I was wrong...
story inside
In this here email, I want to explain how to create stunning app designs if you aren't an actual designer…
Because app design is a hidden superpower that most founders or solopreneurs often miss…
Why does it matter, though? When users encounter a beautiful, intuitive interface - it's an instant trust factor…
Meaning, they stay around longer, and ultimately pay you more for longer…
And it's an unavoidable evolutionary trait:
Humans trust authorities, and professional designs position you as one!
Design Is Often Treated As An Afterthought
Picture this:
You build an amazing app - that one you've been dreaming of…
It does everything you wanted it to, and you spent months trying to get it to this point…
You hop over to ProductHunt or Hacker News or Reddit, and you make the "nerve racking" decision to finally press Launch on this thing…
You actually start getting a few signups… And then?
Crickets! That's right… CRICKETS! All of that hard work for nothing, simply because your app doesn't look the part :(
Most people struggle to create professional looking designs because they don't know what one should look like. Most people try to prompt tools to build functionality AND design at the same time. Most people overwhelm the AI tools with too much context, resulting in mediocre outputs.
Well, it's time to put that all to rest!
The 3-Step Fix
Step 1: Separate your planning process into distinct phases
If you want great outputs, you have to separate your processes into phases…
Most people fail because they try to architect their solution, define features, AND design the UI all at once…
LLMs are limited by token counts, so it's bound to fail from the beginning…
For example, in my 4-step vibe planning process (more details coming in my 3-4 hour tutorial in early May!), I dedicate specific time to each phase:
- Architecture — deciding what tech stack you'll use
- Feature requirements — detailed understanding of what each feature needs to do
- Design — focused exclusively on how things will look and feel
- Execution — translating designs into functional code
This separation of concerns allows you to bring laser focus to each aspect of development…
Step 2: Create and use aesthetic guidelines for all your designs
How can you tell a tool (like Cursor, or Lovable, or Whatever) to build something that YOU YOURSELF aren't even sure of?
You can't. So it's critical that you understand what you consider good design, and then force that world-view as a constraint onto the system!
I have a prompt for this in the Skool group right here: skool.com/tech-snack/classroom/0ca89703…
You want to give the system a set of GUIDELINES that outline more than just your color choices…
In Lovable 2.0, you can create "knowledge files" and then prompt them into each iteration - an absolute game-changer!
Step 3: Focus on designing screen by screen with multiple variations
You want to focus on designing 1-3 screens at a time… And for each of those, start thinking through different UI states…
What happens if someone long presses on something? If I click a checkmark, how does the UI respond? What animations take place? And When? From there, we can ask for 4-5 distinct variations of each "look", and then build a library of design components that can be mixed and matched to create the perfect experience.
This mimics how actual product design teams work… Iterative feedback BEFORE development begins!
Want to see this entire process in action?
Check out my latest YouTube video where I break down my top 5 tips for vibe designing beautiful UIs in Lovable 2.0: youtube.com/watch?v=Qd-HP8ttjPc
P.S. If you're serious about leveling up your vibe design skills, I'm releasing a comprehensive 3-4 hour tutorial in my free Skool group on Wednesday. It will walk you through my entire 4-step process from concept to functioning app. Don't miss it!
See ya in the next one! -Sean