Class 19, hybrid format

The demo · 7:45 PM

Coding is where language models are strongest, because it's the most constrained thing you can ask for.

Dom sketched a rocket ship bound for the dark side of the moon, Disney-comic style, flat illustrations, the route changing with mouse movement, and had it running with sound before he finished explaining why it worked. The reasoning, live: models struggle with anything nuanced, but constrained, structured problems are exactly where they excel.

For the build itself, three tools came up: ChatGPT Work runs entirely inside ChatGPT's world, fine for a Miro board; Codex can act on desktop files, browse, wire up API keys, and run scheduled tasks; Claude Code, in Dom's own words, is "basically the same thing" as Codex. None of it was required for tonight's exercise. Plain ChatGPT sketches to code just fine.

"All the large language models, they can't do things very well that are basically very constrained... Math works very well. Physics works very well. Chemistry works very well. Coding works very well. Creativity is the harder part, because it has so many nuances."

Dom, on why vibe coding works when other AI generation doesn't

steps to vibe coding: sketch it on paper, photograph it, ask for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, refine with detail and interactions.

tools named for the build layer: ChatGPT Work, Codex, Claude Code. None required for tonight; plain ChatGPT is enough.

Methods and prompts

Five methods to take with you

METHOD 01 · THE INSTRUCTIONS FIELD part of: structure your ask

Write the persona nobody sees

The Instructions field is invisible to users and does all the work. Name the role, the tone, the process, and the constraints explicitly, the way Dom's example names a persona as "always sharp, composed, never bubbly."

Where it came fromDom taught this on July 28 while walking the custom GPT configure screen field by field, calling the Instructions field the most important one because it is invisible to users yet defines the persona, tone, process, and constraints.Use it whenUse it when building a custom GPT or assistant persona, to write out the role, tone, process, and one hard constraint explicitly rather than leaving them implied.

Same idea elsewhereGive it two keyframes instead of one description (class 2) · Speak the language of the internet (class 3) · Write it as a GOLD block (class 4)

Working prompt

I'm building a custom GPT for [the job it does]. Write the Instructions field: who it is, its tone in three adjectives, the exact process it follows step by step, and one hard constraint it should never break. Then tell me what a user would never see but would still feel.

You will know it worked whenit names one thing a user would feel but never directly see, tied to a specific line in the instructions you just wrote.

METHOD 02 · THE TWIST part of: reject the first draft

Add the detail that makes it good

A first-pass GPT is never the finished one. Dom's own example twist: force it to ask one question at a time and build on the answer, instead of dumping everything at once.

Where it came fromDom shared this as his own craft note during the same July 28 session, saying the twists and small details are what separate a working GPT from a genuinely good one, and giving his own example of forcing a GPT to ask one question at a time.Use it whenUse it after a first-pass GPT is built, to add one behavioral rule that changes how it conducts a conversation rather than just what it says.

Same idea elsewhereSet up a debate partner (class 4) · Build cheap and then swap the model up (class 8) · Critique mode (class 10)

Working prompt

Here is my GPT's current Instructions: [paste]. Add one behavioral twist: it must ask exactly one question at a time and build its next question on my previous answer, never dumping a list of questions at once. Rewrite the Instructions with that rule built in.

You will know it worked whenyou test it, it asks exactly one question, waits for your answer, then builds its next question on what you just said.

METHOD 03 · PORTABLE VS. STATIC part of: context beats prompts

Loop a GPT into a Project

Keep your standing context (brand guidelines, a persona, a style guide) in a portable custom GPT, and pull it into whatever Project or chat needs a second opinion, instead of copy-pasting it in every time.

Where it came fromDom explained this distinction on July 28 when comparing a static Project, where everything inherits the same instructions, to a portable custom GPT that can be pulled into any chat, using his own habit of keeping brand guidelines in a GPT and checking a campaign Project against it.Use it whenUse it when standing context like brand guidelines or a persona already lives in a GPT and a different chat or Project needs a second opinion against it.

Same idea elsewhereControl the input and build gradually (class 2) · Show it your voice and not just the output (class 3) · Evolve the reference instead of restarting (class 5)

Working prompt

I'm working in this Project on [the campaign or task]. Pull in my [name] GPT and ask it: does this draft hold up against what you know? Where does it drift from the guidelines you were built on, and what's the one fix that matters most?

You will know it worked whenit names one specific place the draft drifts from the guidelines and gives you exactly one fix, not a scattered list.

