Evolution: Claude Design vs. Pencil.dev
Hello all, I posted a week or so ago about an app I was designing with Claude Design (Original Post) I received a lot of feedback that the app looked, well, generic Claude, despite my best efforts to make it look unique. I tried other tools like impeccable to help, but nothing could overcome the original design flaws. I switched track, took a course in UX/UI design from Microsoft online, and came back to Claude with a new focus on human-centered design.
This time around, I used pencil.dev to interface with Claude code through the built in MCP server. I provided concrete examples of the styles I wanted from Mobbin, and tweaked the design and color palette manually in pencil as I went. Based on feedback I received, I focused on making it more obvious what the user should do next, rather than overwhelming them with options.
I sincerely feel the experience with pencil.dev was superior to using Claude Design, not just from the interactive process but also the outcome. The only tool pencil is missing is Figma export, but once the design is laid out in pencil it would be easy enough to re-create it in Figma for refinement, or continue to refine in pencil.
I'm interested in the communities feedback not just on the new design, but whether people feel Claude design vs. pencil.dev is meaningful enough to sway users to switch one way or another. The two-way MCP interface of pencil and claude code made making changes and then implementing them seamless. You don't have that kind of back-and-forth with Claude Design. Drop your thoughts below, feedback on the new design is also appreciated.