🛠️ DJRDU Vibe Coding Hackathon Recap

May 30, 2025 – Durham, NC

On May 30, a talented group of designers and builders gathered for the DJRDU Vibe Coding Hackathon, a 3-hour sprint to prototype meaningful apps using the principles of vibe coding: emotional resonance, intentional UX flow, and purpose-driven design.

Participants included:
James Gartrell, Erik Johnson, Nick Mason, Andy Hamilton, Andrew Steiner, Ben Mackie, and Skipper Chong Warson.

Teams paired experienced vibe coders with newer ones to foster mentorship and collaboration. Here’s a look at the projects they tackled:

🌿 Fresh Air Finder

Team: James Gartrell & Andrew Steiner
Prompt:
Design a simple app that helps users discover quiet or less-crowded green spaces nearby, using data like real-time crowd levels, ambient sound readings, and user-submitted mood tags.
Prototype & PRD:
Fresh Air Finder on v0

🎒 Mindful Minutes for Classrooms

Team: Erik Johnson & Ben Mackie
Prompt:
Prototype a lightweight tool for elementary teachers to run short daily emotional check-ins and breathing exercises for students, with a dashboard to track classroom mood over time.

Tools Used:

• ChatPRD (to generate the product spec)

• Lovable Prototype

• v0 Prototype

Reflections:
From Erik Johnson:

🩺 CareSync

Team: Nick Mason, Skipper Chong Warson & Andy Hamilton
Prompt:
Design a front-desk-friendly app for small healthcare practices to coordinate patient check-ins, follow-ups, and family communications—with an emphasis on reducing stress.

Prototypes:

• v0 Prototype

• Lovable Prototype

• Replit Prototype

⚙️ Tools in Play

Throughout the hackathon, participants explored a wide array of AI tools, including:
Lovable, v0, Replit, nut.new, ChatPRD, Claude (Anthropic), and ChatGPT — each used with varying levels of success and delight.

💬 Final Thoughts

While the tech occasionally stumbled, the vibes stayed high. New skills were tested, ideas flowed fast, and proof-of-concept apps emerged in just hours. Thanks to everyone who showed up, showed out, and helped make this first DJRDU hackathon a memorable one!

🔁 What’s Next?

We’re planning to host another DJRDU Vibe Coding Hackathon in June, and we’d love to have you join us.

Whether you're a returning participant or new to vibe coding, this is a chance to stretch your creative muscles, collaborate with others, and test new tools in a low-stakes, high-vibe environment.

👉 Interested in participating? Let us know by replying to this message or filling out the upcoming RSVP form—details coming soon!

👥 Bring a Friend + Join the Community

This event is open to friends and colleagues in UX, product, or adjacent spaces. If someone in your orbit would enjoy the vibe, bring them along — just make sure they’re on the list:
✉️ Subscribe to Design Jam RDU

And if you haven’t yet, jump into our Slack so we can keep the conversation going before and after the event:
💬 Join the DJRDU Slack

—
James Gartrell
Founder, Design Jam RDU
[email protected]