Unlocking Creative Website and App Design with an Iterative Two-Step Method Using Cursor

Designing visually appealing websites and apps is no easy feat. The most challenging part? Coming up with original, cool ideas that truly stand out. While it’s tempting to copy existing designs or use ready-made templates, originality often requires more creativity and iteration than a single AI-generated concept can provide. In this blog post, we’ll explore a powerful two-step iterative design method using Cursor—a versatile AI tool that helps you generate, refine, and customize UI designs without breaking the bank on costly API usage.

Why Original Design Ideas are Hard to Come By

You can easily find design inspiration online, or even plug in ready-made designs into your projects. But if you want something genuinely unique, AI’s typical one-shot design outputs often fall flat—boring, uninspired, and not user-friendly. The secret? Iterative design: generating multiple design variations repeatedly until you find one you genuinely love.

Introducing the Two-Step Iterative Design Method with Cursor

This method builds on the concept of iterative UI design agents like Jason Zho’s Superdesign Dev, which leverages AI to create multiple design versions. However, many such tools rely on API calls (e.g., Anthropic’s Claude API), which can get expensive quickly.

What if you could do this cost-effectively using your existing Cursor subscription? By harnessing Cursor’s built-in rule system, you can create custom workflows that generate endless UI variations without extra API fees.

What Are Cursor Rules?

Cursor rules are simple instructions that control how the Cursor AI agent behaves. They are easy to create and customize and can be set to manual mode, meaning you call them explicitly when you want the agent to run them.

Using these rules, you can replicate complex design generation flows and customize them to your exact needs. Unlike Claude Code, which can spin up multiple agents simultaneously (faster but costlier), Cursor processes one step at a time but still produces excellent, consistent results.

Step 1: Generate Targeted Design Variations from Existing Designs

Start by extracting a design language and color scheme from an existing UI image using the extract designd command in Cursor. This creates a design.json file that captures the core design elements.

From there, you can create custom rule files to generate multiple UI variations tailored to specific audiences, devices, or geolocations. For example:

• Personas: Generate different UI versions for chefs, students, or executives.
• Device Types: Create variations optimized for mobile, desktop, or TV.
• Geolocation: Adapt layouts, colors, and languages for specific regions.

This approach lets you explore infinite targeted variations while maintaining a consistent design language. The best part? Creating these rule files is straightforward—you can even use Claude to write them for you based on your plain-English workflow description.

Step 2: Rapid Iteration on Existing Designs for Endless Variations

Once you have a design you like, you can use an infinite design generator rule to quickly create multiple style and layout variations. This is perfect for:

• Exploring different color schemes.
• Testing alternative layouts while keeping core elements intact.
• Iterating on animations and stylistic details.

For example, you can start with a basic notetaking app design and generate dark, rainbow, and minimalist versions. Then, pick one variation you like and run it through the infinite design generator again to refine colors or styles further.

This iterative process is repeated by referencing a specific design file as the new source and generating fresh variations in the same folder. Always start with a fresh chat session to avoid context carryover and ensure crisp, rule-following outputs.

Benefits of Using Cursor’s Two-Step Method

• Cost-Effective: Uses your existing Cursor subscription without paying extra for API calls.
• Highly Customizable: Create targeted rule files tailored to your specific design goals.
• Endless Variations: Generate and test countless UI versions quickly.
• Consistent Design Language: Maintain coherence across all variations using the extracted design.json.
• Accessible Workflow: Easy to set up, even for those new to AI-driven design processes.

How to Get Started

1. Extract your design language from an image using Cursor’s extract designd command.
2. Create or download targeted rule files (examples are available in the description of the original tutorial video).
3. Generate multiple targeted UI variations based on personas, devices, or geolocations.
4. Use the infinite design generator to iterate rapidly on specific designs you want to refine.
5. Repeat and experiment until you find the design that perfectly matches your vision.

Final Tips for Creating Effective Rule Files

• Describe your workflow in clear, step-by-step English instructions.
• Use Claude or similar AI to convert your plain-English steps into formal Cursor rule files.
• Keep your rules simple and focused for better AI adherence.
• Start fresh chats when iterating to avoid context confusion.

Conclusion

This two-step iterative design method using Cursor empowers you to generate original, professional UI designs without costly API fees. By combining targeted design variations with rapid iteration, you can unlock endless creative possibilities and build apps and websites that truly reflect your unique vision.

Ready to dive in? All the rule files discussed here are freely available to help you get started. Experiment, iterate, and share your favorite designs!

If you found this method helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for more AI design tips and consider joining the channel membership for exclusive support and priority feedback.

Happy designing!

Resources:

• Cursor AI: https://cursor.so
• Rule files and example workflows (linked in original video description)
• Jason Zho’s Superdesign Dev and Claude API (for advanced users)

Did you try this method? Share your design creations and experiences in the comments below!