Design First UI Prompting

Design-First UI Prompting Skill

This skill is for design-first prompting: turn fuzzy ideas into a tight spec that produces consistent UI.

When to use this skill

• Turning a fuzzy UI idea into a tight, skimmable spec using the GOAL / FORMAT / LAYOUT / TYPE SYSTEM / COLOR+MATERIAL / IMAGERY / COPY / CONSTRAINTS / NEGATIVE PROMPT skeleton.
• Locking a single "system" (layout, hierarchy, copy) first, then iterating by changing one variable at a time (angle/crop, accent color, card arrangement, background tone).
• Working around unreliable AI-generated typography with the 2-pass workflow: generate without text, then typeset the copy separately (e.g., in Figma).
• Building a "constraints card" (FONT / STYLE / MODE) to anchor a model's output like a mini style guide, or maintaining a local, gitignored reference pack instead of expecting the model to "remember" taste.
• Running the fast-iteration checklist (spacing, contrast, one-hero-line hierarchy, single accent color, texture) or the vague-user question list to clarify what a UI generation request actually needs.
• Not for defining or governing a shared design-token/visual-language system across pages and products (route to design-system), not for responsive/breakpoint layout strategy or verification (route to responsive-design), and not for reusable component API architecture (no dedicated owner skill currently exists in this repo — treat as a design-system boundary question).

Core principle

Prompt like a design system, not a wish.

Prompt Structure (copy/paste)

Use this skeleton, then fill the blanks.

GOAL
- What are we making? (e.g., landing page hero / onboarding / dashboard / carousel slide)
- Who is it for? (persona)
- What’s the success criteria? (clarity, conversion, vibe)

FORMAT
- Size/aspect: (e.g., 1080x1350)
- Safe margins: (e.g., 90px)

LAYOUT (wireframe in words)
- Grid: (e.g., Swiss 6-col)
- Placement: (e.g., type-left / image-right)
- Hierarchy: H1 → subhead → body → CTA

TYPE SYSTEM
- Font vibe: (e.g., Söhne / Neue Haas / SF Pro)
- Weights: (H1 700, body 400)
- Leading: (tight for H1, readable for body)
- Tracking: (micro labels wider)

COLOR + MATERIAL
- Background: (hex or description)
- Text: (white/ivory/charcoal)
- One accent only: (cyan/lime/purple)
- Texture: (subtle grain, no plastic HDR)

IMAGERY / UI STYLE
- UI style: (minimal / glass / editorial / playful 3D)
- If photo: lighting + crop + texture rules
- If 3D: materials + lighting + softness

COPY (render EXACTLY)
- Line 1:
- Line 2:
- ...

CONSTRAINTS (change 1–2 things only)
- FONT: ___
- STYLE: ___
- MODE: ___

NEGATIVE PROMPT
- No logos, no watermarks
- No extra text beyond provided lines
- No gibberish typography

Rules that improve consistency

1) Lock one “system”, then iterate with variants

• First output: nail layout + hierarchy + copy.
• Variants: change ONE variable at a time:
  • angle / crop
  • accent color
  • card arrangement
  • background tone

2) Treat typography as fragile

If the model keeps misspelling:

• Use 2-pass workflow:
  1. Generate without text (reserve a clean text-safe area)
  2. Typeset in Figma

3) Use “constraints cards”

When you want the model to obey a style:

• Add a small “Constraints” panel with explicit values.
• It anchors the output like a mini style guide.

Example:

Constraints
FONT  CANELA
STYLE  MINIMAL
MODE  DARK

4) Keep a local reference pack

Don’t ask the model to “remember” taste.

• Save references into a gitignored local reference folder, such as refs/...
• Point prompts to the reference style

Fast iteration checklist (what to tweak)

• Spacing: margins, leading, baseline rhythm
• Contrast: background vs text
• Hierarchy: one hero line, one support line
• One accent only (don’t rainbow)
• Texture: add grain, remove smoothing

Questions to ask (when user is vague)

• What’s the single message of this screen?
• What’s the hierarchy (H1 / sub / CTA)?
• Which style lane: minimal editorial vs playful 3D vs glass UI?
• Any must-keep constraints (font vibe, color, spacing, grid)?

References

• Upstream source: MengTo/Skills — design-first-ui-prompting
• ARTICLE.md — longer-form article version of this workflow
• REFERENCES.md — external inspiration/reference sources (Mobbin, Bento Grids, Figma Community, Iconify, Simple Icons)