Brainstorming 🧠 Prompts

SUMMARY

Purpose: Generate a wide range of creative, user-centred ideas quickly to solve design challenges.

Design Thinking Phase: Ideate

Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis

Difficulty: ⭐⭐

When to use:You're stuck in a solution rut or repeating familiar patternsYou need to explore multiple directions before converging on oneYour team needs alignment or momentum around a UX problem

What it is

Brainstorming in UX isn’t just throwing ideas around — it’s a structured, time-boxed method for generating a high volume of diverse solutions with a specific user goal or challenge in mind. It’s often used in the Ideation phase of design thinking and works best when participants suspend judgement, go broad, and build on each other's thinking.

📺 Video by AJ&Smart. Embedded for educational reference.

Why it matters

Brainstorming helps teams disrupt functional fixedness and discover non-obvious directions, especially when navigating complex problems or ambiguous product requirements. It supports divergent thinking before decisions are locked in, ensuring teams explore ideas that could differentiate product experiences.

When to use

• Kickstarting a new feature or redesign with multiple pathways
• Exploring how to meet a newly discovered user need from research
• Prioritising experience improvements in existing workflows/products

Benefits

• Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that aren’t visible in metrics.
• Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
• User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.

How to use it

• Define a clear problem prompt: Make it specific enough to focus thinking, but open-ended to encourage diversity.
• Set time limits and roles: Try 5–10 minute bursts for individual and group ideation. Use a facilitator to keep things moving.
• Use structured brainstorming formats: Examples: “How Might We” questions, Crazy-8s, attempt inversion (worst designs), or mash-ups.
• Document all ideas without filtering: Quantity beats quality at this stage.
• Cluster, expand and evaluate after: Use affinity mapping or dot voting once the session ends to make sense of the ideas.

Example Output

Following a “How Might We” session on reducing anxiety in mobile payment flows, the team surfaced:

• Show short videos explaining complex steps before the checkout
• Create ‘undo’ option post-payment to reduce commitment friction
• Offer payment simulation to preview charges and flow
• Use friendly visuals to explain security features
• Let users choose between gesture and PIN for fast confirmations

Common Pitfalls

• Premature filtering: Team members self-censor or critique ideas too early, shutting down creativity.
• Vague prompts: Without a clear “How might we…” or problem frame, ideas become generic or misaligned.
• Unequal participation: Dominant voices overwhelm quieter participants. Use facilitation or silent idea generation to balance it.

10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for Brainstorming – UX/UI Edition

How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)

Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method — a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.

C.S.I.R. stands for:

• Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
• Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
• Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
• Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)

Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders — no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First one’s free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.

Prompt Template 1: “Spark ideas with a ‘How Might We’ prompt set”

Spark ideas with a 'How Might We' prompt set

Context: You're a UX designer working with a product team exploring solutions for a user friction point.
Specific Info: The problem is defined as [users dropping off during the onboarding flow due to confusion or overwhelm].
Intent: Generate a list of ‘How Might We’ questions that reframe the problem from different user, business, and tech angles.
Response Format: Return 10 unique ‘How Might We…’ prompts in a list.

If any problem definition or audience assumptions are unclear, ask clarifying questions before generating prompts.
Then, suggest one reframing method to generate even more ideas from a different angle.

Prompt Template 2: “Run a Crazy 8s session as a virtual AI collaborator”

Run a Crazy 8s session as a virtual AI collaborator

Context: You're solo brainstorming UX ideas for a [checkout experience] using the Crazy 8s method.  
Specific Info: The flow currently has [3 screens], and the goal is to [speed up task completion without losing clarity].
Intent: Generate 8 wildly different interface or interaction ideas rapidly based on the same task.
Response Format: Return a numbered list of 8 quick ideas with 1–2 lines of explanation each.

If any UX goals are unclear, ask clarifying questions before generating ideas.
Then, suggest one way to test or prototype the most promising three.

Prompt Template 3: “Generate solution concepts for usability complaints”

Generate solution concepts for usability complaints

Context: You’re refining an existing product based on usability testing data.
Specific Info: The issues include [navigation confusion, unclear labels, inconsistent button placement].
Intent: Brainstorm possible solution directions aligned with UX best practices.
Response Format: Return solution concepts grouped under each issue as bullet points, with rationale.

If any usability issue examples are unclear, ask clarifying questions before ideating.
Then, suggest one follow-up activity to validate these ideas with users.

