Howdy folks! Below are 3 key AI design tactics I learned from interviewing Paavan Buddhdev at Granola about how he designs new features.
1. Lock the user flow before vibe coding
Paavan doesn’t jump straight into vibe coding. He first locks the whole user flow in Whimsical’s wireframe mode. It’s so low fidelity that he only thinks about the content design and information hierarchy instead of the design details. High fidelity prototypes vibe coded in Cursor or other AI tools lock you into one direction too early so he holds off on them until the flow is locked!
2. Whimsical + Claude + Conductor workflow for designers
Once the user flow is locked in Whimsical, Paavan uses the HTML to Design plugin to capture the live Granola app design into Figma. He tweaks the designs in Figma then copies them as PNGs and pastes them into Conductor to build out a prototype with Claude Code. This way he ends up with a working version of the app to put in front of users!
3. The founders still prototype with the team
At Granola, cofounder Sam shares prototypes with the design team to spark new ideas. The team also has ‘Taste the Soup’ sessions where anyone can present their work and get feedback from the founders but the work has to be presented in code only. I feel this level of involvement from the founders to push the bar on craft is why Granola is one of the best designed AI note takers in the market!
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