Hermes

Designing better inputs for AI assisted writing

An exploration into whether structured templates and AI guided inputs can help people provide better context when writing short professional messages.

Year: 2026

Timeline: 3 days

Role: Product Designer

Hero product screenshot

Replace with Hermes workspace capture

01. Problem

AI can write the message. But what should you tell it?

AI can already generate emails and pitches. The harder part is knowing what information to give it. Starting with a blank prompt means users have to figure out what context is relevant, what to include and how to structure their request. I wanted to explore whether a guided interface could make that process easier.

02. Solution

A guided workspace for AI assisted writing

I designed and built Hermes, a workspace that uses templates, contextual input fields and AI suggestions to guide users through the information needed for different types of professional messages.

Choose a message type → provide context → explore AI generated approaches → refine the result

03. Experience

A writing flow that makes context visible

The experience is best understood through the screens themselves: each step prompts for context, then opens space for possibilities.

Templates

Different message types provide a relevant starting point.

Guided inputs

Questions help people think through the context before they ask.

AI suggestions

The same context can lead to several useful directions.

Refinement

Users can compare, edit and revise the direction they prefer.

04. Development

From concept to working product

Your process lives here

Design process, iterations, prompt experiments, development, and learnings.

05. What’s next

Testing the idea in real use

The next step would be testing whether the guided workflow actually saves users time compared with simply asking a general purpose AI directly.

Input friction — Are the suggested fields genuinely helpful?

Context quality — Does better structured input lead to better results?

Workflow efficiency — Does Hermes actually feel easier than starting with ChatGPT?