Prompt Template 4: “Mash up unrelated domains to inspire innovative UX”

Mash up unrelated domains to inspire innovative UX

Context: You’re designing for [telehealth] and want fresh inspiration from outside the industry.
Specific Info: You are researching [scheduling and appointment experiences].
Intent: Use analogy-based brainstorming by pulling ideas from [restaurant, gaming, education].
Response Format: Return 5–7 UX ideas that apply patterns from other domains to your space, with short justifications.

If critical domain characteristics are unclear, ask clarifying questions.
Then, suggest one analogy source not yet explored.

Prompt Template 5: “Invert the problem for radical ideation”

Invert the problem for radical ideation

Context: You're designing a sign-up experience for a new users in a SaaS platform.
Specific Info: The current task is too complex — too many fields, unclear steps.
Intent: Promote creativity by inverting the goal — design a deliberately frustrating sign-up as thought starter.
Response Format: Return 5 exaggerated "anti-patterns" as a satire set, then re-flip them into usable ideas.

If the current friction points are unclear, ask questions before ideating.
Then, suggest 2 real-world anti-patterns teams should avoid in UX.

Prompt Template 6: “Brainstorm accessibility-first design ideas”

Brainstorm accessibility-first design ideas

Context: You're designing a new booking flow and want to ensure it’s accessible from the start.
Specific Info: User base includes [assistive tech users, low vision users, cognitive accessibility needs].
Intent: Generate inclusive design ideas considering WCAG 2.2 standards.
Response Format: Return a list of 7 inclusive UX ideas with links to which accessibility principle they support.

Ask if any assistive use cases need deeper clarification.
Then, recommend one test method to validate accessibility assumptions.

Prompt Template 7: “Use constraint-based thinking to unlock ideas”

Use constraint-based thinking to unlock ideas

Context: Your app must launch in [emerging markets] with low broadband and older devices.
Specific Info: Data usage must stay under [1MB per session], and [offline support is required].
Intent: Generate scrappy, UX-viable solutions under tight constraints.
Response Format: Return ideas grouped into content, interaction, and tech trade-offs.

If project constraints are missing, ask clarifying questions.
Then, suggest one lightweight prototyping trick to try.

Prompt Template 8: “Facilitate ideation across mixed teams using analogies”

Facilitate ideation across mixed teams using analogies

Context: You’re a design lead preparing a brainstorming session with engineers and marketers.
Specific Info: You're exploring ways to improve [feature discoverability in a mobile app].
Intent: Generate analogy-driven questions and metaphors to prompt broader thinking across disciplines.
Response Format: Provide 5 analogies and matching brainstorm questions pulling from daily life (e.g. airport, library, dating).

If team make-up or design challenge is unclear, ask questions.
Then, suggest how to visually frame the metaphor during facilitation.

Prompt Template 9: “Enable remote brainstorming with AI support”

Enable remote brainstorming with AI support

Context: You're running a virtual ideation session using [Miro or FigJam] with a distributed product team.
Specific Info: The topic is improving [onboarding UX for new creators].
Intent: Generate high-quality idea prompts and warm-up activities that work remotely.
Response Format: Return 3 warm-ups and 5 idea starters compatible with online whiteboards.

Ask about group size or platform if necessary.
Then, suggest how to collect and cluster sticky notes into themes.

Prompt Template 10: “Reframe feedback into new ideation directions”

Reframe feedback into new ideation directions

Context: You’ve just finished a usability test and have conflicting feedback from 8 users.
Specific Info: Themes include [fast flow vs. more control, visual simplicity vs. rich guidance].
Intent: Use the tension to seed new solution directions that respond to both needs.
Response Format: Suggest 3–5 reframe prompts to reconcile or pivot based on dual feedback themes.

Ask if test insights are summarised clearly or need clarification.
Then, provide one framework to help reconcile user trade-offs.

Recommended Tools

• Miro — for facilitating structured brainstorming remotely
• FigJam — great for Crazy 8s and rapid visual ideation
• Whimsical — for quick wireframes and idea boards
• ChatGPT / Claude — as brainstorming co-pilots using prompt templates
• Notion — to capture and organise idea clusters

Learn More

• NNGroup: UX Research & Design Articles
• Interaction Design Foundation – Topics
• Google Design Sprint Kit