Why My AI Designs Always Look Next Level

If you've been vibe coding and everything you make comes out looking like generic AI slop, it's not the tool, it's how you're talking to it. The thing

is, as a designer, you already have the skills to get way better output. You're

just not applying them yet. After a lot of trial and error, I figured out what actually separates clean vibecoded output from AI slop because two designers can use the [music] exact same

AI tool and get completely different results. The difference is the approach.

results. The difference is the approach.

And in this video, I'm going to share some tips that work no matter what AI tool you're using, whether it's cursor, lovable, Figma make, claude code, whatever. Okay, the number one reason

whatever. Okay, the number one reason designers get AI slop, they skip the step they'd never skip in their actual design process. Think [music] about it.

design process. Think [music] about it.

When you open Figma, you've got references pulled up, maybe a rough wireframe, at least some mental picture of where you're headed, right? But then

you open an AI tool and just type something like build me a portfolio website and expect [music] magic. That's

like getting zero direction from a PM or a client and somehow expecting the final design to be exactly what they had in mind. It never works that way. And AI is

mind. It never works that way. And AI is honestly the same. It doesn't know your taste. It doesn't know what clean means

taste. It doesn't know what clean means to you. Clean to you and clean to AI

to you. Clean to you and clean to AI could be completely different things.

Before you prompt anything, have a clear picture of what you want and show it to your AI tool. [music] Because if you can't see it in your head, AI definitely can't either. And the more visual

can't either. And the more visual context you give it, the closer it gets to [music] what's actually in your head.

So, you can sketch it out. Even a rough wireframe on paper works. Pull up a site you like, study the layout, then feed that into the AI tool, drop in

screenshots of layouts you like, paste in raw HTML from a component you want to match, attach images of hero sections, color palettes, whatever. Most AI tools

accept all of these, so use them. Okay,

so you've given the AIs some clear direction, but here's the reality. AI is

not going to nail it on the first try, despite what some people make it look like online. It rarely oneshots a design

like online. It rarely oneshots a design perfectly. You're going to need to

perfectly. You're going to need to iterate. And this is where most people

iterate. And this is where most people really go wrong. The feedback loop.

Saying something like, "Make it look better" to AI is like getting [music] vague feedback from a client that just says, "Make it pop." The changes are going to be random. and now you're

wasting time going back and forth with AI when you could have just been a little more precise from the jump. So

being specific with your feedback is the best way to get AI output closer to [music] your vision. Instead of fix the spacing, say reduce the left and right

padding in the hero section by 32 pixels. Instead of make the font bigger,

pixels. Instead of make the font bigger, say increase the heading to 48 pixels semibold. Think about it the same way

semibold. Think about it the same way you'd give feedback in a design review.

You wouldn't just say this needs work or make it look better. You'd call out exactly what needs to change and where.

It's the same energy here when you're working inside these AI tools. Pixel

values, color codes, exact component names, they matter because the more specific you are, the fewer rounds of back and forth you [music] have with

these AI tools. Okay? So, giving clear direction and being specific with your feedback. Honestly, those two things

feedback. Honestly, those two things alone will get you way better output from AI. Now, if all of this sounds like

from AI. Now, if all of this sounds like more than you want to deal with, I get it. That's why I built Loi, a framework

it. That's why I built Loi, a framework template designed to help designers like you stand out and get hired. Just drop

in your work, customize the template, and you can publish your portfolio fast.

No vibe coding needed. Links in the description below if you want to check it out. Now, back to the video. If you

it out. Now, back to the video. If you

do want to keep leveling up your output, even with perfect prompting, AI has visual defaults that screen. This was

vibe coded. And the first one people notice is the font. Almost every AI tool defaults to enter. [music] And look, I actually love enter. I think it's a

great font, but it's become the universal signal for this website was generated by AI. That doesn't mean you can't use [music] it. You definitely

still can, especially if you're creative with it. For example, you can use inter

with it. For example, you can use inter display, set it to all caps, [music] and maybe tighten up the letter spacing. But

if you're just using the default version of enter straight out of the box, people, even non-designers, can feel it, even if they can't articulate it. If you

already know what font you want, tell the AI tool up front. For example, use Satoshi for headings and DM sands for body text. If you don't have a font in

body text. If you don't have a font in mind already, that's fine, too. You can

just experiment, try a few options, and see what fits the vibe you're going for.

