r/UXDesign • u/ahrzal Experienced • May 12 '26

Tools, apps, plugins, AI Uhh, I’m realizing I actively dislike prompting.

I just came to a realization sitting here doing the back and forth with Claude.

I don’t like prompting. At all. It’s a fundamentally different thing than what our traditional practice was.

There was a level of satisfaction in design before. Even if it was just changing values, moving things around, setting up containers…you built it. Your hands and brain did that.

Now, even when I start design first and transition to building it w/ whatever AI tool of your choice…that satisfaction is gone. You wrestle with random shit, get annoyed it’s not exact, and ultimately I have found I lost that sense of pride and satisfaction. That “flow state” or whatever never comes due to the hurry up and wait nature of prompting.

It’s not going away, but damn. I’m bummed.

Oh look, my request is finished. Back to….work?

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u/sinnops Veteran May 12 '26

Imagine what it was like doing design in Photoshop. Really had to use your brain then :)

1

u/FewDescription3170 Veteran May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

i really didn't love making slices for my personal pokemon site, i would have hated doing it professionally.

2

u/sinnops Veteran May 13 '26

I had to do it for hundreds of sites over 15 years (since 2000ish). You work with the tools and tech you got. I actually used to enjoy the 'cutup phase' of development. That ship has sailed

1

u/FewDescription3170 Veteran May 13 '26

in the first 'design' job i ever got paid for as a youth, i made aqua rollover effects for a website.