AI Can Build Screens. But Who’s Building the Experience?

At Crazydes, we have worked with dozens of ambitious founders—from scrappy SaaS teams to fast-growing fintechs—and we are seeing the same thing again and again: AI helps you move fast, but it is still you who needs to steer. We are more than happy to share our take on how to lead with design when AI is doing more of the doing. Read on.

Founders often ask us: “Is it okay if we start with an AI layout?”

Absolutely. But don’t stop there.

Treat every AI-generated asset—whether it is a wireframe, a color palette, or microcopy—as the first word, not the final say.

Here is how we recommend using AI intentionally —

• Use it to explore divergent design ideas quickly

• Let it help you identify layout patterns—but test them with real users

• Use AI for structure, then refine tone, hierarchy, and motion for emotion

• Layer in your product’s personality after generation—not before

You don’t need to replace your instincts. You need to amplify them with better drafts.

AI doesn’t understand why your users dropped off in week two. It doesn’t know the hesitation behind clicking “Start Trial.” It doesn’t see frustration when someone’s credit card fails for the third time in a buggy form. AI works from patterns. And your product needs empathy. That’s the gap.

Real design starts with listening. And the founders who win are the ones who go beyond the prompt and into the problem. They ask better questions, read between lines, and understand what users feel—not just what they click.

Products are living systems. Users move across states, devices, and emotions. AI is great at creating atomic screens. But experiences don’t happen atomically. They unfold moment by moment and decision by decision. A good product doesn’t just feel consistent. It feels caring.

At Crazydes, we often talk about "calm UX"—interfaces that never shout, never confuse, or trap. Calm UX isn’t something AI gives you by default. It comes from slowing down, editing and feeling your way through friction. That is design leadership—and it is still human.

It is easy to generate a dashboard. It is harder to design the right empty state when that dashboard has no data yet. It is even harder to build the kind of flow that makes a user think, “This just makes sense.”

That is what great UX does. It anticipates, connects, and makes people feel smart. And that experience is not something you can get out of a template or AI draft. It is something you build layer by layer through thoughtful onboarding, clear microcopy, respectful friction, and intentional pacing.

Great design is invisible. And AI, for now, still doesn’t know how to disappear.

We get it when you say that speed matters. You might be building an MVP, talking to investors, pushing weekly releases. AI promises to keep things moving. But speed without clarity often leads to rework. And when design happens too quickly, it rarely leaves space for intention.

Too many AI-generated designs solve for “done,” not for “understood.” We have seen teams launch onboarding flows in hours only to realize users weren’t making it past the second screen. This is because the flow was visually correct, but emotionally disconnected.

AI doesn't know when to pause. But users feel the difference when you do.

AI can predict what comes next in a user flow. But it can’t predict what feels right in that moment. Let’s say your product offers AI-generated business insights. A bot can design the dashboard. But what happens when the insight feels off? What copy reassures the user? What does the interface say when there is no data to show? That is where experience design becomes emotional design. You are not just showing metrics. You are building trust in the data, in your brand, and in the outcome you are promising.

AI helps build structure. But you still need to build the emotional scaffolding around it.

There is a common misconception that AI tools “handle the design,” and what is left is just branding or finishing touches. In reality, design is how you guide users through complexity. It is also how you reduce cognitive load and how you help them feel confident in what they are doing.

A screen isn’t finished when it looks clean. It is finished when it communicates clearly, and that only happens when someone advocates for the user’s journey. That someone is still you.

It is “Who’s responsible for making sure this feels right?”

Your user doesn’t care if your site was built with Figma AI or a million hours of late-night design sprints. They care whether they trust it, whether they feel like they belong, and whether they know what to do next.

The founder’s or designer’s role hasn’t gone away—it has just shifted. You are not designing screens. You are designing confidence, understanding, curiosity and trust. And that is something no AI can automate.

Use AI. But build from insight—not from output.

The smartest teams in 2025 are using AI, absolutely. But they are not stopping at what the AI gives them. They are refining, humanizing, reworking, listening, and editing. They treat AI like a junior partner—useful, fast, occasionally impressive—but never fully in charge.

Because even in a world of generated everything, real experience still needs a real point of view.

So, What Should Founders Do Differently?

Here is what we recommend if you are building with AI today:

• Listen before you prompt: Talk to users. Write down their real frustrations. Let that shape your prompts.

• Refine with emotion: Once AI gives you a layout, ask: What does this moment feel like?

• Focus on transitions: AI handles screens. You handle the space between them. That is where confusion—or magic—lives.

• Build your product’s voice: Don’t let your app sound like ChatGPT. Make it sound like you.

AI may draw the frame. You still paint the picture.

In a world where the internet is increasingly generated, people will seek out products that feel real.
Not flashy. Not perfect. Real.

And real comes from craft. From editing and having a point of view. AI doesn’t have one—but you do.
Prioritise building fast, using the tools, and moving smart.
But also keep asking: Does this feel like us?
And more importantly: Does this feel right to the people we’re building for?

Because design isn’t just a job to finish.
It is a promise to the people who use what you build.

Want to turn AI speed into meaningful product experience?
Let’s talk. We’ll help you combine the best of both so you can move fast and design with heart.