Mockups Are Dead. This Is What Product Building Looks Like Now.

Hi, and welcome to The Atomic Builder - where product managers, founders, and non-technical creators learn to build software and products in the AI era.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on building visual products with AI.

Why now? Because the latest generation of image tools - especially the new one built right into ChatGPT - isn’t just incrementally better.

It’s that jaw hits the floor moment we’ve been waiting for.

The Shift in Capability + What You’ll Learn

We’ve gone from novelty to usable creative power - the same way ChatGPT turned text generation from a toy into a tool. Until recently, you could prompt an AI to ‘design a dashboard,’ and get back… well, something pretty mediocre.

Now? You get layout, structure, detail - all generated by the same intelligence that understands reason. This isn’t the tool guessing what a dashboard looks like. This is GPT-4o ‘reasoning’ through what your dashboard should do, then drawing it, intentionally.

A quick look here at the old image model output vs the new output and how image generation is evolving. Look carefully, the differences in quality are greater than it appears initially:

With a single prompt, you can now generate landing page ideas, app UIs, logos, ads, illustrations - not just placeholders either, but assets worth shipping.

In this series, over the next 3 weeks, I’ll show you how to:

1. Prompt stunning visuals - without Figma or Photoshop

2. Replace bland stock photos with branded, original images

3. Build a full visual identity for your product using nothing but AI

Let’s start with what changed.

Why This Series Matters

This new wave of AI image generation is nothing like what came before it. These tweets by Sam Altman, following the most recent ChatGPT image update gives you a sense of the magnitude of change:

I’m not talking about abstract art or quirky filters (Ghibli-fied images anyone…?). I’m talking about usable, brand-ready, ultra-sharp images generated and edited directly in ChatGPT.

This new model is:

• Faster than previous tools like DULL•E…sorry DALL•E…

• More accurate with details, context, and edits,

• Context-aware, letting you iterate like you're working with a designer

Image generation is now something you want to take seriously, in ChatGPT.

Visual Creation Has Entered the Prompt Era, BUT…

…Let’s be real for a second, AI image generation today is way better, but not flawless.

It’s not replacing your designer. It’s replacing your blank page.

You’ll still need to guide the outputs.

But now, your rough idea can turn into something you can see, tweak, and test - in minutes. It means design as a dialogue. You describe, it drafts. You direct, it iterates.

You’re not just prompting - you’re playing creative director. And yeah, it gets better with every round.

Enough waffle. Let’s see it in action 👇

3 Visuals You Can Prompt Into Existence

Let’s break down three real examples - the prompt, the refinement, and the results.

1. Landing Page Hero

Prompt: "Design a hero image for a minimalist AI note-taking app. Phone mockup in the center. Soft white background. Elegant, Apple-style aesthetic."

Result: A clean, but basic, premium hero section with phone UI and soft type.

Refinement Prompt: "Make it more playful and colorful, like Duolingo."

Updated Result: Bright, bold colors and a more friendly visual tone.

Could you use this in your launch page? Yes.

Is it good enough to test with real users? Absolutely.

2. Dashboard UI Mockup

Prompt: "Generate a dashboard screen for a personal finance app. Include a pie chart, transaction list, and monthly summary. Clean layout. Teal and white theme."

Refinement Prompt: "Add a sidebar for navigation and make the chart 3D."

Result:

A clean, scannable finance dashboard with structure and hierarchy.

Good enough to plug into a pitch deck or share with your founding team today.

3. Social App

Prompt: "Create an Instagram ad for a mobile app called Sonic Loop. Show a phone playing an ambient lo-fi track with animated visuals. Use a moody purple background and soft tagline: ‘Find Your Flow."

Refinement Prompt: "Make it more surreal and high-energy - like a visual album cover meets Adult Swim. Add glowing waveforms, chaotic sketch art around the phone, and use the tagline: ‘Build Your Sound World.’"

Result:

An eye-popping, high-contrast ad with swagger — and a clear CTA.

Could this run as a real paid ad on IG? Maybe..?? And the best part? You can try 10 variations in 10 minutes.

The 4-Part Prompt Formula 🎓

Prompting matters - a lot. It’s the difference between ‘meh’ and magic.

Great prompts = great visuals.

Use this simple formula:

1. ✨ What is it? ("hero image", "UI screen", "ad banner")

2. 🎨 What's inside it? ("phone mockup", "chart", "headline text")

3. 🌈 What's the vibe? ("minimalist", "playful", "cinematic")

4. 🔍 Any references? ("like Apple", "inspired by Notion")

Your Visual Design Stack (No Figma Required!)

You can now do 90% of your design work inside ChatGPT. Here’s your new stack:

✨ Your Turn

Use the prompt formula above to visualize your current product idea, remix one of the examples above, or you could try something simple like the below.

Reply and share your result - or post it with #AtomicBuilder. I’ll feature the best ones next week.

💡 Final Thought

Remember the William Gibson quote "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed"? Well - the future is already here, and it is shockingly distributed.

With the tools we have available to us, you have the power to create, if you want it.

Next week: We’ll explore how this new world order with image generation in ChatGPT makes stock photos obsolete, then how to build a better visual brand using AI, the week after.

Right, I’m off to… break up with Shutterstock. It’s not me, it’s AI!

Until next time, keep experimenting, keep building, and as always - stay atomic. 👊

Faisal

This Week’s Build Beats 🎵

Each issue, we pair the newsletter with a track to keep you inspired while you build.

This week, because clarity is the new cheat code…

🎧 “DNA” – Kendrick Lamar

Grab the playlist on Spotify - I add to it each week!

Pssst…

You made it to the end…?

Welcome to this new, exclusive club - the ones who stick around after the credits roll.

You know what I’m talking about: at the cinema, the music fades, the screen goes black… then boom, bonus footage. This is it…

So, what have I really been using image generation for??

Well, obviously to create an action figure of myself. Because, well, why wouldn’t you…