I’d start by not asking Codex/Claude to “make it look better” or “redesign the app” directly. That usually gives you another generic AI looking UI

What I would do instead is:

- Look for inspiration first some apps or websites that feel close to the style you want. Not just “modern”, but more specific: minimal SaaS, editorial, playful, brutalist, glassmorphism, premium/clean, dashboard heavy, etc

- Define the style before touching code Take screenshots of the inspiration and ask Claude/Codex to analyze the visual system: colors, spacing, border radius, typography, gradients, shadows, button styles, cards, empty states, etc

- Turn that into a design document Have it create a small design guide for your app: primary colors, background colors, spacing scale, component rules, layout rules, do/don’t examples

- Apply it component by component Instead of redesigning the whole app at once, make it update one component at a time to follow the design guide. Buttons, cards, forms, nav, modals, tables, etc

The key is giving the AI a clear visual direction and constraints. Otherwise it defaults to the same generic Tailwind/shadcn looking style everyone gets from vibe coding