Check the Hi Masterclass about this topic here!
Why we built this tool
We decided to build a tool to solve our own pain 😄.
Whenever we needed to develop and test something, we found ourselves stuck in the design process, it required a designer with the right skills, time to share and describe ideas, align expectations, and manage the effort involved.
We tried tools like Figma Make and UX Pilot, which did improve the prototyping process, but they still felt like a different world: blank canvases, design assets that didn’t fully match our design system, and a development effort still required afterwards just to have a testable prototype. In the end, the time spent was hard to justify against the value delivered, both in time and budget.
What we build
We built an interface where any stakeholder can prototype their own idea, whether it’s a simple flow for an existing app or an entirely new application. The only rule the tool must follow is to stay true to our design system, ensuring that every prototype delivers exactly the same experience as our real application environment, 100% aligned with it.
How do we ensure the design system on prototype
We built AI Agents behind the interface that know everything about our design system and are well trained to handle frontend development. However, the true key to Hi Studio’s success is not the AI Agents themselves, it’s the way the design system is implemented and organised.
Hi Interactive has a long history rooted in design system development, and we have deep expertise in structuring design systems to be both useful and scalable for interface building. It is precisely that experience that provides the AI Agents with the right foundation to apply the design system correctly and consistently.
What we discovered during the process
During the development of the first version of Hi Studio, we realised that our original plans for the tool, conceived as a prototyping aid , were no longer aligned with where it was heading. It was evolving into a full software development tool capable of delivering production-ready code.
What began as a solution to our own pain point, the need to prototype new ideas quickly, gradually transformed into a real software development tool. At a certain point, while we were working on the generated code to ensure it followed our design system visuals, we became so deeply immersed in that feature that the output was not only good but remarkably well-structured. That’s when we realised it could be reusable.
From that point on, the goal shifted: to generate high-quality code that follows best practices, respects our naming and code conventions, and ensures that anyone on the team can reuse the frontend code for continued development and integration.
Hi Studio adapts to your code infrastructure
One of the turning points and key advantages of Hi Studio is that the code generated is not only aligned with your design system but also with your code infrastructure. The output is configured to truly be your code, following your conventions, using your libraries, and respecting your architecture guidelines.
The Main Hi Studio Features
- Build a real application based on a functional description;
- Iterate on top of the generated application;
- Share the application URL to test on devices and with other stakeholders;
- Inspect and review the code;
- Download the full code, ready to use;
- Emulate multiple device sizes;
- Continue iterating later, the prototype is saved as a project.
Is the generated code actually useful?
Absolutely, 100% yes!
At Hi Interactive, we have been focused on scaling and improving frontend development for the last 12 years, and code quality is a critical point for us.
We developed an atomic development process, and this is applied directly to the generated code. The frontend is fully connected to the design system, and hardcoded styles, classes, and components are avoided to ensure scalability across multiple screens and applications. So when clean, reusable code is what you need, we can guarantee that the generated code delivers exactly that.
Does it build everything?
Not quite!
Hi Studio does not handle backend development and does not include a deployment process. For now, it is focused exclusively on frontend, and within that scope, it does everything. It generates sample API mockups, loads data from those mockups, and leaves the frontend application ready to connect to your real API sources.
And what about the future of Hi Studio?
For now, Hi Studio is a solution that we install directly with our partners to accelerate their design and development process. However, we have plans to evolve it into a SaaS product, where you can create your account, configure your design system, and transform the way your team prototypes and builds frontend.
The future of software development
Everything is changing faster than ever. The way we ideate and prototype applications is just one improved phase driven by AI. Our developers are already using AI-assisted coding in their daily routines, and the truth is that we are delivering better code faster than ever before. There is no single turning point, it is a continuous shift.
Hi Studio is a tool that can introduce your team to a new way of working: a first step toward embracing the AI era without compromising your existing processes and plans.
In enterprise software, adapting to new ways of working, new processes, and new tools is naturally harder and slower, given the risks, the scale, and the complexity involved. We have the knowledge and experience to guide you through that transition and help you introduce these new ways of working at the right pace.
