Not every tool belongs in a finished deliverable. Some tools exist to help our designers think faster, not to generate final assets. This post closes out our three-part series by looking at where AI actually earns a spot earlier in the process: mockups, prototyping, sketching, and the productivity layer already built into Figma.
In our first two posts, we covered image generation and then video, voice, and motion. This time, we’re looking at the AI design workflow tools our designers reach for during ideation and early builds, before a project reaches Figma in its final form. Every tool below is scored on the same five-star scale as the rest of the series, based on hands-on use, not marketing claims.
Claude Design — ★★★★☆
Prototypes Built from a Prompt
Claude Design turns a prompt into a working prototype. Slides, one-pagers, and landing pages get refined through chat, inline comments, and custom sliders. It can import a design system from an existing codebase or design files and apply it consistently across a project, and it generates real code rather than a static mockup image. That code-based output is part of what makes it useful inside an AI design workflow, since it hands off cleanly to a designer instead of getting rebuilt from scratch.
There’s no native Figma import or export yet, and visual polish has a ceiling. It works better for ideation and stakeholder previews than for finished craft work, and it’s still a research preview.
Bottom line: Strong for early-stage exploration and stakeholder previews, best treated as a complement to Figma rather than a replacement.
Krea — ★★★★☆
Sketching in Real-Time
Krea’s real-time canvas renders an AI interpretation of a sketch in under 50 milliseconds. That changes how iteration actually works. Instead of adjusting a prompt and waiting, we draw and watch the output update live. Krea also aggregates more than 60 models, including Veo and Runway, under one subscription.
Output quality still depends on which underlying model handles the request. That makes it less consistent than working directly in Midjourney for finished aesthetic work.
Bottom line: Worth reaching for when iteration speed matters more than polish. The live drawing tool is the standout feature.
Figma native AI — ★★★☆☆
The Productivity Layer That’s Already There
Figma’s built-in AI features handle auto-layout suggestions, content placeholders, and design system queries without leaving the file. It comes free with an existing license, and it stays tightly integrated with whatever design system a project already uses.
It’s a productivity layer, not a creative tool, and it won’t replace a dedicated generative tool for actual image or concept work.
Bottom line: Worth having turned on for the parts that help. It won’t do the creative heavy lifting.
Google Stitch — ★★★☆☆
Fast UI Mockups for Early Ideation
Google Stitch turns a prompt or a reference image into a usable UI mockup in seconds. It can also extract a design system directly from any URL, which speeds up early-stage product ideation. It’s free for now, while the tool sits in Google’s Labs phase.
Output tends to look templated, and components don’t always align cleanly. Brand colors can drift from what was requested. We don’t treat Stitch output as production-ready.
Bottom line: A quick way to visualize an idea, not a replacement for UI design.
What This Round of Testing Told Us
Four tools, one shared job: helping our designers move faster before a file is finished. Claude Design builds that idea into a working prototype. Krea lets us sketch and iterate live. Figma native AI handles the small productivity tasks once a project is already inside Figma. Google Stitch turns a prompt into a rough UI in seconds. None of these tools replace the AI design workflow we already had. They just remove some of the friction along the way. That’s the thread running through this whole series: match the tool to the stage of the project and let a designer handle the rest.
Partner with SketchDeck
Across this series, one thing stayed consistent: no single AI tool did the whole job. Every asset we build still runs through a designer’s judgment, whether the first draft came from a prompt or a blank page.
Curious what an AI design workflow could look like for your team? Let’s talk about your AI initiatives and where SketchDeck can help.
