We're entering an era of product inflation. Every week, new apps, SaaS tools, and digital products hit the market — many of them built in days, not months. The barrier to shipping has never been lower. And that creates a massive problem: when everyone can build, everything starts to look the same.

This is exactly why design still matters — and will continue to matter for a long time. Design is no longer just about making things look good. It's the differentiating layer that separates forgettable products from memorable ones. The visual storytelling, the thoughtful micro-interactions, the narrative coherence across every screen — these are the things AI can't decide for you. You still need a design eye to make a product feel like something.

But here's what's changing: designers no longer need to hand off their vision and hope someone else builds it correctly. With vibe-coding, you describe what you want in plain language, and AI writes the code. You stay in control of the experience from concept to deployment.

What Is Vibe-Coding?

Vibe-coding is building software by describing what you want instead of writing code manually. You use AI-powered tools to translate your design intent into working applications. You don't need to understand syntax. You need to understand what you're building and why.

For designers, this is a fundamental shift. The bottleneck was never your inability to write JavaScript. It was the translation layer between your vision and implementation. AI removes that layer entirely.

The Tools You Need

You need two things: Claude Chat and Claude Code.

Think of them as two different roles on your team. Claude Chat is your technical consultant — someone you sit down with before the project starts, discuss ideas, explore possibilities, and refine your plan. Claude Code is your builder — the one who takes a clear brief and executes it into working software.

And here's the good news: you don't need a terminal anymore. Claude Code now has its own interface, so designers no longer have to deal with that intimidating black screen with blinking cursors. If terminal felt scary, you can skip it entirely.

The Right Workflow: Plan First, Build Second

This is the most critical part, and where most people get it wrong. They jump straight into Claude Code and start prompting. That's like starting construction without architectural drawings.

Here's the correct approach:

Phase 1: Consult with Claude Chat

Open Claude Chat and create a new Project. This becomes your planning space. Start a conversation about what you want to build. Be specific about the experience, not the technology.

Talk to Claude Chat like you would talk to a senior technical partner. Ask questions like:

• "I want to build a portfolio site where visitors can interact with an AI chatbot that knows about my work. What's the best approach?"
• "What are the technical limitations I should be aware of?"
• "How should I structure the data for this to work well?"

Go back and forth. Challenge assumptions. Ask about edge cases. This iterative prompting approach is how you fill in the gaps you didn't know existed.

Phase 2: Generate Your PRD

Once you've had a thorough planning conversation, ask Claude Chat to generate a Product Requirements Document (PRD). This document becomes your project blueprint — covering tech stack, file structure, features, data flow, and implementation steps.

Review it carefully. Ask for revisions. Add your design requirements. When the PRD feels complete, you're ready.

Phase 3: Build with Claude Code

Now take your PRD directly to Claude Code. Paste it or reference it, and let Claude Code start building. Because you've already done the thinking, the building phase is dramatically faster and more accurate.

This is the key insight: Claude Chat is where you think. Claude Code is where you build. Separating these two phases changes everything.

Step-by-Step: Your First Project

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

Download Claude Code from Anthropic's website. No terminal setup required — use the native interface. If you prefer an IDE experience, Cursor (cursor.com) is an excellent option with Claude Code integration.

Step 2: Plan in Claude Chat

Create a project in Claude Chat. Describe what you're building. Here's a sample prompt to start with:

"I want to build a personal portfolio website with a hero section, a projects grid showing my recent work, an about section, and a contact area. I want it clean, minimal, and responsive. Help me think through the best approach and create a detailed plan."

Iterate until the plan covers everything. Then ask:

"Generate a PRD document that I can use as a brief for implementation."

Step 3: Build with Claude Code

Open Claude Code and provide the PRD. Start with structure, then styling, then interactions. Give feedback as you go:

• "Make the hero section full viewport height with vertically centered text."
• "Add more breathing room between project cards — at least 32px gap."
• "Add a subtle scale and shadow effect on hover for the project cards."
• "Make it responsive. Stack cards vertically on mobile."

Each prompt leads to a change. Refresh. Review. Iterate. The feedback loop is incredibly fast.

Step 4: Keep Your CLAUDE.md Updated

This is a crucial habit that most people skip. After every significant progress, update your CLAUDE.md file. This file acts as the project's memory — it stores context about what's been built, what decisions were made, and what comes next.

Why does this matter? Because if you step away from the project for a few days (or weeks), Claude Code can read this file and pick up exactly where you left off. No context lost. No re-explaining.

Ask Claude Code: "Update the CLAUDE.md file with our current progress, key decisions made, and next steps."

Make this a habit after every session.

Step 5: Save to GitHub

GitHub is like Google Drive for code. Everything you build should be version-controlled.

Create a free account at github.com, create a new repository, and tell Claude Code:

"Initialize git in this project and connect it to my GitHub repository at [your-repo-url]."

Then commit your work:

"Commit all files with the message 'Initial portfolio build' and push to GitHub."

Your code is now safely stored and version-tracked.

Step 6: Deploy and Go Live

Use Vercel (vercel.com) to deploy. Sign up with your GitHub account, import your repository, and click Deploy. That's it.

Vercel gives you a live URL immediately. Every time you push changes to GitHub, your site automatically updates.

For a custom domain, buy one through Vercel or any domain provider, add it in your Vercel project settings, and configure the DNS records. Your site is now live at your own domain.

Going Further: Building Real Web Apps

Once you're comfortable with static sites, you can build applications with user authentication, databases, and AI features using the same workflow.

The process stays the same: plan thoroughly in Claude Chat, generate a detailed implementation plan, then build in Claude Code. For apps that need databases, Supabase is an excellent free option. For AI features, you can integrate OpenAI or Anthropic APIs.

The key is always the same: never skip the planning phase. The more thorough your PRD, the better Claude Code performs.

Why Design Thinking Is Your Superpower

Here's the paradox of vibe-coding: as building becomes easier, designing becomes more valuable. When anyone can ship a product in a weekend, what separates the good from the forgettable is design sensibility.

The visual layers that tell a cohesive story. The interaction patterns that feel intuitive. The information architecture that guides without overwhelming. The brand coherence that makes a product feel intentional rather than generated.

These aren't things you can prompt your way into. They come from understanding users, visual systems, and storytelling. They come from being a designer.

Vibe-coding doesn't replace design. It amplifies it. For the first time, designers can go from concept to deployed product without losing anything in translation. The vision stays intact because you never hand it off.

The question is no longer "should designers learn to code?" It's "what will you build now that nothing is stopping you?"