I was helping a friend build a simple web app last week and something interesting happened
She kept asking me to change the code while I was trying to explain what I was doing
But here’s the thing – in vibe coding, the code itself isn’t the permanent artifact anymore
That’s when I realized we’re not just talking about writing code differently
We’re talking about a fundamental shift in what code even means
Think about it this way – when architects design buildings, they don’t carve each brick by hand
They create blueprints and specifications, then contractors execute based on those designs
Vibe coding follows the same principle but for software development
Your prompts and intentions become the blueprints
The AI becomes your construction crew
And the actual code? That’s just the temporary material that gets assembled on site
This changes everything about how we think about software design
Remember those endless debates about whether code should be considered design or implementation
Well, vibe coding settles that argument pretty decisively
Code equals design because code is the design made executable
It’s both the specification and the implementation simultaneously
This aligns perfectly with the third principle of vibe coding that emphasizes intentions and interfaces as long-term assets while treating code as potentially disposable
I find myself spending way more time crafting clear intentions than I used to spend writing actual code
And the results are fascinating
The same intention prompt can generate completely different code implementations based on context
Yet the behavior remains consistent with what I specified
It’s like having multiple construction teams that all understand your architectural vision perfectly
But here’s what really blows my mind
When you stop thinking of code as something permanent, you start designing differently
You focus on the what rather than the how
You think in terms of capabilities and behaviors
You design systems that can adapt and evolve
And you stop worrying about implementation details that the AI can handle automatically
This doesn’t mean code quality doesn’t matter
It means we’re elevating our focus to a higher level of abstraction
We’re designing the DNA of our software rather than manually assembling each molecule
The verification and observation mechanisms become crucial here
How do we know our design intentions are being properly executed
That’s where testing and monitoring shift from checking code to validating behavior
We’re verifying that the system behaves according to our design specifications
Not that it implements some particular coding pattern
This approach opens up programming to so many more people
Business folks who understand what they want but not how to code it
Designers who can specify user experiences precisely
Domain experts who know exactly what their field needs
They can all participate in software creation through clear intention specification
While professionals focus on the ecosystem level concerns
Standards, security, governance, infrastructure
The big picture stuff that ensures everything works together harmoniously
So next time you’re tempted to dive into the code
Ask yourself – am I thinking about implementation or am I thinking about design
Because in vibe coding, they’ve become the same thing
And that changes everything about how we build software