Designer & illustrator for tech. I post UI, illustrations and what I learn designing with AI agents. Building @useBuddy / Visual designer at @kargulstudio

Poland | Europe | World
Joined January 2010
Pawel Olek retweeted
Animating UI with Figma MCP and Claude is wild. Your GUI + prompt and we have animated UI ready. Claude uses Figma Motion to do it. It adds the animations right in my Figma file, so I can still see and edit everything in Figma after.
7
2
31
1,419
Replying to @peduarte
I am confident there will be as many designers replaced as developers. At the very least. If we look at the numbers, 90%+ of designers have not done any interesting work, they existed because they were able to execute based on design systems. We needed them because they knew how to use complex apps and because they had some basic understanding of design rules. The same goes for developers, the vast majority of developers existed because we needed them to write boring code to get something that is 100% figured out to work properly. There was nothing else asked of them. They are a means to an end the same way most designers are a means to an end. There are only three ways now as designer: 1. Double down entirely on your personality, taste, skills and what makes YOU unique to work with (there will be a small percentage who will be able to do this) 2. Acquire new technical skills, take over the role as designer & developer & product person and become useful to an industry that is seeking exactly this type of person. 3. Start dancing on TikTok, YouTube, IG etc.
42
13
15
315
30,136
Pawel Olek retweeted
Stop using your most expensive model for every decision. In our Minesweeper experiment (open-source code below), JEV crushed every other model we tested on speed and cost. JEV: 8s / ~$0.003 Fable 5.1: 100s / ~$2.41 Astra: 128s / ~$8.75 Grok 4.6: 158s / ~$0.55 Where would you put JEV to work in your company?
10
7
4
38
171,551
Pawel Olek retweeted
Figma MCP + Claude. New concept for @useBuddy, ready to ship. It's never been this fast.
2
3
24
814
Pawel Olek retweeted
I have been thinking about whether to comment on this. Not clear if Gal is serious, rage baiting, etc. Whatever the case, it has spread enough in the design community that I want to share some thoughts. The psychological journey people go through with AI is quite fascinating to me. A new model launches, people think the world has changed, they sometimes have an existential crisis, then they play with the model, they understand its strengths and limitations and then they settle down. A few weeks later, the cycle repeats. On top of this, even before AI, designers have often shown insecurity and imposter syndrome. There are probably many reasons for this. First, before ~2010 design wasn't valued by the tech industry in the way it is today. Second, the people attracted to working in the field of design are often very open to new ideas and have high empathy. Third, there is no "one path" to working as a designer and designer backgrounds are often pretty random. Ironically, despite the insecurity + imposter syndrome so many designers feel, design is more important than ever. I truly believe this. And yes, I have an incentive to believe this. But just think about it... the logic couldn't be more clear. More design is entering the world, the attention economy is real and therefore creativity / design / point of view is how you will stand out. Your brand, marketing, product design, moments of delight and overall customer journey must be excellent. Some companies already get this and are fighting wild battles over design talent. Other companies are still figuring it out. Everyone will get there and it will be obvious in retrospect. This isn't a new trend with AI. It is a trend that we've seen over the last decade. Designers used to complain about not having a seat at the table. Now designers have a seat at the table. And many of the businesses I speak with are pulling from their design bench when looking for new leaders for their business... they know that design thinking and the design process is what they need to adopt everywhere to win. I'm not saying that every stakeholder gets it. But so many are trying to learn right now. Designers need to do more than create great work, they have to spend a lot more effort educating. Showing work can also trigger anxiety. Sometimes the best solution to a design challenge is the first thing you think of. And other times you have to explore for quite a long time to come up with something great. Inputs to a design process might include things that feel like traditional office work and are easy to point to... reading docs, talking with teammates, formal research, etc. Inputs might also include a walk in the park, an interesting dream you had the night before, a good song you listened to on the radio during your commute, a painting from the 1800's or all sorts of other cultural / emotional input. In summary, I've never been more confident in the role of design and impact design can have. I wish designers felt the same confidence. This is the moment to be more bold, to take more creative risk, to double down on the power of design. Everyone is on their own journey, and there are lots of fascinating ways to move through life, so if Gal is serious about "quitting design" then I wish him the best in his adventures ahead. But I hope if others follow they do it because there are other things they are so excited about spending time on vs fear of AI.
