Prompt Engineering for Vibe: How to Brainstorm AI Products That Feel Right

You’ve been there. You sit down with a powerful AI, ready to brainstorm the next big thing. You type in a prompt: "Generate ideas for a new productivity app." The AI obliges, spitting out a list of concepts that are… fine. They’re functional, logical, and utterly generic. They all feel like slight variations of the same chrome-and-blue-LED future we’ve been promised for decades.

What’s missing is a soul. A point of view. A vibe.

The difference between a forgettable product and one that people love often comes down to this intangible quality. Think of the playful click of a Nintendo Switch, the serene minimalism of a Muji notebook, or the cozy intellectualism of a leather-bound journal. These are vibes, and they can be designed.

But how do you get an AI, a machine of logic, to brainstorm with an aesthetic soul? That’s where we move beyond basic prompting and into the art of Prompt Engineering for Vibe.

The Problem with Prompts: Why Your AI Ideas Lack a Soul

If you’ve searched for how to write better prompts, you’ve likely found excellent, authoritative guides from giants like Google, AWS, and Atlassian. They teach foundational, task-based frameworks, often revolving around four key parts: Persona, Task, Context, and Format. This is fantastic advice for getting an AI to perform a specific, logical job, like writing code or summarizing a report.

But a significant knowledge gap exists. These resources teach you the mechanics of prompting, not the art of aesthetic curation. They show you how to build an engine, but not how to design a beautiful car around it.

This is why so many AI-generated concepts feel hollow. They lack a specific cultural or aesthetic grounding, defaulting to the most common denominator. We’re here to fix that.

A New Framework: Translating Vibe into Actionable Prompts

To coax a specific aesthetic out of an AI, we need to give it richer, more evocative instructions. We need to move beyond simple tasks and provide a creative scaffold.

Introducing the Vibe-to-Prompt Framework, designed specifically for aesthetic brainstorming. It consists of four core components:

1. [Core Subject]: The "what." This is the base of your idea—a productivity app, a smart home device, a music creation tool.
2. [Aesthetic Modifiers]: The "how it feels." This is where the magic starts. Use descriptive adjectives that define the mood and sensory experience of your vibe.
3. [Style Catalysts]: The "who or what it’s like." Anchor your abstract vibe in concrete examples. Name specific artists, design movements, brands, or even films that embody the feeling you're after. This is a powerful shortcut for the AI.
4. [Negative Prompts]: The "what it’s not." Just as important as telling the AI what to do is telling it what to avoid. This helps you steer clear of clichés and refine your vision.

Let's put this framework into practice.

Deconstructing Aesthetics: A Practical Workshop

Abstract concepts become tangible through examples. Let’s break down a couple of popular vibes to see how they translate into powerful prompts.

Example 1: The "Calm Tech" Vibe

First, let's define the vibe. "Calm Tech" is about technology that feels seamless, unobtrusive, and peaceful. It recedes into the background instead of demanding your attention.

• Core Subject: A smart home hub.
• Aesthetic Modifiers: minimalist, natural materials, warm lighting, soft textures, unobtrusive.
• Style Catalysts: inspired by the design of Muji and Naoto Fukasawa, Japanese minimalism.
• Negative Prompts: --no screens, --no harsh angles, --no blinking LEDs, --no plastic.

Putting it all together, our final prompt looks like this:

Product concept for a smart home hub, calm tech aesthetic, minimalist, using natural materials like light wood and soft fabric, with warm, ambient lighting. Inspired by the design of Muji and Naoto Fukasawa. --no screens --no harsh angles --no blinking LEDs

Suddenly, you’re not just getting a generic "smart speaker." You’re getting concepts for a device that feels like a serene piece of home decor. Seeing these concepts brought to life is what our collection of AI-assisted, vibe-coded products is all about.

Example 2: The "Playful Utility" Vibe

Now for something completely different. "Playful Utility" is about tools that are not only functional but also joyful and delightful to use. They don’t take themselves too seriously.

• Core Subject: A file conversion web app.
• Aesthetic Modifiers: playful, chunky buttons, bold colors, rounded forms, intuitive, friendly animations.
• Style Catalysts: takes cues from the Nintendo Switch UI, Fisher-Price toy design language.
• Negative Prompts: --no corporate blue, --no sharp corners, --no dropdown menus, --no minimalist design.

Our final prompt:

UI concept for a file conversion web app with a playful utility aesthetic. Feature chunky, satisfying buttons, a bold and friendly color palette, and soft, rounded forms. The user experience should feel intuitive and delightful, taking design cues from the Nintendo Switch UI. --no corporate blue --no sharp corners

This prompt pushes the AI far beyond the standard, boring file converter interface and into a territory that feels fun and engaging.

