Claude Code for Designers: Add a Visual Canvas to Your AI Coding Workflow
Claude Code is amazing for building — but designers need to see, arrange, and refine visually. Onlook adds the visual layer. Design with Claude Code, refine on an infinite canvas, ship PRs. Together, they give you a complete design-to-code workflow.
The Challenge with Claude Code Alone
- Terminal-based — not a visual environment designers are used to
- Solo workflow — hard to share work-in-progress with teammates
- AI drift — raw AI generation doesn't know your design system
- No canvas — can't spatially arrange ideas or see the full picture
Onlook Solves This
- Infinite canvas — visual environment with real code running underneath
- Your real components — design with buttons, cards, layouts engineers already built
- Team collaboration — share canvas, leave spatial comments, work in real-time
- PR output — changes become real pull requests engineers can review
- AI constrained — outputs match your design system, no drift
Coming Soon: Onlook MCP for Claude Code
Use /onlook directly in Claude Code to open your UI in a visual canvas, iterate with your design system, and push changes back — all without leaving the terminal.
Workflows
Claude Code for Designers
The visual canvas your AI workflow is missing. Claude Code builds it. Onlook lets you design it.
The Challenge
Claude Code is amazing for building. But designers need to see, arrange, and refine. Together.
Terminal-based
Claude Code works in the terminal — not a visual environment designers are used to.
Solo workflow
Hard to share work-in-progress with teammates or stakeholders.
AI drift
Raw AI generation doesn't know your design system — outputs drift off-brand.
No canvas
Can't spatially arrange ideas or see the full picture at once.
The Solution
Onlook adds the visual layer. Design with Claude Code, refine on the canvas, ship PRs.
Villainterest - Product Notes
Minimalist Interior with Dramatic Lighting
Black Leather Bar Stool with Brass Accents
Spikey Ceramic Iron Metal Sculpture
Black Bar Stool Silhouette Design
Ceramic Brutalist Objects with Spikes
Brutalist Dark Glass Vase Sculpture
Golden Muted Interior with Sharp Lines
Contemporary Brutalist Interior Design
Minimalist Zig-Zag Chair Design
Minimalist Metallic Sheer Design
Lounge Chair Against Clean Wall
Metallic Chair with Brutalist Design
Living Room with Metal Furniture Design
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Metallic Brushed Metal Chair Design
Black Leather Furniture Design
Minimalist Interior with Dramatic Lighting
Black Leather Bar Stool with Brass Accents
Black Bar Stool Silhouette Design
Ceramic Brutalist Objects with Spikes
Brutalist Dark Glass Vase Sculpture
Golden Muted Interior with Sharp Lines
Contemporary Brutalist Interior Design
Minimalist Zig-Zag Chair Design
Minimalist Metallic Sheer Design
Lounge Chair Against Clean Wall
Spikey Ceramic Iron Metal Sculpture
Metallic Chair with Brutalist Design
Living Room with Metal Furniture Design
Metallic Brushed Metal Chair Design
Layers
Brand
Pages
Assets
Elements
Apps
Villainterest - Product Notes
Minimalist Interior with Dramatic Lighting
Black Leather Bar Stool with Brass Accents
Spikey Ceramic Iron Metal Sculpture
Black Bar Stool Silhouette Design
Ceramic Brutalist Objects with Spikes
Brutalist Dark Glass Vase Sculpture
Golden Muted Interior with Sharp Lines
Contemporary Brutalist Interior Design
Minimalist Zig-Zag Chair Design
Minimalist Metallic Sheer Design
Lounge Chair Against Clean Wall
Metallic Chair with Brutalist Design
Living Room with Metal Furniture Design
Metallic Brushed Metal Chair Design
Black Leather Furniture Design
Minimalist Interior with Dramatic Lighting
Black Leather Bar Stool with Brass Accents
Black Bar Stool Silhouette Design
Ceramic Brutalist Objects with Spikes
Brutalist Dark Glass Vase Sculpture
Golden Muted Interior with Sharp Lines
Contemporary Brutalist Interior Design
Minimalist Zig-Zag Chair Design
Minimalist Metallic Sheer Design
Lounge Chair Against Clean Wall
Spikey Ceramic Iron Metal Sculpture
Metallic Chair with Brutalist Design
Living Room with Metal Furniture Design
Metallic Brushed Metal Chair Design
Layers
Brand
Pages
Assets
Elements
Apps
Infinite canvas
A visual environment that feels intuitive, with real code running underneath.
Your real components
Design with the buttons, cards, and layouts your engineers already built.
Team collaboration
Share your canvas, leave spatial comments, work together in real-time.
PR output
Changes become a real pull request. Engineers review and merge.
Onlook MCP for Claude Code
Use /onlook directly in Claude Code to open your UI in a visual canvas, iterate with your design system, and push changes back — all without leaving the terminal.
Frequently asked questions
Claude Code handles the terminal and code generation. Onlook provides the visual canvas. Together, they give you a complete design-to-code workflow — Claude Code builds, Onlook lets you visually iterate and refine.
No. Onlook gives you a visual canvas where you can drag, resize, and arrange elements. The code runs underneath — you don't need to touch it unless you want to.
Yes. Onlook connects to your existing codebase and lets you design with your real components — the buttons, cards, and layouts your engineers already built.
Onlook has built-in team collaboration. Share your canvas, leave spatial comments, and work together in real-time. Changes sync to code and can be submitted as PRs.
Claude Code is terminal-based and works best for building. Onlook adds the visual layer designers need — an infinite canvas, team collaboration, and visual iteration on AI-generated UIs.
Yes. Unlike raw AI code generation, Onlook constrains AI to your existing components, colors, and tokens. This means outputs match your design system — no drift, no off-brand results.