AI prompt to design workflows speed up product design by 20 percent
Does AI Save Time on Product Design? A Randomized Controlled Experiment of AI Prompt-to-Design Workflows
Human-Computer InteractionArtificial Intelligence
Summary
Designers and their non-designer teammates spend a lot of time making digital product prototypes. This paper tested a tool called Figma Make that lets people create designs by chatting with an AI. When given access to this tool, both designers and product managers completed tasks faster—product managers improved the most. The authors suggest these AI tools help non-designers contribute more to design, while effects for professional designers depend on the task.
What this means in practice
- •For product managers: Use AI prompt-driven design tools to increase involvement and speed up prototype creation in design tasks.
- •For digital product design teams: Implement prompt-to-design workflows to shorten design task completion times by around 20 percent, depending on the task and user.
Authors
Remy Stewart, Olabode Anise, Andrew Hogan, Augustus Griffin
Abstract
AI tools for digital product design now offer prompt-to-design capabilities, allowing designers and their non-designer colleagues to create prototypes through conversational workflows with large language models (LLMs). While these tools promise time savings, experimental evidence in product design remains limited compared with evidence from software engineering. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 50 product designers and 50 product managers to evaluate prospective time savings from leveraging Figma Make in design work. Participants attempted three standardized design tasks with or without access to Figma Make. Among participants who completed the study tasks, access to Figma Make was associated with approximately 20% shorter completion times, with larger gains among product managers. Our findings suggest that prompt-to-design tools may enable product managers to further contribute to design work, while the benefits for professional designers may be task dependent.