Learn the language behind the layout.
This section teaches the words that let vibe coders stop asking for "something cleaner" and start naming the actual design move: hierarchy, eye path, grouping, affordance, rhythm, and spacing with intent.
Use it as a visual explainer, a prompting reference, and a fast way to jump from principles into components and lessons.
Why design language matters
When you can name the problem, you can ask for a better fix. Design language turns vague taste reactions into usable critique and better AI instructions.
Prompting move
Name the effect
Say what feels broken in design terms: eye path, hierarchy, grouping, affordance, or spacing rhythm.
Prompting move
Name the lever
Ask for the change that should create the effect: stronger contrast, fewer competing accents, larger section gaps, clearer control shape.
Prompting move
Name the constraint
Tell the AI what must stay true: readable line length, mobile-safe stacking, one primary action, accessible contrast, or consistent card anatomy.
Fast-entry vocabulary
Start with the most reusable terms, then open the full dictionary for detail and examples.
scan path
Eye Path
Guide the reading order on purpose instead of making every block compete equally.
grouping
Proximity
Things placed close together read as related; distance signals a boundary.
visual contrast
Contrast
Difference creates emphasis. Similar things blend together and lose priority.
consistency
Repetition
Repeat the important patterns so users can learn the system instead of relearning each section.
negative space
Whitespace
Whitespace is not wasted room; it is the space that lets content breathe and separate.
When to research more
- Several user roles or business goals compete on one screen.
- Accessibility, localization, or dense data changes the layout tradeoffs.
- A pattern feels novel enough that users may not recognize the interaction.
- The page works on mobile but falls apart at desktop scale or vice versa.
Jump into the rest of the site
First Principles Lessons
Study the foundational lessons behind the vocabulary before you prompt or critique.
Review first principlesDesignDojo is one project in a bigger maker identity.
The Little AI Company is the creator label for Jeff Kazee's AI-native tools, products, and experiments. DesignDojo ships under that label, while Jeffkazzee.dev remains the personal home base for links, writing, and the broader project map.