https://cheviszhou.com/writing Chevis Zhou is a Design Engineer building AI interfaces and design systems in production React and TypeScript. en-us https://cheviszhou.com/writing/learning-to-direct-ai https://cheviszhou.com/writing/learning-to-direct-ai Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A designer with no CS background now ships production React. The unlock wasn't typing faster — it was a five-stage loop that turns judgment into working software. https://cheviszhou.com/writing/claude-code-vs-cursor https://cheviszhou.com/writing/claude-code-vs-cursor Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Cursor resolves a clicked element straight to its source line; Claude Code has to go looking. That one mechanical difference decides which tool gets which job. https://cheviszhou.com/writing/mentor-buddies-onboarding-redesign https://cheviszhou.com/writing/mentor-buddies-onboarding-redesign Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Mentor Buddies lost 98% of new users before their first mentor. The redesign's highest-leverage move wasn't a better profile form — it was letting people skip it. https://cheviszhou.com/writing/building-this-portfolio https://cheviszhou.com/writing/building-this-portfolio Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A portfolio has no client, no deadline, no scope ceiling. So I manufactured all three — with AI as the engineering partner. https://cheviszhou.com/writing/read-the-homework https://cheviszhou.com/writing/read-the-homework Sat, 14 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT In February I predicted I could redo two months of design-system work in a week with AI. I was wrong in a way worth writing down — the gain was judgment, not speed.