📚 Generate Interface Mockups From Text Prompts

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Hello AI Enthusiast,

Google quietly dropped a new beta tool called Stitch that's worth checking out. It's essentially a design assistant that creates app mockups through conversation - think ChatGPT, but for prototyping interfaces.

The Problem

You have a clear idea for an app or dashboard but can't translate it into something visual. Learning Figma takes forever, hiring a designer is expensive, and those drag-and-drop builders look amateur. Most good ideas die in the gap between "I have this concept" and "here's what it looks like." We end up sketching terrible wireframes or describing things with hand gestures, hoping someone will understand our vision.

How We Tested It: Creating Training Interface Mockups

There are tons of things you could build with Stitch - internal dashboards, client presentation prototypes, workflow visualizations. We picked something close to home: creating realistic interface mockups for training materials. Instead of showing people generic screenshots or drawing terrible boxes in PowerPoint, we wanted to see if we could quickly generate clean, professional-looking interfaces that actually help people learn software concepts.

Step 1: Access and Initial Setup

First, you need to get into the beta at stitch.withgoogle.com. It's pretty straightforward - just a Google login and you're in. The interface looks exactly like what you'd expect from a modern AI chat tool. There's your prompt box on the left, and where the magic happens on the right.

Step 2: Write Your First Prompt

Here's where it gets interesting. We wanted to create a training interface for teaching people how to use project management software, so we wrote this prompt:

Create a project management app interface for training purposes. Include a main dashboard with active projects, a sidebar navigation with different sections like Tasks, Team, Reports, and Settings. Show realistic project data with progress bars, team member avatars, and due dates. Make it look professional but not overly complex - this is for teaching people who are new to project management tools.

The tool asks what you want to create - mobile app, or web app. We picked web since most PM tools live in browsers.

Step 3: Watch It Generate Your Mockup

The quality was surprisingly good for a beta. Sure, some of the fake data looked a bit generic, but the overall structure and layout felt like something you'd actually use to teach PM concepts.

In about 30 seconds, Stitch delivered a clean project management dashboard with a sidebar navigation (Tasks, Team, Reports, Settings) and a main content area showing active projects in a table format.

The results were solid for a beta - realistic project data, proper progress indicators, team member avatars, and a professional layout that would actually work for training purposes. The fake data looked believable enough that you could use this in a workshop without people getting distracted by obviously placeholder content.

Step 4: Make Conversational Edits

To make changes, you click the "Edit" button at the top of the design, and the left side chat automatically loads the current interface image, ready for your editing prompt. We wanted to add a search bar to the interface, so we typed: "Add a search bar at the top of the project table so users can filter projects by name".

Within seconds, it updated the interface with a clean search input right above the project list.

Step 5: Customize the Look and Feel

Beyond conversational edits, Stitch has some basic theming options. Click the “Edit theme” button at the top right and you get access to light/dark modes, preset color schemes, border styles (rounded vs sharp), and font choices.

We switched to a darker theme and made the corners more rounded to give it a modern feel. The changes apply across the entire interface. It's not as comprehensive as what you'd get in Figma, but for quick prototyping, it covers the basics.

Step 6: Export Your Work

Once you're happy with your mockup, Stitch gives you two export options. You can copy the design directly to Figma if you want to keep working on it there, or view the HTML/CSS code behind your interface.

The export options feel pretty basic, but honestly, for most people creating presentation mockups, a simple screenshot probably does the job. The real value is in how quickly you can go from idea to something that looks professional.

What We Learned (And What's Still Missing)

After spending a few hours with Stitch, it's clear this isn't trying to replace Figma or professional design tools. It's more like having a really fast sketch artist who understands tech interfaces. For quick client mockups, or just getting ideas out of your head and onto a screen, it works surprisingly well.

The conversational editing is genuinely useful - way better than trying to explain design changes over email or in meetings.

The biggest limitation? You're stuck with whatever design decisions Stitch makes. If you don't like how it structures information or handles navigation, tough luck. It's not really customizable beyond colors and fonts. This makes it great for rapid prototyping but less useful if you need something specific.

Your Turn

Pick something you've been struggling to visualize - maybe that new onboarding flow you've been describing in PowerPoint bullets, or the dashboard concept you keep sketching on whiteboards.

Start simple: think of one interface you wish existed for training purposes, write a clear prompt describing what it should do, and see what Stitch gives you. Don't worry about getting it perfect on the first try - the real value is in how quickly you can iterate through ideas.

Just remember - you're in beta territory here, so expect some rough edges. But for getting ideas out of your head and into something your team can actually see and discuss, it's pretty solid.

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• Practical Introduction to ChatGPT: A free course on using ChatGPT confidently, understanding its workings, and exploring its potential.

We'll be back with more AI tips soon!