After nearly two decades of working as a designer, I’ve witnessed countless updates, redesigns, and new trends come and go. But the recent boom in AI-powered tools feels different — it’s not just another step forward, it’s a creative revolution.

The challenge for today’s designers is no longer just about staying on top of trends — it’s about learning to collaborate with AI. Discovering what these tools can really do has become one of the most exciting (and sometimes humbling) challenges in modern design.

Process

While working with the Oto Ciastko brand — a small bakery specializing in custom cookies — I had the perfect opportunity to explore how AI can support the creative process from start to finish.

I began by designing the company’s logo, defining its colors and typography, package labeling and preparing a basic brand book. I also created a few short animations in After Effects to bring the brand’s cheerful character to life.

Then came the real experiment: building a website without a ready-made prototype. At first, it was simply a test — I wanted to see how far I could go using AI-assisted vibe-coding tools. I started coding in Bolt, but quickly switched to Cursor, which turned out to be much more intuitive for beginners like me.

The first result was a minimal MVP version of otociastko.pl — a simple one-pager with a contact form that allowed users to order cookies. Encouraged by the success of that version, I began working on a more advanced site. After hundreds of iterations, testing phases, and final audits performed by Cursor’s AI models, the new website was complete — coded cleaner and faster than I could have imagined.

Beyond the coding, I also spent time generating visuals with Nano Banana and Midjourney. I used these tools to transform plain studio photos of cookies into natural, atmospheric compositions. This part required patience and precision — AI doesn’t always understand a designer’s intent perfectly — but the final imagery brought warmth and personality to the brand.

Outcome

The result is a fully functional, visually engaging website for a custom cookie brand. Visitors can easily browse, learn about the product, and order their personalized cookies directly through an online form. Feel free to visit otociastko.pl — and maybe even order a few sweet samples!

Learnings

This project became much more than just another website. It was a hands-on exploration of how AI can enhance design, development, and creativity.
I learned that:

• AI can speed up repetitive or technical parts of the design process — but still needs a designer’s direction and taste.
• Image-generation tools are powerful, but require careful prompting and iteration to achieve truly natural, brand-consistent visuals.
• Coding with AI (especially using Cursor) can make building and refining websites surprisingly accessible for designers.