshotAnalyze a screenshot and extract a comprehensive design system including colors, typography, spacing, and components.
- Visual designExtract Design System Using Figma MCPUse Figma MCP (Model Context Protocol) to extract a complete design system from Figma files, including components, styles, and tokens.
- Visual designDesign System to AI Prompt ConverterConvert design system documentation into AI-friendly prompts for generating prototypes that match your design system exactly.
Brand & content
Brand identity and UX microcopy for product surfaces.
- BrandingBuild a brand kitChat-first brand kit prompt for ChatGPT or Claude (also works in Cursor): positioning, logo system, palette, type, imagery, and a presentation-ready guidelines outline.
- BrandingBrand Identity Design BriefCreate a comprehensive brand identity design brief with visual guidelines and brand personality.
- ContentUI Microcopy WritingWrite effective microcopy for UI elements including buttons, error messages, tooltips, and empty states.
- ContentMicrocopy PolishRewrite existing microcopy (email subjects, button labels, help text, tooltips) to be more intuitive and user-friendly.
Beyond prompts
Prompts get you started. These show how teams ship AI UX — skills, guides, teardowns, and frameworks.
- Agent skills for designersInstall design standards into Cursor or Claude Code so agents reuse them.
- Skill vs promptWhen a copy-paste prompt is enough, and when to install SKILL.md.
- How to design an AI featureJudgment and process for shipping AI UX—not another copy-paste template.
- ChatGPT composer teardownHow a leading product structures tools, voice, and input in the composer.
- Chat UX frameworkMap chat patterns to your product before you write the next prompt.
Frequently asked questions
What are AI prompts for designers?
AI prompts are copy-paste instruction templates for ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor chat. They help designers run repeatable workflows like journey maps, personas, information architecture, component specs, critique, and AI feature briefs without starting from a blank prompt.
ChatGPT or Cursor for design prompts?
Use ChatGPT or Claude for research synthesis, stakeholder comms, and one-off critique. Use Cursor chat when you want prompts tied to files in your repo. Copy any prompt from this page into your tool of choice.
Best ChatGPT prompts for user journey maps and personas?
Start with User Persona Creation, then User Journey Mapping and User Flow Mapping. Add Information Architecture Planning when you need navigation and content structure, not only a single flow.
How do I synthesize research and build a readout?
Cluster notes with Affinity Mapping Assistant, then Interview Batch Report or Mixed-Source Research Synthesis. Turn themes into decisions with Research Insight Statement Writer, then Research Readout Builder for the deck.
Best prompts for UX specs and handoff?
Start with UI Component Specification and Design Handoff Documentation for dev-ready output. Add Wireframe Generation and Design Brief Template when scoping new work.
Which prompts help design an AI feature?
Start with AI Feature Design Brief for behavior, trust, and success metrics. Add AI Error Handling UX for failure states. When agents will touch the repo, use Optimize My Prompt, Create a DESIGN.md File, and Create an AGENTS.md File under AI Workflows.
Prompts vs agent skills: which should designers use?
Use prompts for one-shot tasks in chat. Install agent skills from our Skills hub when you want Cursor or Claude Code to apply design standards automatically across your codebase. See /guides/skill-vs-prompt.