The Three Layers of Vibe Design: What Stage Does the Tool Really Work

## Why the “best tool” is the wrong question

The most common question about AI design is: “Which is better – v0 or Lovable?” Stitch or Figma Make? This question has no answer because the tools solve different problems.

The question is, what level am I currently working on? **

Vibe Design is arranged in three layers. Everyone answers their own question:

• **Layer 1 - Study: ** Is the right direction?
• Layer 2 - Assembly: Does it work as a product?
• Layer 3 - Accuracy: can you make it real?

Most tools work well on the first or second layer. The task of the designer is to bring the work to the third without losing the design system, states and logic along the way.

## Layer 1. Research - Checking the direction

This layer doesn't need beauty. You need to answer the question, "Is this the other side?"

The goal is to quickly generate several options, choose the most promising, throw out the rest. Time for one option is minutes, not hours. No fixation on details.

### Layer 1 tools

Google Stitch is the best start when you need multiple screen concepts from one brief. Set a business goal or mood ("trust and data density, like Linear"), you get several directions to compare. The March 2026 update added five screens simultaneously and Voice Canvas. The main limitation is the tool for research, not for production.

*Claude Artifacts – Fastest when you need one interactive component or a proof-of-concept that you can show in ten minutes. Ready-made React or HTML right in the chat, without installation, by link. Zero entry threshold.

**Bolt is good for hackathons and quick demos. WebContainer runs Node.js directly in the browser, no installation is required. For layer 1 that's a plus. Production is a constraint.

### How to know if layer 1 is finished

You chose one direction. The rest can be thrown away without regret. If you still want to play with options, then you have not yet decided, and it is too early to go to layer 2.

## Layer 2. Assembling - check the performance

This layer does not need a perfect implementation, but a working product with real flow, data, and states. The user must go through the script from start to finish.

The main trap of Layer 2 is to accept its result as the final design. It's never final. Intervals will be knocked down. The buttons are different. Conditions are incomplete. It's normal for this stage.

### Layer 2 tools

Lovable is the best choice when you need a working MVP with logic and data. Generates full-stack applications by text brief. Speed – from idea to working link in one session. Limitation - pixel quality is not its forte, details will have to be brought with your hands.

v0 by Vercel is the point generation of components. Described one component - got ready-made React with Tailwind, inserted into the project. It works well on the transition of layer 2 to layer 3. It requires basic technical comfort – you don’t need to write code, but you need to be able to read the structure.

Figma Make - for designers who do not want to leave the usual environment. Start straight from your files, a familiar mental model. Quick iteration. Weakness – without discipline on the components quickly turns into chaos.

### Six questions to the result of layer 2

Before you move on, check each screen:

● Speed to demo: can you show the stakeholder right now?
● Compliance with the design system: are real components used or did AI come up with new ones?
● Uniformity of components: is the button the same everywhere?
● Is there loading, empty, error, success, or just a happy path?
● Continuity: Will the other person figure it out in a month?
● Data Connection: Works on Real Data or Placeholder?

If at least three points are in doubt, do not go to layer 3 until you understand.

## Layer 3. Accuracy - making it real

This is the layer where the product becomes real: single components, the right tokens, states that were not invented on the go, code that can be continued in a month.

Most teams get stuck on layer 2 and call it "ready." The real competitive advantage is to consistently reach layer 3.

### Layer 3 tools

Cursor is a full-fledged IDE with a deep understanding of the codebase. Here everything becomes real: refactoring, clean components, Git, a structure that can be transferred to the team. Requires basic code literacy - read the structure is mandatory, write from scratch - no.

Claude Code + Figma MCP - for designers who work at the interface of design and code. Claude Code reads the Figma file directly through the MCP protocol, generates code that references real tokens and components, and can return the generated UI to Figma as editable layers. It's not prototyping -- it's manufacturing workflow.

The difference between Cursor and Claude Code + Figma MCP is in practice: Cursor is better when you already have the codebase and need to work inside it. Claude Code + Figma MCP is better when you go from design to code and back again, and it is important that tokens and components are not lost in the transition.

### What MCP Changes on Layer 3

Before MCP, AI guessed. "I think it's H1." "I think 16px indentation." I think this is Primary Button

With MCP, AI knows. Because you read your design system directly -- components, Auto Layout, tokens, naming. The difference between “like your product” and “it’s your product.”.

## Three workshops for different tasks

The choice of route depends on what is more important on a particular project.

Route of maximum accuracy** Figma, Figma Make, Cursor, Production

Suitable when there is a detailed design system and you need a pixel implementation. Longer, but closer to the system.

** Rapid MVP route** Figma as a reference → Lovable → Cursor → Production

Suitable when you need something fast, with real flow and data. Figma here is the source of the rules, not the starting point.

** Direction search route** Bolt or Stitch: Figma Make or Lovable

Suitable when not yet decided and need rapid validation. The first two steps are specially cheap - so that you can throw away without loss.

## The biggest mistake is not the tools

The most common problem in Vibe Design is not technical.

AI generates something that looks good, works and starts fast. It’s easy to say “I trust” and stop thinking like a designer. At that point, you stop designing and start asserting.

AI doesn’t worry about edge cases, cognitive load, and user mental models. It must give an answer—and it will, even if the answer doesn’t make sense from a UX perspective.

Correct frame: **AI is junior. You're a lead. He works fast. You decide what goes into production.

## Outcome

Layer 1 - Research
Tools: Stitch, Claude Artifacts, Bolt
Objective: choose the direction
● Ready when: one option selected, the rest discarded

Layer 2 - Assembly
Tools: Lovable, v0, Figma Make
Purpose: Working product with real flow
● Ready when: All six checklist questions without a doubt

Layer 3 - Accuracy
Cursor, Claude Code + Figma MCP
Purpose: single components, correct tokens, continuing code
● Ready when: Another person can continue in a month