What is vibe coding?

Vibe coding is an emerging approach to digital product creation that starts with intention, not implementation. Instead of beginning with wireframes, components, or code, teams begin with a simple idea:

What do we want this to feel like? What should it do?

Vibe coding blends creative direction with technical structure. It uses natural language—prompts—to describe both the vibe of an experience (its tone, look, and emotional impact) and its function (its layout, behavior, and interactivity).

From there, AI-powered tools help turn that description into an initial design or even working code, speeding up the creative process and reducing the distance between an idea and a testable interface.

This shift opens up new ways of working, especially for teams that want to move quickly from concept to collaboration. It lowers the barrier for non-technical contributors, encourages fast prototyping, and aligns cross-functional teams around a shared creative direction from the start.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What vibe coding is and how the term came to be
• How it differs from traditional dev workflows
• The core features and key trade-offs of the approach
• Practical tips to start vibe coding with your team

How does vibe coding differ from traditional dev workflows?

Vibe coding is still in its early days, but it’s not here to replace traditional design and development. Instead, vibe coding reorders where creativity starts.

In a typical workflow, teams might begin with structure: wireframes, frameworks, and technical constraints. Visual direction and emotional tone often come later, once the foundation is in place.

Vibe coding makes it possible to flip that sequence. You start with language—a description of how something should look, feel, and behave—and use that as the foundation for design. Prompt-based tools help generate visuals, layout, and code based on that input, making it easier to explore ideas early and often.

This approach is especially useful for:

• Rapid exploration. Teams can generate multiple directions quickly before committing to a structure.
• Creative alignment. Designers, developers, and stakeholders can more easily get on the same page from the start.
• Non-linear workflows. Teams can jump between feel and function without getting stuck in step-by-step processes.

Vibe coding complements traditional workflows. You can still refine structure, code, and performance down the line but you begin with a shared sense of mood, intention, and direction. 

Core features of vibe coding

Vibe coding combines creativity, collaboration, and AI assistance to bring ideas to life faster and with more intention. At its core, it’s about shaping both the feel and the function of an interface and experience through natural language prompts. Here are the key features that define this approach:

• Prompt-first design. Instead of starting with structure, vibe coding starts with words. A prompt describes the mood, intent, layout, and behavior you want and AI tools interpret that input to generate a visual starting point.
• Rapid, iterative prototyping. Vibe coding shortens the distance between idea and reality. You can generate multiple versions quickly, test how each one feels, and refine without starting from scratch. This makes it easier to explore creative directions early on, before locking anything in.
• Collaborative creative alignment. Since prompts are written in plain language, vibe coding encourages collaboration across disciplines. Designers, developers, writers, and stakeholders can all contribute to the creative direction, reducing friction and rework later.
• Function shaped by feeling. Rather than applying visual style at the end, vibe coding makes it easy to include emotional tone as a starting point. Mood-driven prompts guide choices in typography, color, layout, and interaction patterns, helping teams design experiences that feel cohesive and intentional from the outset.

Pros and cons of vibe coding

Like any creative approach, vibe coding has its strengths and its limitations. It’s especially useful during early exploration, but may not be the right fit for every stage of a project.

Pros:

• Faster from idea to interface
• Encourages creativity and experimentation without heavy investment in time and resources.
• Improves early alignment across teams, helps designers, devs, and stakeholders agree on intent before details are locked in.
• Makes it easier to translate brand attributes—like playful, bold, calm—into real UI decisions during early prototyping.

Cons:

• Subjective inputs can lead to inconsistent results
• Not always precise or scalable, complex layouts still require hands-on refinement.
• May require additional steps for accessibility and performance

Tips for starting vibe coding

Vibe coding can be used at any stage, from early exploration to final polish. But no matter where you apply it, it starts with a shift in mindset: from planning layouts to describing intent.

Here are a few ways to get started:

Tip 1: Start with a prompt, not a wireframe

Before sketching a layout or wireframe, write a short description of what you want your product to feel like and what it should do. This becomes your prompt.

Example:

"Design a budgeting dashboard that feels calm and encouraging. Use soft tones, rounded cards, and gentle transitions. Should support daily check-ins and quick categorization of expenses."

Tip 2: Choose tools that make it easy to work fast and collaboratively

Use design platforms that support real-time collaboration and quick iteration. The faster you can go from prompt to prototype, and share it with your team, the more effective vibe coding becomes.