The point is to make a deliberate choice instead of accepting the default output from AI. All right, so we talked about

from AI. All right, so we talked about fonts, but there's another default that AI loves, and it's just as obvious. AI

tools gravitate toward these blue purple gradients. It's like their comfort zone,

gradients. It's like their comfort zone, and once you start to notice it, you honestly can't unsee it. Every vibecoded

project has the same gradient hero, the same purple accent buttons, the same blue to violet background. So, two tips here. First, kill the gradients

here. First, kill the gradients entirely. Flat colors are often cleaner,

entirely. Flat colors are often cleaner, safer, and a lot harder to mess up.

Unless you really know what you're doing with gradients, I'd suggest to just remove them. Number two, swap the color

remove them. Number two, swap the color palette. Don't use whatever AI gives you

palette. Don't use whatever AI gives you by default. Go to a website like

by default. Go to a website like coolers.co. generate a palette you

coolers.co. generate a palette you actually like and grab a screenshot of the hex codes. Then drop that screenshot right into the chat and prompt something like replace the current color palette

with the colors from this image. The AI

tool reads the hex codes straight from the screenshot. One prompt fixes the

the screenshot. One prompt fixes the whole thing. And if you want [music] to

whole thing. And if you want [music] to take it a step further, you can tell it exactly how to use each color with a prompt like replace the current color palette with the colors from the image.

Use the lightest color as the background and the darkest for text and the midtones for accents and buttons. Same

idea, just more guidance. You can fix the fonts, fix the colors, and the design can still have that AI look.

That's because there's a whole layer of smaller things working against you. The

first one is AI normally scatters emojis across the UI and uses generic spacing that feels just slightly off.

individually. These aren't deal breakers, but stacked together, it's a dead giveaway. A couple tips here.

dead giveaway. A couple tips here.

First, remove the emojis. They rarely

add anything to the design, and they're one of the clearest signals that something was AI generated. Replace them

with actual icons, or just cut them entirely. That usually helps the design

entirely. That usually helps the design feel much cleaner. Second, you can tighten or customize the spacing you get from AI. AI tends to be generous with

from AI. AI tends to be generous with padding and margins. Everything sort of floats in way too much white space.

Bring things in closer. Make it feel intentional. If a section feels almost

intentional. If a section feels almost right, but a little off, it's probably spacing. This is where your eye as a

spacing. This is where your eye as a designer is the biggest advantage. You

can spot gaps in the design. Go through

the output and ask yourself, [music] is this how I would have designed it? If

not, tweak it. These are five minute fixes that completely change the overall look and feel of the output from AI. So,

we've covered how to talk to AI and how to fix what it gives you. But there's

one more thing that ties all of this together. And honestly, it's the most

together. And honestly, it's the most important. At the end of the day, vibe

important. At the end of the day, vibe coding boils down to [music] taste. If

you don't know what good design looks like, no amount of prompting tricks [music] will save you. Think of it this way. AI does 80% of the work. Your taste

way. AI does 80% of the work. Your taste

as a designer is the other 20%. And that

20% is the difference between AI generated slop and something that looks designed. The fastest way to level up

designed. The fastest way to level up your taste is to study good design. I

browse Savy all the time for design inspiration. It's one of the best places

inspiration. It's one of the best places to find clean curated references. And my

other go-to is Mobin. It's incredible

for studying real app and web design patterns. [music] Not just screenshots,

patterns. [music] Not just screenshots, but actual shipped products. You can

even filter by screen type, flow, industry, whatever. It's the closest

industry, whatever. It's the closest thing to a design research library that exists. Make it a habit to spend at

exists. Make it a habit to spend at least 10 minutes a day browsing good design. Over time, this will start

design. Over time, this will start rewiring what you expect from your own output. And here's the thing, this feeds

output. And here's the thing, this feeds directly back into the references tip from earlier. The better your taste, the

from earlier. The better your taste, the better the references you feed AI, the better the overall output. It's one big loop. Everyone's looking for the magic

loop. Everyone's looking for the magic prompt, the secret technique. [music]

So, how do you actually stop getting generic results? It starts with

generic results? It starts with providing good references, giving clear direction, and having taste. That's not

a hack. That's just being a designer.

The tool [music] changed. The skill set didn't. The tool isn't the advantage.

didn't. The tool isn't the advantage.

Everyone has access to the same tools now. The advantage is knowing what to do

now. The advantage is knowing what to do [music] with them. And that takes something AI can't give you. Taste built

through deliberate study and being honest about your own work. But knowing

these tips is one thing. Seeing them in action is another. In this video, I actually walk through my entire process for designing a portfolio website with Claude Code. You'll see exactly how I

Claude Code. You'll see exactly how I apply everything from this video in a real build from start to finish. Check

it out.