3 steps to ditch Figma as a solo dev — from vibe designing to design.md
From feeling-based prompts to a versioned design.md file — how a single source of tokens and rules turns AI prompts into real, consistent design specs.
3 steps to do without Figma as a solo dev.
Step 1: vibe designing
I describe the screen to the AI, it generates. Works once. Then everything drifts: colours change, corner radii too, the app becomes a patchwork.
Step 2: a first pass at consistency
A token block at the top of every prompt:
[COLOR_ACCENT] = #DC7A3F
[SHAPE_CTA] = pill
The block carries the identity, the prompt describes the screen. I switch styles by swapping the block. But duplicated everywhere, it ends up drifting too.
Step 3: design.md
One file, single source of truth: tokens, rules, forbidden patterns. Prompts point to it and keep only what's specific to the screen.
"The cream button = the priority action, one per screen." "Never display an empty section."
My prompts became specs. A mockup shows a state; a spec describes the system.
💡 Like vibe coding: it starts on feeling, it gets serious when it lands in a versioned file.
And you — which step are you at?