METHOD 04 · THE BLIND DESCRIPTION part of: structure your ask

Describe it like the reader can't see it

Dom's own pre-build habit. Sketch first, then force the description into words precise enough that someone who can't see the sketch could still build it. Build accuracy follows description accuracy, not the other way around.

Where it came fromDom demonstrated this during the vibe-coding half of the July 28 class, describing his own habit of explaining a design as if to someone blind before writing any code, since build accuracy follows description accuracy rather than the sketch alone.Use it whenUse it right after sketching an interface and before asking a model to code it, so every detail gets stated in words instead of assumed from the image.

Same idea elsewhereGive it two keyframes instead of one description (class 2) · Speak the language of the internet (class 3) · Write it as a GOLD block (class 4)

Working prompt

Here's a photo of my sketch [upload]. Before you write any code, describe back to me everything in this design as if explaining it to someone who is blind: layout, colors, spacing, what moves and how. I'll correct anything you got wrong before you build it as responsive HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

You will know it worked whenthe description covers layout, colors, spacing, and motion specifically enough that you can catch a wrong detail before any code gets written.

METHOD 05 · WHY IT WORKS part of: keep the judgment human

Route the constrained parts to the machine

Judgment call, made explicit before you start: models are strongest on the constrained and structured (math, code, layout logic) and weakest on the nuanced (creative direction, taste, meaning). Sort your own task before you prompt it.

Where it came fromDom made this judgment call explicit on July 28 while explaining why vibe coding works so well, arguing that language models are strongest on constrained, structured problems like code and math and weakest on nuanced, creative judgment.Use it whenUse it before starting a build, to sort which parts of the task are structured enough to hand off and which parts need your own taste kept.

Same idea elsewhereJudge AI output with your own trained eye (class 1) · The sea-of-sameness check (class 2) · Pick the relationship on purpose (class 2)

Working prompt

Here's what I'm building: [describe the task]. I will do the sorting first, then you check me. My split: the constrained, structured parts I'd hand to you are [list]. The nuanced, judgment parts I'm keeping are [list]. Now check me: did I hand you anything that actually needs my taste, or keep anything you could safely do?

You will know it worked whenit flags anything in your handed-over list that actually needed your taste, or anything you kept that it could safely have done.

Share-backs and the close · late

Three sketches became three working pages in fifteen minutes

One classmate built a persona site for tenants navigating housing situations, drawn from a week of real research on their own case, visual only with no backend wired up yet. Another built a whack-a-mole game with a working hammer, score, and reset, refined once because the first swing animation was too short. A third built a pet-fostering and shelter-availability site from a sketch and a mood board; the model pulled the palette straight from the reference images and suggested real shelter API options on its own.

Homework for the week: finish the GPT canvas fields still open, publish the built GPT as "anyone with a link" and post it to the class chat for feedback, and run the personal AI constitution homework from Class 18 if it's still outstanding. Wednesday: Tony and Angella teach brief mining with a new research-phase custom GPT built by the teaching team, and the class works the capstone in breakout rooms.

Try this prompt

Quiz me on the eight custom GPT configure fields and the four steps of vibe coding. Then have me describe a small interface like you're blind, and grade my description for what's missing.

You will know it worked whenit quizzes you on the eight configure fields and the four vibe-coding steps first, then makes you describe a small interface as if to someone blind and grades what's missing.

"How would I explain the design to a person who is visually impaired,who is blind?"

Twenty minutes on the GPT canvas

A named Miro frame for every student, built by an agent before class started.

Still open on the canvas

Due in parallel

Coca-Cola brand usage, settled

Describe it like the reader can't see it

Sketch a website or a game on paper. Upload it. Ask for the code.

The blind-description technique

Proof it scales past a class exercise

Five methods to take with you

Write the persona nobody sees

Add the detail that makes it good

Loop a GPT into a Project

Describe it like the reader can't see it

Route the constrained parts to the machine

Three sketches became three working pages in fifteen minutes

Tools and references

Tools that night

Named in the room

Every frame from this class

"How would I explain the design to a person who is visually impaired,who is blind?"

Twenty minutes on the GPT canvas

A named Miro frame for every student, built by an agent before class started.

Still open on the canvas

Due in parallel

Coca-Cola brand usage, settled

Describe it like the reader can't see it

Sketch a website or a game on paper. Upload it. Ask for the code.

The blind-description technique

Proof it scales past a class exercise

Five methods to take with you

Write the persona nobody sees

Add the detail that makes it good

Loop a GPT into a Project

Describe it like the reader can't see it

Route the constrained parts to the machine

Three sketches became three working pages in fifteen minutes

Where this class connects

Tools and references

Tools that night

Named in the room

Every frame from this class