It’s over. I’m quitting design. A client of mine just created a logo with Fable 5, and the result left me speechless. It understood the brand story, values, audience, strategy, and turned all of it into a smart, minimal symbol. A genuinely brilliant concept. The kind of idea that captures everything at once. Something I honestly don’t think I would have come up with myself. And it didn’t just nail the idea. It executed the design pixel-perfectly. So I raise the white flag. My skepticism about AI’s ability to do great design is officially gone. There, I said it: AI beat me at design. Now that AI finally took my job, I can peacefully quit and dedicate my life to studying the only thing it may never achieve: human consciousness and the pathways to God. Good luck everyone.
154
259
80
2,170
610,875
Pawel Olek retweeted
Responsive card system 📏
16
8
265
8,091
Pawel Olek retweeted
Sidebar interactions built in @claudeai No Figma. Just prompts and way too much fun.
2
1
64
4,752
Pawel Olek retweeted
Running a quick experiment: Claude + Figma via @html_to_design plugin. I'm testing to see if this workflow can actually speed things up. I tried it on some social media banners, and the results are pretty interesting! 🚀 Are you experimenting with AI workflows in design?
4
1
1
14
1,225
Pawel Olek retweeted
GitHub Actions here, external runners there, just use Buddy Works. buddy.works/
3
16
264,293
Pawel Olek retweeted
I created a few Minecraft-inspired illustrations. I have the pleasure of working with a great team at @kargulstudio 🤜✨🤛
9
1
40
2,249
Pawel Olek retweeted
Details 👀
A little warm-up... VU panel made in @figma
7
3
1
42
3,017
Pawel Olek retweeted
UI details 👀
3
1
19
1,156
Pawel Olek retweeted
More experiments with colors
This quoted post is unavailable.
1
1
14
1,448
Pawel Olek retweeted
Simple product illustration
1
1
13
1,200
Pawel Olek retweeted
A small set of character illustrations from my latest project, made in @figma Draw
7
3
55
3,695
Pawel Olek retweeted
Card_02 Illustration created in @figma
16
5
1
222
12,837
Pawel Olek retweeted
Replying to @figma
@figma gave us a great tool. Thanks to Figma Draw, I can move my entire workflow into one place 🫶
5
4
90
2,602
Pawel Olek retweeted
My layout library is growing! Quick iterations in @figma often turn one idea into many. This collection helps me build @framer sites faster than ever.
1
25
1,768
And you can get your JAPANESE GRADIENTS [ FOR UI ]™ on FIGMA for FREE — 9000+ DOWNLOADS and counting figma.com/@nuevotokyo — Licensed under CC BY 4.0
It’s not about how you do it. It’s about WHY you do it. — JAPANESE GRADIENTS [FOR UI]™ 2020—2025 It's an ongoing R&D project series by the reductionist design studio Nuevo. Tokyo™, exploring the elegance and adaptability of Japan’s traditional colours within today’s digital context. Guided by a deep respect for the craftsmanship and spirit of Japanese woodblock printing, our intention has never been to merely replicate technique, but to understand its essence. We’ve dedicated ourselves to studying how these methods were originally conceived, produced, and experienced. This project seeks to honour that legacy while asking how such tradition can translate to our time, in our tools, without losing its soul. Through extensive research and numerous experiments, we’ve investigated the origins, symbolism, and unique sensibilities of the Japanese colours. The result is an evolving interpretation: curations of colour swatches and gradient compositions designed for modern user interfaces—bridging analogue depth and digital clarity. Our aim is not just to preserve, but to reimagine—making these colours accessible and meaningful to a global audience, while carrying forward the reverence owed to the artists and artisans who came before us.
6
35
2
467
43,689