Figma Weave, studied properly: campaign variants from your own frame, on a separate bill
A Figma frame can now feed a Weave AI workflow with its fonts and layout intact. What that buys a small brand, and the second bill that comes with it.
ChatGPT Images 2.5, studied properly: edits you can point at, and grain you should check for
OpenAI's new image model lets you comment on the exact spot you want changed. What that fixes for a small brand, and the flaw testers keep finding.
Paper, studied properly: what a canvas made of HTML actually buys your agent
The design tool an agent can write to is no longer a category of one. What Paper's HTML canvas really changes, and what the head-to-head found.
Midjourney V8.2, studied properly: bolder by default, and an editor finally in testing
Midjourney's third V8 step this year. What the bolder default gives a working designer, what still routes through V7, and the editor that arrived yesterday.
DESIGN.md, studied properly: the markdown file that keeps AI-built screens on-brand
Google open-sourced the format; the community copied every brand into it. What a DESIGN.md file actually fixes in an agent workflow, and what it cannot.
Claude Design, studied properly: what design-by-chat can and can't replace
Anthropic's design tool hit a million users in week one. We study what design-by-conversation delivers — and where the canvas pushes back.
Figma Make, studied properly: brilliant ideation, brutal credit math
The best AI ideation tool many designers have tried — with a credit meter that can eat a month's allowance in 45 minutes. Figma Make, studied properly.
Welcome to Selfmade Design Studies
Visual AI, studied properly. One AI design tool examined each week, and the design-AI news digest.