AI tools are quickly becoming essential companions for designers, dramatically increasing speed and efficiency. However, treating AI as a magic wand will only yield generic results. To truly elevate your design work, you must learn to communicate with AI as a strategic partner.

Here are the 7 best tips to move beyond basic prompts and start designing better with AI today.

The 7 AI Design Principles for Better Outcomes

1. Write Prompts Like You're Briefing a Junior Designer

Stop being vague. A poor prompt like "Make an app UI" results in useless generic output. Instead, write a detailed brief: for example, "Mobile app for freelancers tracking projects, minimal UI, soft contrast". Treating the AI like a junior designer ensures you provide the necessary context for high-quality, relevant work.

2. Use Image Modes to Capture Mood and Brand

AI is fantastic for establishing a visual direction. Use its image modes to "steal the vibe, not the whole design". Once you have the aesthetic, run the mood through a dedicated UX pilot tool to convert the concept into a proper, functional UI.

3. Feed AI Your Actual UX Documentation

AI cannot generate user-centric designs in a vacuum. Don't just prompt: "Write onboarding copy". For results that instantly match your context, drop in your actual personas, job stories, and user flows. This grounds the AI's creative output in real-world user needs.

4. Ask for Variations & Justify Your Choices

A successful design process is built on iteration, not one perfect output. Ask your AI to generate 3–5 different options. This forces you, the designer, to apply your critical thinking and justify your final choice by picking the option that best solves the real problem.

5. Watch Out for AI's "Shiny Bias"

Many AI design tools have a built-in bias toward visually complex, trendy aesthetics—they "love gradients and glassmorphism". You must manually override this default inclination. Remember, "less is often better," so actively guide the output to stay clean and functional.

6. Test Copy Like a Real User

AI is a powerful copy generator, but you should never just trust the AI output. Run the generated microcopy through grammar and clarity checks. If the text "reads weird, it is weird," and needs human correction for a better user experience.

7. Understand the Real Role of AI

The most important tip is recognizing that AI will not replace your design instinct; it will only amplify it. Focus on leveraging AI for repetitive tasks so you can spend more time on strategic problem-solving and critical design decisions.