Designer Fund

We invest in leaders and empower them to improve the world with design.

[Luke Shiels @lukeshiels]

WE'RE HIRING AT @interfere_ !

There's many open roles - the space is inevitable, and the opportunity is there for the taking. If you're opinionated, never sacrifice form or function, and feel like your ability has more to offer than the agent granted to you allows - we should chat.

https://t.co/QCGnxnipuz

[Stephen Haney @stephenhaney]

Good morning!

The Pen Tool is live in Paper

Draw shapes, generate SVGs, or vectorize images, and edit the points and paths.

Paper uses real SVGs so exports are 1:1, no surprises.

The new SVG workflow: create → refine → ship.

Try it out! And show us what you draw.

[Bitrig @BitrigApp]

Bitrig now lets you select to edit elements in the App Preview.

Spend less time describing what's on the screen. Just point directly at the parts of your interface you want to change.

[Ben Blumenrose @benblumenrose]

“You have to change an airline ticket. So much movement. A billion kilometers of hellhounds burning with the ferocity of nuclear Armageddon sit between you and completing that task with the airline” - @craigmod

Well @FDavidsonT and the team behind Odessia has decided its time to give everyone access to the world's greatest travel agent and reduce that pain millions of times over.

Congrats Francis on today's launch!

[Francis Davidson @FDavidsonT]

Meet Odessia.

She plans and books entire trips in one conversation.

Apparently, she's the goddess of travel.

[Edward Kim @edawerd]

Meet Gusto Cofounder: An AI teammate that already knows your business and actually does the work.

Most AI just answers questions. This runs payroll, flags compliance deadlines, handles time-off requests, and works over text or Slack.

Because every founder deserves a cofounder.

[Designer Fund @designerfund]

Read the full report: https://t.co/Urg6fD53c2

Featuring learnings from 25+ in-depth interviews and perspectives from teams at Anthropic, Framer, Linear, Notion, Shopify, Sierra, and Stripe on how AI is changing design workflows, tooling, and teams.

[Designer Fund @designerfund]

As software becomes easier to produce, what happens to design?

We surveyed 900+ designers across 40+ countries and found that many designers are moving beyond interfaces and into systems - building internal tools, helping teammates create fully functional prototypes, and expanding the creative capacity of entire organizations.

[Framer @framer]

We partnered with @designerfund on the AI in Design Report 2026 to see how designers are evolving their tools, craft, and teams with AI. Get the full report below.

[Hunter Thompson @hunterthompson]

Super rad to be quoted on the @designerfund AI in Design 2026 report!

Please read it top to bottom if you have time. So many nuanced & compelling takes that I wish more people would understand

[Eliza Burenok @BurenokEliza]

I’ve just finished reading a new report on the state of AI in design by @designerfund. Top designers shared their best practices, discoveries, excitement, and fears about AI. Definitely worth your time.

https://t.co/fBzdHq9IqA

[Karri Saarinen @karrisaarinen]

A grounded report. Ben interviewed design practitioners who had more nuanced takes than the hype you often see around AI.

Takes on how AI helps design, where it doesn’t. Very much in the spirit of design: there isn’t a single right way.

I hope company leaders read this

[Matt MacQueen @bluemonday]

A highlight of the year, every year. Diggin in

[Wayne Fan @wwayneee]

It's here and it's gorgeous! ✨

Thanks for having us @designerfund and all the cat herding @robynxpark and @benblumenrose had to do...

[Kris Puckett @krispuckett]

One of the biggest reasons I love being at @stripe is getting to learn from and work for leaders who get it.

Epic start to the @designerfund State of AI

[Steve Vassallo @vassallo]

X says design is dead.
The data says otherwise.

In partnership with @designerfund, we surveyed 900 designers in tech and interviewed design leaders at companies like @AnthropicAI, @stripe, @linear, and more.

Here's what we found.

Designers are doing more, owning more, and shipping more than they were a year ago.

Half of all designers - ICs, founders, and design leaders - have shipped AI-generated code to production. The question is no longer should designers code. It is when and how.

Designers who have leaned into AI are 2x more likely to feel creative, confident, and capable. The bar is higher and those who are experimenting are the ones clearing it.

The AI toolkit more than doubled in a year. Designers used 3 AI tools in 2025. They are using 7 now and some are even building their own.

Inside the report you’ll find:

- The top 7 AI tools designers are using in 2026
- The 2 new skills design leaders are screening for this year
- How to build a culture that makes designers 2x as creative and capable

Huge thanks to @benblumenrose, @robynxpark and the Designer Fund team for driving this.

Read the full report below.

[robyn park @robynxpark]

we just launched AI in Design 2026.

over the last few months, we've talked to dozens of design leaders + ICs, trying to make sense of how AI is changing the way design work gets done.

the result: an 18,000-word report built from 900+ survey responses across 60+ countries and dozens of qualitative interviews, making it one of the largest research efforts to date on design and AI.

[Jackie B @jackieberardo]

Today, @designerfund launched our 2026 AI in Design report (stateofaidesign . com) with @FoundationCap, alongside partners @AnthropicAI, @NotionHQ, @framer, @linear, @stripe, Shopify, and Sierra.

X said design is dead. The data says design is different.

[Ben Blumenrose @benblumenrose]

Our 2026 Design in AI Report is now live!

This report is the culmination of thousands of people hours and many late nights to create what we believe is the most comprehensive, well-researched report capturing and synthesizing the state of Design + AI today.

While we used AI in many areas, a report like this still required deep thinking, grit, and humans coming together to do what they do best.

The final report spans nearly 20k words covering the survey results of over 900 people paired with dozens of qualitative interviews.

Over the coming months we will also release 7 beautiful case studies showing how top design teams are working on the ground featuring designers at @AnthropicAI, @framer, @linear, @NotionHQ, @Shopify, @SierraPlatform, and @stripe.

This work is a true labor of love to help guide a design community we hold so dear.

Link in the comments and please let us know what you think. Your feedback helps us shape how we will evolve this work over the coming years...

[Designer Fund @designerfund]

AI in Design 2026 is out today.

Our second annual report explores how design tools, craft, and teams are evolving in the age of AI.

Built from 900+ survey responses across 60 countries, 25+ in-depth interviews, and case studies coming soon.

See it here: https://t.co/Urg6fD5B1A