Tip 3: Prototype early, polish later

Focus on getting something testable quickly, even if it’s rough. You can use AI to spin up several versions, experiment with motion and micro-interactions, and iterate based on feedback.

Tip 4: Run collaborative “vibe checks”

Vibe coding is a team sport. Bring in designers, devs, writers, and stakeholders to react to early prototypes. Before visual polish or production work begins, ask focused questions to evaluate the emotional and functional impact of the design:

• How does this design make you feel?
• What mood or tone does this suggest?
• Does the interaction feel intuitive and engaging?
• Is there anything that feels off or distracting?
• How well does this align with your expectations or needs?

How to vibe code with Figma Make

Figma Make is the perfect tool for vibe coding, helping you turn plain-language prompts into design and even working code. Whether you’re exploring early concepts or refining something ready to ship, you can use Figma Make to speed up your workflow from the start.

Step 1: Define your vision

Skip the static mockups. Start with a prompt that captures both the look and feel you’re going for, plus any key structure or behavior you need. This gives Figma Make a creative direction to build from.

Example prompt: Design a mobile app dashboard for a plant-watering reminder service. The vibe is cozy, earthy, and slightly magical. The typography should be a friendly, rounded serif font for headings and a clean, readable sans serif font for body text.

Step 2: Refine with selective edits

Once you have an initial design, you can make specific changes using short prompts or quick edits. Tweak visuals, adjust layout, or shift the tone, all without starting from scratch.

Example prompt: Make the plant watering schedule cards feel more organic with a soft, leafy border. Lighten the background to feel like morning light.

Step 3: Bring in the code

Figma Make can generate clean, editable code for the components you create, so you can go from prompt to production faster. Use more prompts to guide structure and styling, then export or copy what you need. You can generate code for individual components or layouts, which is a helpful starting point that can be reviewed, edited, and integrated by your dev team.

Example prompt: Generate component code for the “Add New Plant” button. Use rounded corners, a green gradient background, and light shadow for visual depth.

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about vibe coding to help you understand how it works, who it’s for, and how it fits into the design and development process.

Is vibe coding only for designers?

Not at all. While designers often lead the charge with early prompts, vibe coding is most powerful when it’s collaborative.

Writers, developers, product managers, and other stakeholders can all contribute to defining the vibe, whether that means clarifying intent, adjusting functionality, or refining tone. The earlier everyone’s aligned, the smoother the process becomes.

What tools are best for vibe coding?

Look for tools that support fast iteration, prompt-based workflows, and real-time collaboration. Figma is a top choice because it combines design and prototyping in one place, enabling real-time collaboration and quick visual experimentation.

How does vibe coding impact the role of developers in software creation?

Vibe coding brings developers into the creative process early, avoiding the traditional design handoff where they receive work only after it’s complete. Instead of waiting for polished handoff files, devs can participate in shaping structure and behavior from the first prompt if they want.

This leads to fewer surprises, better technical alignment, and more opportunities for creative problem-solving across the team.

Can vibe coding scale to full product design?

Yes, with caveats. Vibe coding works best for early exploration and mid-fidelity iteration. Some teams use vibe coding to build full-page flows, components, and even complete products, but for complex systems, scaling often requires structure, documentation, and manual refinement.

Think of vibe coding as a creative accelerator, not necessarily a replacement for all design systems or dev workflows.

Can vibe coding connect to real user data or a backend?

Yes. With tools like Figma Make, it’s possible to generate components and layouts that connect to real data. While Figma Make focuses on frontend generation, the code it outputs can be extended and wired up by developers to APIs, databases, and backend services.

This means teams can move from a prompt to a working, data-connected UI faster without losing control over implementation details.

Design freely and code smoothly with Figma

Vibe coding is a shift in how teams think, create, and collaborate. By starting with language and emotion, you can move faster from idea to interface, and design products that feel as good as they function. Figma offers powerful tools to support every stage of the process, helping your team design freely and code smoothly:

• Go from idea to app in seconds with Figma Make, a vibe coding tool for everyone.
• Streamline your workflow in Dev Mode to bridge the gap between design and development with code-ready specs and features.
• Get inspired in the Figma Community and browse templates and examples that help you set the perfect vibe for your next project.