The Vibe Catalyst Library: Your Brainstorming Cheat Sheet

To get you started, here is a library of different aesthetics with keywords and starter prompts. Use these as a launchpad for your own creative explorations. For more inspiration, you can discover, remix, and draw inspiration from various projects built with these exact vibes.

Dark Academia AI

• The Vibe: Evokes a sense of classic literature, old university libraries, and intellectual pursuits. Moody, scholarly, and timeless.
• Keyword Cloud: worn leather, dark wood, brass accents, scholarly, gothic architecture, vintage typography, candlelight, ink and parchment.
• Starter Prompt: UI concept for a research and note-taking app with a dark academia aesthetic. The interface should feel like a personal library, using dark wood textures, vintage typography, and brass accents for interactive elements. --no modern sans-serif fonts --no bright colors

Solarpunk Tech

• The Vibe: A bright, optimistic vision of the future where technology and nature are harmoniously integrated. Sustainable, communal, and beautiful.
• Keyword Cloud: biomimicry, organic shapes, living materials, art nouveau, sustainable, community-focused, glowing flora, integrated technology.
• Starter Prompt: Product concept for a community garden management device, Solarpunk aesthetic. The device is made of reclaimed wood and bioluminescent fungi, with an organic, flowing shape inspired by Art Nouveau. It helps monitor soil health and watering schedules for a shared urban garden. --no plastic --no hard edges

Brutalist Tech

• The Vibe: Raw, honest, and functional. Exposes its underlying structure with a focus on raw materials like concrete and steel. Strong, monolithic, and unapologetic.
• Keyword Cloud: exposed concrete, raw materials, monolithic forms, modular, functional, strong geometric lines, minimalist interface, industrial.
• Starter Prompt: Concept for a personal data server with a brutalist tech aesthetic. The physical form is a monolithic block of raw concrete and steel, with exposed hardware and simple, functional indicator lights. The focus is on durability and transparency. --no decorative elements --no rounded corners

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Prompting for Vibe

As you start experimenting, you’ll likely run into a few common pitfalls. Here’s what to watch out for:

• Mistake #1: Using Vague Adjectives. A word like "futuristic" is almost meaningless to an AI. Without more context, it will default to overused sci-fi tropes. Instead of "futuristic," specify the kind of future: optimistic solarpunk, dystopian cyberpunk, or retro-futuristic cassette futurism. Specificity is your best friend.
• Mistake #2: Forgetting Negative Prompts. If you ask for a "minimalist" design, you might still get a lot of common UI elements you don't want. Adding --no hamburger menus or --no drop shadows can instantly refine the output and push the AI toward a more unique solution.
• Mistake #3: Neglecting Style Catalysts. This is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. Simply adding "inspired by the work of Dieter Rams" or "in the style of a 1980s Casio watch" gives the AI a massive visual and conceptual library to draw from, producing far more sophisticated results than just using adjectives alone.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the 4 parts of a vibe prompt?

The Vibe-to-Prompt Framework consists of: 1. Core Subject (the product), 2. Aesthetic Modifiers (the adjectives), 3. Style Catalysts (the examples), and 4. Negative Prompts (the exclusions).

How is this different from a normal prompt?

Standard prompts are typically task-oriented (e.g., "Write Python code for…"). Vibe prompts are creatively oriented. They focus on defining an aesthetic, mood, and feeling to guide the AI's brainstorming toward a specific, curated outcome rather than just a functional one.

Can I mix and match vibes?

Absolutely! Some of the most interesting concepts come from unexpected combinations. Try prompting for a product with a "Brutalist exterior and a cozy, Dark Academia interior" or "a Solarpunk device with a Playful Utility interface." This is a fantastic way to generate truly novel ideas.

Where can I see more examples of vibe-coded products?

Our platform serves as a centralized hub for discovering and sharing vibe-coded products. It’s a great place to see how other creators are using these techniques to build unique and inspiring applications.

Your Turn: Start Your Vibe-Driven Brainstorm

You now have the framework and tools to move beyond generic brainstorming. The next time you sit down with an AI, don’t just ask for an idea. Give it a soul.

Think about the feeling you want to create. Deconstruct that feeling into modifiers, catalysts, and exclusions. Build a prompt that doesn't just describe a function, but paints a picture of an entire world.

The future of AI-assisted creation isn’t about getting just any answer; it’s about getting the right one—the one that resonates, delights, and feels uniquely, intentionally yours. Now go create something with a vibe.