As a product designer, my design process changed significantly since I started using Claude Code. Before that, I designed in Figma — and honestly, I was never a huge fan of it. Then I discovered Claude, and I ended up building dashboards and platforms with it.
Over the last few weeks, I watched several videos about how AI is changing the design process, and that made me reflect on how my own process has evolved. I prefer to call it an evolution rather than a disruption.
The Design Process was never linear
As designers, we learned the five stages of design thinking — along with the double diamond, design sprints, and the many variations of those frameworks. This conversation started around 2010, though the roots go back further.
But as a designer, I know that the process is not linear. I remember learning those frameworks as if they were steps to follow in order. The reality is different: the design process adapts to every project and every problem. Not every challenge is solved the same way.
It's completely valid to skip certain steps — you don't always need personas or a full research phase. What matters is solving the problem. For example, in a current project I did research and client interviews, and I did testing — but the part that changed was prototyping and how I tested. And that was okay.
Using AI doesn't mean abandoning the Design Process
Using AI doesn't mean we stop thinking like designers. In my experience, we adjust our process. We're no longer just designing interfaces — we're building products, and our deliverables for our teams look different now.
Personally, I love building things in Claude Code. In Figma, I always felt frustrated with prototypes and interactions. Claude changed that for me.
That said, Claude is part of my process — not a replacement for my flows and sketches. If I skip those steps, my solution often isn't clear enough to build well. For me, the best workflow is to sketch ideas on my iPad first, then move into Claude Code. That might be different for you, and that's fine.
I hope this post gave you something useful to think about. Thanks for reading.