Thanks for your interest!
Your report will be emailed to you. You can also access it below or here in Figma.
Insight highlights
AI is reshaping how designers work—but not in the ways you might expect. From solo workflows to strategic design moats, the landscape is shifting fast. These are the signals worth watching.
01
AI is strongest early on
Designers are finding the most value from AI during the early phases of their workflow—brainstorming, layout exploration, early prototyping. AI helps generate ideas quickly, reduce repetitive tasks, and get to something concrete faster. That initial momentum means less time staring at a blank canvas and more time applying taste, context, and nuance. But as work moves toward execution, AI’s limitations show up. It can get you to 60%, but not the last 40%, the polish and thoughtful details that distinguish great products.
It’s completely reversed my design process. Instead of agonizing over getting started, I use AI to generate a bunch of rough directions quickly, then spend my energy on refinement and ensuring quality. It's more efficient and honestly more enjoyable.
The tools are fragmented and ever-changing. You’re constantly learning the tools instead of perfecting the process.
02
Tools are fragmented
Designers today are cobbling together makeshift AI stacks—using ChatGPT for idea generation, Claude for research summaries, Figma for layout, and Loom for feedback. But these tools rarely connect. They're not built for real product context or end-to-end collaboration, and switching between them creates unnecessary friction. Designers want tools that integrate into existing workflows, understand design systems, and support multi-player collaboration across design, engineering, and product.
03
Self-taught, not company-taught
Nearly all designers are teaching themselves how to use AI. They’re learning through trial and error, social media, and peer recommendations—not through structured training or company support. Without formal enablement, knowledge remains siloed. Teams reinvent the wheel instead of building on shared learning. Companies that invest in practical education and experimentation will move faster—and create more confident, capable teams.
There’s a learning curve, and only companies that truly prioritize education and testing are seeing real benefits.
It’s still a solo story. Designers are playing with AI at home, but don’t bring it into production.
Katie Dill, Head of design, stripe
04
Collaboration is the missing layer
Most AI tools are still designed for individuals, not teams. They work well for personal exploration, but fall short when it’s time to coordinate across stakeholders. Designers told us they often experiment with AI alone, at night or outside the core workflow, because it's easier than trying to integrate it into how their team works. Only a small percentage of designers say AI has improved team collaboration. Until tools support shared context, versioning, and structured feedback, that gap will persist.
05
Startups are moving fastest
Early-stage startups are adopting AI more than twice as fast as public companies. With fewer process constraints and a bias toward speed, they’re able to build AI into their workflows from the ground up. Instead of layering AI onto legacy systems, they’re using it to define how work gets done. That said, even among startups, fewer than half are fully committed to AI workflows. The opportunity is still wide open—for both nimble startups and larger companies willing to rethink process and policy.
Startups can start from scratch and ask, ‘What’s the fastest path from idea to shipped?’ Larger orgs have to unlearn established ways of working first.
The real advantage isn’t the model—it’s the interface. Great design makes intelligence accessible to everyone.
06
Design is becoming a moat
Products built around AI are often complex, probabilistic, and unfamiliar. Design bridges that gap. It makes the power of AI accessible, understandable, and trustworthy. Startups that get this right—those that prioritize thoughtful UX—are reaching revenue goals faster than their SaaS predecessors. Great design doesn’t just improve usability; it drives engagement, enables better data loops, and strengthens the product’s core intelligence over time.
07
Human creativity still defines great work
AI has raised the floor. It’s easier than ever to produce “pretty good” work. But the ceiling—the ability to make work that resonates, differentiates, and endures—remains human. As more tools generate the same slick UI, designers are finding that their role isn’t shrinking—it’s becoming more strategic. In a sea of sameness, originality stands out. Designers who pair taste and storytelling with technical fluency will be the ones shaping the next era—not just responding to it.
The first 60%? AI can help. But the final 40%—brand consistency, interactions, emotion—that’s still ours to shape.
Why we wrote this
Since 2014, Foundation Capital and Designer Fund have partnered around a shared conviction: design has the power to create 100x-better products and businesses that endure. We invest in founders who also hold this belief, often before there's revenue or even a line of code. This year, we joined forces again to investigate AI’s impact on every dimension of design: learn what tools are being adopted, how design work is evolving, and where teams are hitting roadblocks. This report is the result of that exploration. Whether you’re a designer, a founder, or just curious about what’s coming, we hope it offers clarity, insight, and direction.
Come see what we found,
Steve Vassallo, General Partner at Foundation Capital
Ben Blumenrose, Managing Partner at Designer Fund