Claude Design

Our verdict on Claude Design

Claude Design is the biggest jump in what a non-designer on our team can do. Sam ran three projects in it in April 2026, and his verdict was that the design quality is "incredible" and it feels like "a step function" in his capabilities.

Jordan went further and called it "a little bit of a Figma killer." The caveats: Sam had seen mixed reviews on social media, the Claude Code handoff took a while, and it nudges you to start new chats to save context.

What we built with Claude Design

• HipTrain Meta ad concepts (Episode 40): three cheeky, self-aware campaigns for women aged 50 to 70, such as "The grandkids think I'm chill," each with an image prompt and a Veo 3 prompt. Sam ran one image prompt through Nano Banana, gave the image back, and Claude Design composed the finished ad.
• A deck: one of Sam's three projects, started the same way, as a chat.
• Internal web app redesign: Sam linked an internal app's local code base, got a page-by-page redesign, handed it to Claude Code, and had the new design live in production in about thirty minutes. Teammates who maintain their own apps then did the same, and Sam called their results "brilliant."

And I would say, to me, it feels like a chat, a UX UI designer at your hip that you can chat with, engage with, have them propose ideas.

— Sam Nadler, Episode 40

How we use Claude Design

1. Start with a plain request. "I'm looking to build a deck," "a full redesign of this web app," or "social ads." Every project begins as a chat.
2. Answer the questionnaire. Claude Design usually asks 8 to 12 questions before it makes anything. Take them seriously, because they shape the first set of assets.
3. Add the audience and tone as follow-ups. Sam's ads got better once he told it to target women 50 to 70 and to be cheeky and self-aware.
4. Ask for prompts, not just designs. He asked for an image prompt and a Veo 3 prompt per campaign, so each concept could become an image or a video later.
5. Bring outside assets back in. Generate the image elsewhere (Nano Banana, in Sam's case) and hand it back for layout.
6. Tweak in place, then chat for bigger changes. You can change fonts and colors directly. Everything else goes through the left-hand sidebar chat.
7. Start a new chat for each new direction. The tool itself prompts you to, to save on context.
8. Share for comments. Sam sent the marketing team a link where they could comment on or edit the presentation.
9. For code, link your repo and hand off. Link the local code base, finish the redesign, click "hand off to Claude Code," and give the zip to Claude Code. Budget about thirty minutes.

And within, you know, however long it took, it actually took quite a while, thirty minutes, the entire web app was fully updated to the new design and the results were amazing.

— Sam Nadler, Episode 40

Where Claude Design falls short

• Mixed reviews. Sam's experience was great, but he said he had seen mixed reviews on social media.
• The handoff is slow. Thirty minutes for a full app is fast compared with a redesign project, but Sam said it "took quite a while."
• Context limits. It kept prompting Sam to start new chats. "I think I've been overusing the tool," he said.
• A separate product. Sam was surprised it isn't part of Claude Code or Claude Cowork. Jordan's theory: a web app is a quick way for Anthropic to test whether people like it before folding it into the desktop app, as it did with Cowork.
• Interface overload. Jordan said he was "almost overwhelmed" at first because the same screen can show ads, web apps or anything else.

Claude Design compared

• Claude Design vs Figma: Jordan sees a Figma killer for non-designers. Sam agrees it is far easier for him, but thinks Figma will have its place.
• Claude Code vs Claude Cowork: the two tools Claude Design hands work to, or might be folded into.

Guests reach for the same comparison. Autonomy AI's Adir Ben-Yehuda said his product can take a Claude Design file as input, alongside images or Figma (Episode 43). In Episode 50, Jordan described Hardik Kabaria's simulation tool as doing for non-testing engineers what Claude Design did for engineers who aren't designers.

Episodes featuring Claude Design

• Episode 40: Sam's three projects, the export options and the Claude Code handoff.
• Episode 43: Claude Design as an input to Autonomy AI.
• Episode 50: Jordan's Claude Design analogy for simulation.

FAQ

How do you use Claude Design?

Start a chat with what you want (a deck, ads, a web app redesign), answer its questionnaire of usually 8 to 12 questions, then refine the first designs with quick tweaks and chat. Share a link, export, or hand off to Claude Code.

What is the Claude Design handoff to Claude Code?

When you link your local code base and finish a redesign, 'hand off to Claude Code' creates a zip file. Sam gave that zip to Claude Code and the whole internal web app was updated and live in production in about thirty minutes.

Is Claude Design better than Figma?

For non-designers, we think so. Jordan called it a bit of a Figma killer; Sam said his Figma skills are awful and Claude Design is as easy as chatting, though he expects Figma to keep its place.

What can you export from Claude Design?

Sam found a share link teammates can comment on or edit, a zip download, PDF, standalone HTML, a send-to-Canva option, and the Claude Code handoff.

Can Claude Design make ads?

Yes. Sam asked for three Meta ad campaigns for HipTrain aimed at women aged 50 to 70, with an image prompt and a Veo 3 prompt for each, then ran one image prompt through Nano Banana and had Claude Design compose the ad.