10 prompt keywords to make your app look fire

If you want to create truly elegant, uniquely-designed apps and websites with Bolt, you need to think beyond listing out features. Instead, focus on precision of language. 

The words you choose to describe your interface are like coordinates for your design. The more imagistic, specific, and evocative they are, the more distinct the end result.

That’s especially true for style: clearly describing the feeling and vibe you want an app to have will shape the world of it for your users.

To sharpen your design prompts, here are ten keywords that evoke a distinct design and feel. Each is tied to an aesthetic. Drop these into your Bolt prompts, and you’ll unlock new landscapes of vibe and personality for your app.

For each example, we'll use these keywords to adjust the design of our app templates to show how they change the look and feel of what you build. 

Neumorphism: Soft, embossed surfaces

Neumorphism blends minimalism with realism. Think of buttons and cards that look pressed into the background, as if the interface itself is sculpted from one soft, seamless surface. In simple terms, it makes everything look plastic and perfect. It’s a design that whispers rather than shouts.

Vibe: Gentle, futuristic, almost meditative.

Glassmorphism: Frosted glass vibes

This is the frosted windowpane look. Blurred backgrounds, see-through layers, glowing edges. Glassmorphism feels like navigating through a crystalline world where elements hover in translucent space.

Vibe: Sleek, modern, ethereal.

Skeuomorphism: Textures that feel too real

Remember when the Notes app looked like a yellow legal pad? That’s skeuomorphism: digital design that mimics real-world textures (woodgrain, leather, paper, etc.) It grounds apps in familiarity, making them feel physical and tangible.

Vibe: Nostalgic, cozy, ultra-literal.

Flat Design: No depth, all color

Flat design strips away shadows and texture, leaving bold blocks of color, simple icons, and sharp typography. It’s clean, fast-loading, and unpretentious. Think of it like turning your UI into a crisp poster.

Vibe: Bright, straightforward, timeless.

Material Design: The Google playbook

Born at Google, Material Design is a flat aesthetic with carefully layered depth. Shadows, spacing, and hierarchy guide the user’s eye, while motion adds subtle delight. It feels like a well-structured city grid: organized, intuitive, efficient.

Vibe: Professional, functional, universally friendly.

Brutalism: Raw, loud, bold

Brutalism ignores polish. Harsh typefaces, clashing colors, oversized buttons, and unapologetic layouts. It feels like design ripped straight from a flyer stapled on a city wall: chaotic but powerful.

Vibe: Gritty, rebellious, attention-grabbing.

Hyper-minimalism: Whitespace & restraint

Hyper-minimalism is all about subtraction. Big breathing room, clean lines, and a restrained color palette. Every element has to earn its place. The result is a design that radiates clarity and sophistication.

Vibe: Calm, intentional, high-end.

Retro / Vaporwave: Neon, gradients, 90s energy

Retro and vaporwave lean on glitchy nostalgia: hot pinks, glowing gradients, pixel fonts, and VHS static. It’s playful and ironic, blending digital futurism with old-school pop culture.

Vibe: Electric, nostalgic, fun chaos.

Cyberpunk: Sci-fi darkness

Cyberpunk is all neon against black, blending futuristic tech with gritty dystopia. Think glowing circuits, holographic menus, and interfaces that feel like they belong in Blade Runner.

Vibe: Intense, mysterious, cinematic.

Claymorphism: Toy-like & bubbly

Claymorphism makes everything feel soft, chunky, and playful, like UI made of modeling clay. Rounded edges, pastel colors, and 3D shadows create an interface that feels approachable and fun.

Vibe: Friendly, whimsical, tactile.

Create something striking

In Bolt, every word is a design decision. These ten prompt keywords are shortcuts to little universes of texture, mood, and personality.

The difference between saying “clean UI” and “minimalist interface with bold white space” is the difference between a generic app and something that feels custom-built and intentional. 

The more you experiment with language, the more you’ll realize that design is less about tools and more about vocabulary. A single keyword can tilt your interface toward playful or professional, futuristic or nostalgic, loud or understated.

And when you start combining them, glassmorphism with brutalist typography, or retro palettes with claymorphic buttons,you create styles that feel truly remarkable. 

Got an idea? Build it with Bolt.