Generative Design and Vibe Coding: Rethinking The Design-Development Divide for UI Prototyping

About this CHI 2026 meetup: Generative Design & Vibe Coding: Rethinking the design–development divide for UI prototyping. An interactive CHI 2026 meetup exploring how Gen-AI is reshaping prototyping across Houde & Hill’s dimensions of look and feel and implementation. Through hands-on activities and reflection, we’ll discuss opportunities, breakdowns, and best practices for human–AI collaboration. Prototyping has long been central to HCI as a way of knowing. Recent advances in Generative AI are reshaping who prototypes and how, blurring boundaries between designers and developers, enabling faster workflows while raising new challenges around trust, authorship, and control. Generative AI blurs the traditional boundary between design and development. Two emerging paradigms, Generative Design and Vibe Coding, are transforming the one-directional handoff into a collaborative, AI-mediated co-creation loop.

Proposal Abstract: Prototyping has long been central to HCI as a way of knowing for exploring and communicating design ideas. Recent advances in Generative AI Practices—from Generative Design to Vibe Coding—are reshaping who prototypes and how. These approaches blur boundaries between designers and developers, enabling faster, more inclusive workflows while raising new challenges around trust, authorship, and control. This CHI 2026 meet-up will gather researchers and practitioners to discuss how AI-assisted prototyping transforms Houde and Hill’s dimensions of look and feel and implementation. Through a hands-on Designathon, participants will reflect on opportunities, breakdowns, and best practices for human–AI collaboration in prototyping.

Workshop website: https://www.genai-prototyping.fun/home (opens in new tab)