Vibe coding has made me more productive
Introduction
I know the image and video will generate clickbait, and that is the idea. Numerous articles, videos, podcasts, and books discuss the benefits and risks of vibe coding. This is not another article intended to discuss that. This is a personal article based on my experience with Vibe Coding and how it has increased my productivity over the past two years.
Context: My AI Journey
First, let’s give some context. Since the AI era began, I have been utilizing various AI tools to enhance my productivity and discover solutions that would have been difficult to find using traditional methods, such as Google. Learning and working as a pair programmer is another plus for me.
My career has been a journey of continuous evolution. I come from the advertising world but found my place in development. I worked in the internet industry before YouTube, Facebook, and many other companies. I consider myself a pioneer user.
The Evolution I’ve Witnessed
The evolution that I’ve experienced in my 20+ years of career is incredible. I recall when we had to:
- 💾 Send all our banners and files to the media on a CD or USB drive
- 🔧 Update files directly on production using FTP
- 🎬 Add animations only with GIF files
- ⚡ When Flash was the king of the world
What humanity has achieved with AI is incredible, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. I won’t deny that AI is overwhelming. Trying to stay up to date with everything is impossible. However, I have felt this way in the past, when a new JS framework was released every week, claiming to solve problems existing in React or promising a breakthrough or some magical trick.
Do not forget that everything JS Nation is offering has already been resolved in PHP, Ruby, or many other languages.
The Productivity Breakthrough
For the past few years, I have been struggling to find time for research and development. I love coding and creating stuff. I enjoy the challenge of solving a puzzle and finding new ways to approach tasks. I consider myself a problem solver.
Since I started using Copilot in Visual Studio Code, I have seen an increase in my productivity. I have also begun playing and investigating the use of Google AI Studio. Over the past month, I have developed more applications than I have in the past two years combined.
Google AI Studio Journey
🎮 Pokémon Battle Arena
I started my journey creating a Pokémon card game, Pokémon Battle Arena—a simple and silly game, but with an incredible UI for the cards.
I’ve always believed that the right tools don’t just make you faster—they fundamentally change how you create. While building this interactive Pokémon Battle Arena, I experienced that firsthand by integrating the Gemini API into my development workflow. What would have been a multi-week project, bogged down by complex game logic, API data modeling, and intricate UI styling, was completed in a fraction of the time.
The AI served as my tireless pair programmer, helping me:
- 🏗️ Scaffold complex React hooks
- ✨ Design holographic card effects
- 🧠 Generate deterministic logic for the computer opponent
This wasn’t about offloading work; it was about elevating my focus from the mundane to the truly creative.
Note: The card design was taken from Codepen, following the example created by Simon 🦝 G.
🐉 Dragon Ball Universe Explorer
The second application I built, concurrently with the Pokémon Battle Arena, is a Dragon Ball Universe version utilizing the Dragon Ball API.
As a lifelong Dragon Ball fan, I always dreamed of creating an immersive digital encyclopedia for its iconic characters. What would typically have been a months-long solo project, the ‘Dragon Ball Universe Explorer,’ was brought to life in a fraction of the time, and the secret weapon was AI.
Leveraging Google’s Gemini API was a paradigm shift in productivity:
- 🏛️ Architecting component structure
- 🔄 Generating complex sorting logic
- 🎨 Refining UI/UX for dynamic feel
🤖 AI Conversation Log
My latest creation, inspired by other things I’ve heard, and I was eager to try, is the AI Conversation app.
Building the “AI Conversation Log” was a powerful lesson in what’s possible when human creativity is amplified by artificial intelligence. By leveraging the Gemini API as a development partner, what would have been a complex, multi-week project was brought to life in a fraction of the time.
The AI seamlessly handled:
- 🎭 Generating diverse character personas
- 💬 Drafting complex conversational logic
- 🌍 Providing real-time translation capabilities
📋 Neon Kanban Board
These are the three applications that I have published; however, I have developed many more. For example, a Kanban Board with a neon look and feel.
The Neon Kanban To-Do App! It’s a vibrant, Jira-inspired task manager with seamless drag-and-drop functionality, designed to make productivity visually engaging. What’s truly revolutionary about this project, however, is how it was built.
By leveraging the power of Gemini as a coding partner, I was able to:
- ⚡ Accelerate development significantly
- 🔧 Generate boilerplate code automatically
- 🎯 Implement complex drag-and-drop UI logic
- 🎨 Focus on architectural design and user experience
Portfolio Renaissance
This inspired me to retake a long-abandoned project: my portfolio. Although it is still a work in progress, with the help of AI, I have made significant progress over the last couple of weeks.
Copilot as a Coding Partner
I generally program alone. I do not work on my project with other developers. This is a challenge because my learning curve depends entirely on me. In my daily role as a developer manager, my work is reflected in the work of my team.
For my portfolio, which is still under development, I’m using Astro. I have found in Astro a great tool that allows me to do all I want. If I need to add additional functionality, I can incorporate React, Vue, or another framework to make it more complete.
The Future of Creative Development
I have a long road to travel in this continuous learning process. When I get accustomed to something new, something new will come up to amaze me.
🎬 AI-Generated Content
The video of this article was created using Gemini Veo. A simple prompt can now create beautiful animation. The possibilities are endless when we combine:
- 🤖 AI-powered development tools
- 🎨 Creative vision and experience
- 🚀 Rapid prototyping capabilities
Key Takeaways
My journey with vibe coding has taught me that AI tools like GitHub Copilot and Google AI Studio are not just productivity enhancers—they’re creativity amplifiers. They allow us to:
- ⚡ Build faster without sacrificing quality
- 🎯 Focus on creativity instead of boilerplate
- 🧠 Learn continuously through AI pair programming
- 🚀 Prototype rapidly and iterate quickly
Join the Conversation
Share with me your thoughts, opinions, or journey about AI. How has AI transformed your development workflow?
Originally published on Nicolas Deyros’ LinkedIn