I design with Claude more than Figma now

6 hours ago

The author was previously skeptical of LLMs due to disappointing results in areas they were already proficient in, such as game tweaks and design tasks.
After joining Jane Street, AI became indispensable for learning new skills like OCaml and Bonsai and unexpectedly transformed their design workflow.
Instead of creating spec docs and Figma mockups, they now build prototype features directly in code using Claude, enabling rapid iteration and real user testing.
This approach eliminates ancillary work like Figma components and documentation formatting, focusing effort on improving the actual artifact.
The workflow evolved from handling small UX fixes to tackling larger projects, including prototypes with 2000+ line diffs and skipping Figma entirely for some apps.
Using AI allows designers to independently create working proofs of concept, making it easier to evaluate ideas and demonstrate feasibility without relying on engineers.
A downside is that reviewers receive fully baked features, potentially limiting collaborative input, so they frame prototypes as living proposals for iterative feedback.
There's a concern that designing with Claude may constrain creativity to iterative outcomes, similar to historical debates about designers coding with tools like React.
Despite challenges, the author finds empowerment in returning to hands-on creation, feeling freer to experiment and work directly in the medium.

Hasty Briefsbeta