Tools for Designers

The AI design tools I actually use, with the best deals I could negotiate for you. Each links to a hands-on guide.

Some links below are affiliate or sponsor links. If you buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only list tools I genuinely use.

20% off
Mobbin

600,000+ real app screens, plus an MCP that pipes them straight into Claude Code so your agent designs from evidence, not taste words.

20% off
Anything

Build full-stack apps with real database, auth, and payments from plain English. Where design tools stop at the mockup, this ships a working product.

Framer

The best way to build and publish a polished website without writing code. Beautiful output, fast hosting, AI that fills in real content.

Webflow

Visual-first web design with real control over the box model, CMS, and hosting. Where Framer optimizes for speed, Webflow gives you production-grade precision.

1 week free
Claude Code

Anthropic's terminal agent that turns plain-English direction into real, working interfaces. My default for hands-off builds.

Cursor

An AI-first code editor and the friendliest on-ramp to building. More visibility and hands-on control than a terminal agent.

Codex

OpenAI's agentic coder. Especially strong on larger, logic-heavy projects that span many files.

Claude Design

Anthropic's AI-native way to design interfaces: describe what you want and Claude builds real, editable UI alongside you.

Relume

1,000+ real, production web components, now pluggable into Claude via MCP so it builds pages from proven sections instead of inventing them.

Free
Brilliant

A free, AI-native design tool that does ~95% of what Figma does, with AI agents on the canvas and plain-text, git-friendly files.

Miro

Visual workspace for design thinking, user flows, and async collaboration. AI that generates boards and surfaces patterns from your diagrams.

Free
Rolltake

The iPhone teleprompter I built for my own videos. Ten speed levels, Apple Watch and Bluetooth remotes, mirror mode for beam-splitter rigs. Free, no ads, no account.

1 month free
Granola

An AI notepad that turns back-to-back calls, reviews, and user interviews into notes you can actually act on. No bot joins the meeting.

New to the vocabulary these tools use, like MCP, skills and context windows? My glossary of 75 Claude concepts defines each one in a line.