I think Claude Design misunderstands design. Figma seems safe (for now) 💭

Claude Design feels quite… limiting. Not just because it runs out of fuel (usage-limits), but because it optimizes for Speed. Exactly what Claude Code anyway did, but now with a designer-friendly product layer on top of it.

And just like Claude Code, It works when you’re in an execution mode. When you already have some structure in mind. 💻

Design is fundamentally different. It does NOT start with structure. It starts with:
- Ambiguity
- Exploration
- Trying things you can’t articulate yet (at least not in text)

And this is where Claude Design falls short. On the flip-side, Figma is an open canvas, a canvas that lets you think while making. Explore without knowing. 🧩

But here’s why this competition is particularly interesting to me:
👉🏼 "Tools are shaped by the process. But sometimes, the process itself is reshaped by a tool."

So I’m curious to see which tool wins here because…

If Claude Design wins,
-> Design process converges early. It becomes more structured & linear.

If Figma wins,
-> The process stays divergent longer. Continues to remain exploration-led.

Personally, I’m rooting for the latter.
And if that happens, either Anthropic sunsets Claude Design or simply adds a good old canvas in it... 😂

Dylan Field Yuhki Yamashita Joel Lewenstein Jenny Wen Mike Krieger