/ Design Systems + AI
/ Design Systems + AI
/ Design Systems + AI
/ Design Systems + AI
Build through shipping, not before it
Most design systems are built for people to read. I build them so an AI can read them too. Same source of truth for the designer in Figma and the agent writing code, so nobody's translating from a spec and guessing.
That's the rare part, and most people are still hand-waving about it. So I have a few prototypes here you can open.
Build through shipping, not before it
Most design systems are built for people to read. I build them so an AI can read them too. Same source of truth for the designer in Figma and the agent writing code, so nobody's translating from a spec and guessing.
That's the rare part, and most people are still hand-waving about it. So I have a few prototypes here you can open.
Build through shipping, not before it
Most design systems are built for people to read. I build them so an AI can read them too. Same source of truth for the designer in Figma and the agent writing code, so nobody's translating from a spec and guessing.
That's the rare part, and most people are still hand-waving about it. So I have a few prototypes here you can open.
Mortgage Calculator
Real inputs, real math, held to the same bar as anything I'd ship. AI didn't lower the bar. It just moved where I spend my time.
Mortgage Calculator
Real inputs, real math, held to the same bar as anything I'd ship. AI didn't lower the bar. It just moved where I spend my time.
Mortgage Calculator
Real inputs, real math, held to the same bar as anything I'd ship. AI didn't lower the bar. It just moved where I spend my time.
Example of a fully functional calculator prototype I built with Claude Code
San Marzano: a Figma-to-AI design system
San Marzano is a small, opinionated system built so a designer in Figma and an AI agent work from the same source of truth. The tokens and components aren't just documented for people to read. They're structured so an agent can consume them and ship on-brand UI without a spec in between.
Open it. Look at how the tokens are organized, then look at what the AI builds from them. That's the parity I keep talking about, made walkable.
I built this site the same way. Designed and coded it myself, with Claude as a collaborator.
San Marzano: a Figma-to-AI design system
San Marzano is a small, opinionated system built so a designer in Figma and an AI agent work from the same source of truth. The tokens and components aren't just documented for people to read. They're structured so an agent can consume them and ship on-brand UI without a spec in between.
Open it. Look at how the tokens are organized, then look at what the AI builds from them. That's the parity I keep talking about, made walkable.
I built this site the same way. Designed and coded it myself, with Claude as a collaborator.
San Marzano: a Figma-to-AI design system
San Marzano is a small, opinionated system built so a designer in Figma and an AI agent work from the same source of truth. The tokens and components aren't just documented for people to read. They're structured so an agent can consume them and ship on-brand UI without a spec in between.
Open it. Look at how the tokens are organized, then look at what the AI builds from them. That's the parity I keep talking about, made walkable.
I built this site the same way. Designed and coded it myself, with Claude as a collaborator.
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Placeholder; shipping soon
San Marzano, shipping soon
How I think about it
Good systems get pulled out of real product work, not dreamed up in a library. They spread because they kill pain, not because someone mandates them. AI's the same. Structure the tokens for agents and they'll use them. Don't, and you get the same old drift, just faster.
What AI hasn't touched is the craft. It's great at generating options. It's no good at knowing which one's right, or why a choice bites you six months later. That's still the job.
I built this site this way too. Designed it, coded it, with Claude as a collaborator.
How I think about it
Good systems get pulled out of real product work, not dreamed up in a library. They spread because they kill pain, not because someone mandates them. AI's the same. Structure the tokens for agents and they'll use them. Don't, and you get the same old drift, just faster.
What AI hasn't touched is the craft. It's great at generating options. It's no good at knowing which one's right, or why a choice bites you six months later. That's still the job.
I built this site this way too. Designed it, coded it, with Claude as a collaborator.
How I think about it
Good systems get pulled out of real product work, not dreamed up in a library. They spread because they kill pain, not because someone mandates them. AI's the same. Structure the tokens for agents and they'll use them. Don't, and you get the same old drift, just faster.
What AI hasn't touched is the craft. It's great at generating options. It's no good at knowing which one's right, or why a choice bites you six months later. That's still the job.
I built this site this way too. Designed it, coded it, with Claude as a collaborator.
©2026 Drew Marshall. Site designed and built by yours truly (+ Claude)
Type set in Monument, Mori, and Fraktion by Mat Desjardins and Pangram Pangram,
Slow Death by Ayyara Letterindo, IM Fell English by Igino Marini
Grid lines
Dark mode
Metal mode
.
©2026 Drew Marshall. Site designed and built by yours truly (+ Claude)
Type set in Monument, Mori, and Fraktion by Mat Desjardins and Pangram Pangram,
Slow Death by Ayyara Letterindo, IM Fell English by Igino Marini
Grid lines
Dark mode
Metal mode
.
©2026 Drew Marshall. Site designed and built by yours truly (+ Claude)
Type set in Monument, Mori, and Fraktion by Mat Desjardins and Pangram Pangram,
Slow Death by Ayyara Letterindo, IM Fell English by Igino Marini
Grid lines
Dark mode
Metal mode
.
©2026 Drew Marshall. Site designed and built by yours truly (+ Claude)
Type set in Monument, Mori, and Fraktion by Mat Desjardins and Pangram Pangram,
Slow Death by Ayyara Letterindo, IM Fell English by Igino Marini
Grid lines
Dark mode
Metal mode
.