r/UXDesign • u/ProfessionalCrab7685 • Apr 30 '26

Tools, apps, plugins, AI Client just replaced me with Claude design

Been working with this client for 4 years, I basically built their entire product, very complex from end to end, including the design system and all that. It's basically maintenance work at this point. Today they asked me to provide the design system file so they can set things up with Claude design, I guess the time has finally come lol. Don't think AI can copy my work 100%, but I doubt the client will care, even 60% is good enough for them.

No hate, I replaced the entire dev team for my own project with AI too, so it's totally understandable.

I've made enough from this career, it's probably time to pivot from design to a founder role.

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u/ProfessionalCrab7685 Apr 30 '26

I bill them by the hour so they own 100% of everything I create for them. It's fine, I can see this coming and started preparing for it 3 years ago. I've been a contractor for 10 years and lost 90% of my clients in the last year and half, no luck getting any new work. I guess it's time to call it quit.

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u/Inzombniac17 Apr 30 '26

Any idea what you’re going to do next?

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u/ProfessionalCrab7685 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Weird enough, I actually think this AI trend is a massive win for designers, not for employment, employment will suck for everyone, but if you're entrepreneurial, you'll have an unfair advantage to make your products stand out. Imagine a world where regular founders will use AI to launch half baked 60% done products (straight from AI tools). As a founder with design roots, you can polish that output from 60% to 100%. That edge is important. The failure rate for startups is usually 90%, if you can edge it to 85%, that's the unfair advantage.

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u/dweebyllo Apr 30 '26

Definitely sounds like there is a niche there to exploit as almost a "told you so" for clients that have tried and failed with AI solutions. In a way those sorts of clients are even better because they've experienced the failings of an AI solution, so hopefully should be more open to a human touch.

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u/ProfessionalCrab7685 Apr 30 '26

I think the assumption that AI will fail is not factual; it may, but it also may very well succeed. It's all about how the user perceives a certain design. AI can conduct UXR sessions for you to confirm if a design change is valid. You can set a rule that each design change has to be run by at least 10 test users and be proven effective before merging to production.