When the AI toy box trend exploded online, the results were everywhere :  pastel packaging, floating laptops, pixel-perfect bios. Fun, yes. Trendy? Absolutely. But most of what I saw was prompted for vibes not engineered for meaning. So I decided to do something different. This wasn’t going to be just another image. I was going to build a visual artifact — something engineered, iterated, and designed to hold a story. It had to feel like mine — not just something anyone could generate. I wasn’t just making a toy. I was building a system. The First 25 Prompts I ran about 25 iterations to get it right. At first, I tried what everyone else did — “woman in tech,” “engineer in a box,” “keynote speaker toy.” The outputs were generic, aesthetic, and off-brand. Eventually, I realized: This is just like any engineering build. You don’t ship the first draft. You define your spec. You iterate. You debug. So I wrote a prompt like a PRD. Each accessory had a purpose. Every color, badge, and slogan meant something. I treated the figure like a product. The Engineering Playbook (Commit by Commit) This wasn’t just AI art. It was version-controlled storytelling. Here’s how I shipped it: Commit 1: Define Requirements (a.k.a. the README) Figure silhouette: Balanced, grounded, expressive
Outfit spec: Leopard turtleneck, denim — symbolic, personal, practical
Props schema: Laptop = tool of trade, Mic = public voice, IBM mug = roots & community Figure silhouette: Balanced, grounded, expressive Figure silhouette Outfit spec: Leopard turtleneck, denim — symbolic, personal, practical Outfit spec Props schema: Laptop = tool of trade, Mic = public voice, IBM mug = roots & community Props schema Commit 2: Prompt as Prototype Each prompt was a prototype. A structured, testable experiment. I refined tone, position, style, and symbolism — just like a product sketch. Commit 3: Modular Thinking Component: The figure
Subcomponents: Laptop, mug, mic
Overlays: Stats, slogans, identifiers Component: The figure Component: Subcomponents: Laptop, mug, mic Subcomponents: Overlays: Stats, slogans, identifiers Overlays: Commit 4: QA + Bug Fixes Did the figure stand out against the background?
Was the badge readable?
Were the proportions (finally) right? Did the figure stand out against the background? Was the badge readable? Were the proportions (finally) right? Commit 5: Document, Version, Ship I documented every iteration — all 25 of them. Every visual failure. Every tiny win. And then I shipped something that didn’t just look good — it meant something. Is Coding Dead? Some people think so. Matt Welsh, former Google engineer, and Fixie.ai founder, wrote: Google “The end of programming is near.” “The end of programming is near.” “The end of programming is near.” Jensen Huang, NVIDIA AI’s CEO, said: NVIDIA AI “Everyone is now a programmer. You just have to say something to the computer.” “Everyone is now a programmer. You just have to say something to the computer.” “Everyone is now a programmer. You just have to say something to the computer.” And I get it. Prompting is powerful. But prompting without purpose? That’s not engineering. Engineering isn’t dead — it’s evolving. It’s showing up in new places, with new tools and new interfaces. This wasn’t code. But it was: Constraint-driven
System-designed
Quality-checked
Intentionally built Constraint-driven System-designed Quality-checked Intentionally built That’s engineering. Me, In a Box The final render had it all: A data stick labeled “The Missing 78%”
A tiny IBM mug
A MacBook Pro
A badge shaped like a TED stage
And yes, a leopard-print turtleneck A data stick labeled “The Missing 78%” A tiny IBM mug A MacBook Pro A badge shaped like a TED stage And yes, a leopard-print turtleneck From cloud to keynote to code — I engineered every piece of it. It wasn’t just for fun. It was a prototype of identity. An artifact of visibility. And a reminder that we belong — not just in the data, but in how it’s seen. The Future of Engineering By applying engineering discipline to AI-generated art, we can create stunning, high-quality outputs that showcase our creativity and technical skills. It’s not just about prompting; it’s about designing with intent, iterating methodically, and validating outputs. As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI, one thing is clear: the future of engineering is about embracing the best of both worlds — creativity and discipline. So, did vibe coding just kill engineering? Not at all. It challenged us to reimagine what engineeringcould be. could be Next time you prompt, try engineering it. Define your spec. Iterate. Debug the output. And then ship something that tells a story onlyyou can. you #AI #Engineering #WomenInTech #DesignThinking #vibecoding About the Author Noor Aftab is an AI Advocate, IBM Champion, and Chair of the NumFOCUS Code of Conduct Working Group. She speaks internationally on AI, engineering, and inclusive technology. At AWS, she led AI and cloud adoption efforts for global systems. She lives in Seattle with her twin daughters and builds systems that empower people and platforms.

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