How I Use AI in Design and Development

I use AI tools on every project, at some stages and not others. They save the most time in development. The final design, the one the client approves and the site launches with, I make by hand in Figma.

Claude Code for the Build

Most of the time saved is in the build. I work with Claude Code, an AI assistant that writes and edits code inside the project. I describe a task, for example a section from the approved design, a form, or a script that prepares images for the web, and it writes a first version. I read the changes, test them in the browser and on a phone, and fix what needs fixing.

The code is still my responsibility. Claude Code can't tell how a page should feel when you scroll through it, or which details matter to the client, so I check those myself before anything goes live.

For a client, this means routine code takes less of the budget, and more of it goes into testing, motion and finishing details. It's also a large part of why I can design and build a site myself.

Figma's AI for Routine File Work

Inside Figma I use its built-in AI features for small, routine jobs: naming layers, filling a layout with placeholder content, finding a component in a large file. They save time at the end of a project, when a file has to be tidied up before handoff, and they don't make any design decisions.

Where I Switch It Off

Some decisions depend on the client's business, and I make them myself:

• The structure: which pages the site has and what each one has to do. I write it out first, as described in structure before style.
• The final layout, type and colour, drawn in Figma by hand.
• The first version of the copy, because it has to come from what the client told me.
• Approving any code before it goes live.

If you'd like a site made this way, Design & Development covers the design and the build, from $990. Send me a short message about the project.