Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

November 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM

Leave it to NN/g to evaluate the AI prompt-to-code tool landscape with some rigor. Huei-Hsin Wang and Megan Brown cover over a dozen tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, UX Pilot, Uizard, Relume, Stitch, Bolt, Lovable, v0, Replit, Figma Make, Magic Patterns, and Subframe. They use a human designer as the control.

Among their conclusions:

AI’s limited grasp of design nuances and inconsistent output make it best suited for ideation, concept exploration, and early-phase prototype testing, rather than later stages. While you likely won’t take an AI-generated prototype straight to production, these tools can help you break through creative blocks and explore new directions quickly.

I think the best part is they shared screenshots of outputs in a FigJam board.

Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

AI prototyping tools follow general directions but lack the judgment and nuance of an experienced designer.

nngroup.com

ai prototyping user experience user interface

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Beyond the Prompt: Finding the AI Design Tool That Actually Works for Designers

Reviews

Beyond the Prompt: Finding the AI Design Tool That Actually Works for Designers

A comprehensive comparison of 8 leading AI prompt-to-code tools tested over two weeks. This hands-on analysis evaluates Bolt, Lovable, Polymet, Replit, v0, Onlook, Subframe, and Tempo on their ability to generate a complete shopping cart checkout experience. While most tools force designers to manipulate designs through code, Subframe emerges as the clear winner by providing actual design control with familiar visual editing tools. The article highlights the frustrating inconsistency of AI tools and predicts that the future belongs to applications balancing AI assistance with familiar design interfaces.

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Linked

A designer's guide to Cursor: How to build interactive prototypes with sound, explore visual styles, and transform data visualizations | Elizabeth Lin

How to use Cursor for rapid prototyping: interactive sound elements, data visualization, and aesthetic exploration without coding expertise

Good from Afar, But Far from Good: AI Prototyping in Real Design Contexts

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Beyond the Prompt: Finding the AI Design Tool That Actually Works for Designers

A designer's guide to Cursor: How to build interactive prototypes with sound, explore visual styles, and transform data visualizations | Elizabeth Lin