A red wireframe building model floating above a dark boardroom table, representing a design blueprint generated from a conversation.
Claude Design produces a working blueprint you can edit and ship, not a flat picture of one.

Claude Design is a tool from Anthropic Labs for creating visual work by talking to Claude. You describe what you want and it produces designs, prototypes, slides, and one-pagers. The important distinction: the output is not a static image. It is an interactive prototype built from HTML and CSS that you refine through conversation, then export or hand to engineering. Claude Design was launched as a research preview on 17 April 2026, powered at launch by Claude Opus 4.7, then Anthropic’s most capable vision model.

Update, 16 September 2026: Claude Design now also works inside ordinary Claude conversations, alongside two new beta companions, Claude Docs and Claude Slides; anything made with them lives at one shareable link and slides can be downloaded as PowerPoint or PDF. Anthropic says the standalone Claude Design keeps working as before.

Where it lives

Claude Design runs inside claude.ai , originally under the Anthropic Labs section of the product and, since September 2026, also from within any conversation. There is nothing to install. You open it in the browser as part of your Claude subscription.

What it is for

Claude Design targets the gap between a chat description and a shippable layout. It does three things a plain chat does not.

  • Generates interactive prototypes. The result is live HTML and CSS you can click and test, not a screenshot. You refine it through conversation, inline comments, direct edits, or sliders.
  • Learns your design system. It can read your codebase and your Figma files to extract an existing design system, then apply that system consistently to new work.
  • Hands off to engineering. A finished design can be passed to Claude Code for implementation, and exported to Canva, PDF, PPTX, or a standalone HTML file.
Step 1DescribeYou explain the screen, deck, or page you want, or point at a codebase or Figma file.
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Step 2GenerateClaude builds an interactive HTML and CSS prototype from your description.
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Step 3RefineYou adjust it through conversation, comments, direct edits, or sliders.
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Step 4ShipExport to Canva, PDF, PPTX, or HTML, or hand it to Claude Code to build.

It is not image generation

This is the most common confusion, so it is worth stating plainly. Claude Design makes interface and document layouts as code. It does not generate photographs, illustrations, or artwork. Claude has no native text-to-image model. If you need pixels, use ChatGPT or a dedicated diffusion model such as Stable Diffusion . The full distinction is covered in Claude vs ChatGPT .

Which subscription you need

Claude Design is included in all paid Claude plans. Usage counts toward your plan’s limits, and a full design or deck uses more of the limit than a typical message.

  • Pro (about 19 EUR per month, listed at 20 US dollars) and Max (about 92 or 185 EUR per month, listed at 100 or 200 US dollars): full access in claude.ai.
  • Team: available to members.
  • Enterprise: available, but off by default. An administrator enables it in the organization settings before the team can use it.

The Claude product family

Claude Design is one of several products built on the same models. They differ mainly in where they run and what they produce.

Where it livesWhat it is forPlan needed
Claude CodeTerminal and IDEsEditing, running, and shipping codePro, Max, Team Premium, or API
Claude Designclaude.ai (Anthropic Labs)Designing UI and documents as HTMLPro, Max, Team, Enterprise
Claude CoworkClaude app (desktop, and since September 2026 web and mobile)Autonomous multi-step knowledge workPaid plans (Pro and Max first for the merged app)
Claude apps and APIWeb, mobile, desktop, APIChat, analysis, building on the modelFree and up

When not to use it

  • You need a photograph or artwork. Claude Design makes layouts, not pixels. Use ChatGPT or Stable Diffusion .
  • You want production-grade code from day one. Claude Design produces a prototype; pass it to Claude Code for a real implementation.
  • You only need a quick mockup sketch. A plain Claude chat with an artifact may be enough without the full design surface.

Further reading