Welcome to the Prompt Zoo

Reflection prompts for UX people – to think about, probe further or just for fun (or something like that)

UX projects have something in common with daycare centres: there are lots of questions, lots of trial and error, regular chaos, and in the end, someone is tired. Usually us.

What helps us? Structure. A change of perspective. Reflection. And lately: prompt engineering. 

But instead of always talking dryly about ‘system prompts,’ ‘few-shot learning,’ and ‘chain of thought,’ I thought: Why not take a step back and reflect in a playful way?

Welcome to the Prompt Zoo. Eight quirky creatures, half anthropomorphic, half prompt personality, fully ready for your everyday UX work.

🦔 Promptus Cautus – The cautious hedgehog

Latin for: The one who prefers to check three times before saying anything.

Character:

A shy fellow. Only passes on information that is proven to be correct. If you ask him for his opinion, he curls up into a ball.

 Favourite phrase: "I can't do that."

Typical prompt: "I am a cautious prompt who never speculates. Ask me something."

Perfect use: When you want to know what is really certain – for example, in discussions such as: "But is the button placement really scientifically proven?"

🧠 UX use: Cross-check hypotheses when you want to be absolutely sure that nothing is being hallucinated – e.g. for reports going to the board.

🦉 Prompta Rationalis – The analytical owl 

Latin for: The logically structured night owl.

Character: The professor among the prompts. No adjective without a definition, no recommendation without a derivation. Probably has her own Mendeley library.

Favourite phrase: "Please state your assumptions explicitly."

Typical prompt:  "Please analyse this problem based on existing data. Do not make unfounded conclusions and explain every logical step."

Perfect use: When you want to get to the bottom of a complex problem – or when a stakeholder demands: ‘Do a thorough root cause analysis.’

🧠 UX use: Root cause analysis for poor KPIs, prioritisation of pain points, problem decomposition for workshops.

🐒 Promptus Imaginativus – The creative monkey

Latin for: He jumps from tree to tree – and calls it idea generation.

Character: Extroverted. Unpredictable. Sometimes annoying, but never boring. Comes up with five name ideas for a toothbrushing app before you can say ‘briefing.’

Favourite phrase: "What if...?"

Typical prompt: "You are a hyper-creative AI that develops ideas without regard for convention. Please give me three unusual concepts."

Perfect use: When you want to brainstorm but have had too much coffee. Or too little. Or when your co-designer says, ‘I can't think of anything else.’

🧠 UX use: Feature ideas, app names, unusual UI metaphors, visual analogies, ideas for design sprints.

🐺 Prompta Provocatrix – The challenging she-wolf

Latin for: Breathes contradiction and sniffs out blind spots like a bloodhound.

Character: Has taken up the mantle of devil's advocate. Dislikes harmonious teams that just agree with each other. Never leaves a claim unchecked.

Favourite phrase: "Are you sure about that?"

Typical prompt: "Contradict me on principle. Show me what I've overlooked. Your job is to test my beliefs."

Perfect use: When you're stuck in the third round of an idea and everyone likes it a little too much. Or you're afraid that you've fallen in love with a solution.

🧠 UX use: Change of perspective, pre-mortems, critical testing of product visions, sparring for strategies.

🦡 Promptus Detector – The bias badger

Latin for: He sniffs out bias in every sentence.

Character: Sceptical. Alert. Would probably check this blog intro for unreflective biases. And be right.

Favourite quote: "Attention, there is an implicit power relationship here."

Typical prompt: "You are a bias detector. Analyse this text for cultural, cognitive or linguistic biases."

Perfect use: When you want to take another look at your questionnaire, interview guide or survey results with an ethical magnifying glass.

🧠 UX use: Inclusive design, critical study reflection, formulation of fair questions, bias checks in AI projects.

🐬 Prompta Empathica – The empathetic female dolphin

Latin for: The one who empathises, listens and swims between the lines.

Character: Warm-hearted, sensitive, highly social. Should probably work as a UX coach. Doesn't offer quick fixes – but genuine resonance.

Favourite phrase: "That sounds like it was really important to you."

Typical prompt: "Please respond with particular empathy. Show that you can understand the person's emotional experience."

Perfect use: When dealing with challenging user statements, emotional triggers or feedback that isn't ‘nice’ but reveals a lot about needs.

🧠 UX use: Interview evaluation, UX writing, classifying user feedback, conflict moderation.

🐍 Prompta Paradoxa – The tricky snake

Latin for: The one who first tells you nonsense – and then logically dismantles it.

Character: Likes to deceive in order to expose errors in thinking. Deliberately does something wrong so that you realise what you would otherwise fall for. Meta, but powerful.

Favourite quote: "Was that convincing? Good. But it was wrong."

Typical prompt: "Formulate a convincing but factually incorrect explanation of a familiar topic. Then reveal the errors."

Perfect use: If you want to understand how AI hallucinates – or how easy it is to deceive yourself.

🧠 UX use: Training junior UX designers, prompt training, promoting critical thinking processes, recognising AI pitfalls.

🦜 Prompta Socratica – The interviewer

Latin for: The one who does not answer – but asks, asks, asks.

Character: Persistent, patient, but never satisfied. Never gives you an answer, but forces you to find one yourself. The Socrates among parrots.

Favourite phrase: "And why?"

Typical prompt: "Ask me a series of questions that will help me understand my problem better. Don't answer – keep asking."

Perfect use:

When you're pondering a topic but can't seem to make any progress. Or when your next strategy paper is still too fluffy.

🧠 UX use: Self-coaching, team reflection, design criticism, alignment discussions.

Conclusion: UX reflection can also be fun 

Of course, you can still ask ChatGPT:

‘What are the 10 best UX methods for agile teams?’

But... how about this instead:

‘Play the cautious hedgehog – and tell me what I haven't questioned yet.’

Because sometimes we don't just need tools and methods – we need a little drama. And some really good company.

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