Hi folks,
I’ve been experimenting with Cursor AI while building a personal project using React and Tailwind CSS. The tool works great for generating code snippets and creating basic components quickly.
However, I’m struggling with the visual quality of the output. The generated interfaces often lack proper spacing, elegant layouts, and overall design polish. I find myself constantly tweaking the styling to make things look professional.
Has anyone here successfully used Cursor or similar AI coding assistants for creating production-ready user interfaces? Can these tools really handle the design aspects well enough for small projects or minimum viable products?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from solo developers or freelancers who work without dedicated designers. Any insights would be helpful!
yeah, cursor ain’t the best for visuals haha. i give it pics for ref or ask for bits from shadcn/ui or chakra. adding things like ‘mobile-first’ and ‘responsive’ helps tons. just gotta be really clear about the look you want, not just the function.
Cursor AI builds functional interfaces, but they’re pretty basic looking. It’s all about structure and functionality - visual design isn’t its strong suit. I’ve used it on tons of client projects, and here’s what works: treat it like a rapid prototyping tool, not your final design solution. The code it spits out makes a solid foundation, but you’ll need to polish the design yourself. For production stuff, I let Cursor handle the component logic and basic layout, then layer on something like Material-UI or Ant Design for consistency. It’s actually great at implementing specific design requirements if you give it detailed styling specs, but don’t expect it to make good autonomous design choices that look professional.
interesting! what prompts are you using for the ui work? maybe try being more specific about design patterns or mention stuff like ‘modern spacing’ or ‘clean aesthetics’? have you asked it to follow particular design systems?