Design Thursday #97
A weekly recap of everything you need to know about tools, events, guidelines and design in general.
Midjourney V8 Alpha
Midjourney released an early alpha of V8. It's much better at following detailed instructions, generates images around 5x faster, and has improved text rendering when you wrap text in quotes. The interface also got updates: a grid mode and settings moved to a sidebar.
Google Stitch: vibe design
Google is repositioning Stitch as an AI-native design canvas. The idea is that instead of starting with a wireframe, you describe what you want to achieve or drop in references and the agent takes it from there.
The canvas got a full redesign with infinite layout, a new design agent that reasons across your whole project, and a DESIGN.md file to export and import design rules across projects and tools. Static designs can also be turned into interactive prototypes instantly, and Stitch connects to the rest of your workflow via MCP and direct exports.
Code to Figma, across more dev tools
The Figma MCP server now supports two-way workflows with Cursor, Warp, Factory, Firebender, and Augment. This allows you to push rendered UI to the canvas as editable frames, then pull design context back into code when you're ready.
LottieFiles updates
Prompt to Vector 2.0 now generates editable vector assets from a text prompt inside the same tool where you animate and export. New additions include a Scene Mode for full illustrated compositions, post-generation editing so you can iterate without starting over, and reference image input where colors get extracted automatically.
Read more about Prompt to Vector 2.0
There are two LottieFiles updates this week. The Keyframe Optimizer lets you clean up cluttered timelines by selecting keyframes, right-clicking, and choosing Simplify Keyframes. You get a real-time preview before applying, with a quick mode or advanced controls for custom tolerance.
Read more about Keyframe Optimizer
Webflow in Cursor's plugin marketplace
Webflow is now available as a plugin in Cursor. Install it with `/add-plugin webflow` and you get the Webflow MCP server and 10 agent skills in one go, covering bulk CMS updates, WCAG 2.1 audits, asset audits, and safe publishing with confirmation steps.
Read more about the Cursor plugin
Jitter custom text effects
Jitter now supports custom text effects you can build and reuse across files. Select a text layer, go to the Animate tab, choose Custom under In or Out, and define the movement, timing, scale, and opacity from there.
Read more about custom text effects
Framer Analytics updates
Framer added custom distribution for A/B tests, which lets you roll out a variant to a smaller audience before going wider. A/B testing for CMS pages is also now supported, and there's extended history for Pro plan sites.
Sketch web inspector updates
Sketch improved the web app's layer list and inspector to better match the Mac app. The layer list now shows the right icons, dimmed hidden layers, and lets you right-click directly in the list for the contextual menu. Frames now show Appearance, Corners, and box model properties in the inspector, and you can copy a link to your exact canvas position to share with someone.
Claude updates
Claude can now generate diagrams, interactive tools, and visualizations right inside the conversation, so instead of just getting text back you might see a chart or flowchart built on the fly.
They also launched Dispatch in Cowork, a way to assign Claude a task, step away, and come back to finished work. It keeps one continuous conversation going across desktop and mobile.
Josh Puckett on crafting interfaces with uncommon care
Dive Club published a conversation with Josh Puckett, designer at Wealthfront and Dropbox, who recently launched Interface Craft, a library of everything he's learned about designing with uncommon care. He covers his design principles, morphing strategies for micro-interactions, and how he uses storyboards to collaborate with AI.
Layers 2025 talks
Two talks from Layers Portugal 2025 were published this week, both worth your time. Rui Sousa Pedro breaks down how to connect UX metrics to what the business actually cares about, not NPS, but metrics that link your work to real outcomes. Marta Conde talks about leading from the shadows: taking ownership without the title, supporting teams without micromanaging, and making invisible work visible.