This Claude Design workflow works for me - usage consumption is low/zero.
tl;dr To get optimal use of Claude Design and avoid hitting the weekly limits, I never continue a conversation past the "Token Warning" limit.
For the last 2 weeks until yesterday, I was operating in this disappointing mode with Claude Design where I had a lot of UI/UX stuff I wanted to improve, and a usage budget that would tank to zero within one day. I started to think "Ok, you can do one of these big UI/UX improvements a week, then you just need to hold on the next until the usage resets next Saturday... just go work on non-UI stuff". As of today I think I have a grip on things, and I'm no longer disappointed.
I've landed on a workflow that allows me to use Claude Design without rate limiting effects kicking in. I'm on the $200 Claude Max plan. I wish I had understood this right away (maybe its in the docs... I should probably read them).
The key is in that warning message that says something like "Start a new chat to save on tokens". From my recent experience, if you keep talking in the same session after that warning appears, you are now consuming your Claude Design available usage. Before that, you weren't.
Here's the context behind how I landed on this workflow:
I started using the tool about 2 weeks ago. The first thing I did was point it at my github repo (a microSaaS I'm building... Its a fairly simple app, but the code is not a tiny/trivial amount). I forget the exact flow, but I ended up reaching a point where I had a "Design System" captured in Claude Design. This design system included various html files that showed my screens, UI palette, etc.. I'll share a screenshot of the current Design System state down below. Getting the hang of browsing the Claude Design UI, finding specific renders.etc. was tricky, but you get the hang of knowing where different html files end up.
I was impressed with what it could comprehend from my code. There was some opportunity to tweak/approve different assets which I mostly accepted as is. Then I just started talking to it about fairly significant UI/UX rework. Like "New User Onboarding", and "Critical Dashboard X". I loved what it was showing me (even if the overall UI/scaffolding is a bit janky). Those token warning messages would come up, but I'd just keep typing anyway. I guess I thought the warning was more about "Hey, things will get stupider if you keep cramming more context in"... not "Hey, from here forward you are consuming your usage.... I suggest you start a new thread to avoid this".
I was getting frustrated by how constraining this was (with the $200 Max plan, I'm never out of commission in Claude Code). I started monitoring that usage bar, prompt by prompt, and this is when I noticed the bar wasn't moving from any of my current session prompts.... at that point I realized the connection between the warning message and the Usage consumption. This was a new/fresh session. My usage wasn't changing.
Since adapting to a workflow where I avoid continuing any chats beyond that warning (I just start a new chat, explain what we were doing and what files we were working on, Claude Design resumes things just fine) my usage bar hasn't budged a single %.