Claude Design Is Dead. This Free Version Just Replaced It.
No paywalls. No usage limits. Works with AI you already pay for.
🗺️ What You're Building
Open Design is an open-source interactive design canvas where you chat with an AI and it builds animated websites, app prototypes, slides, and motion graphics in real time. No usage limits. Runs on any AI model you already have access to.
⚠️ Heads up before you start: Open Design is a developer tool. There is no one-click installer. You'll need Node.js installed on your machine. If that's not for you, skip to Option A below — it's a hosted version that works in your browser with zero setup.
⚡ Setup Guide
Step 1 — Choose Your Path
Option A — Open Design Cloud (Zero Setup, Browser-Based)The easiest way to start. No installs, no terminal. Go to the official site, create an account, top up a small credit balance, and start designing immediately with GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, or DeepSeek.
Your link is at the top of this page — click it to go directly to Open Design.
Run it locally on your own machine using your own API keys. All data stays on your device.
✅ You'll know Option A worked when: You land on a canvas with a chat input and no install prompts. If you see a billing screen, add a small credit — it's pay-per-use, not a subscription.
Step 2 — Connect Your AI Model
If you chose Option A (Cloud): Select your model from the dropdown inside the canvas. Done — skip to Step 3.
If you chose Option B (Self-Hosted): You need to connect an AI agent. Pick one you already have.
- Install Claude Code from claude.ai/code
- Authenticate with your Anthropic account
- Open Design detects it automatically — no manual API key paste required
- Go to openrouter.ai → create a free account → generate an API key
- Inside Open Design → Settings → paste your OpenRouter key
- Select your model from the list
- Download and install Ollama at ollama.ai
- Pull a model:
ollama pull llama3
- Open Design detects your local Ollama instance automatically — no key required
✅ You'll know the model connection worked when: You type a message in the canvas and the AI responds without a red error banner. A red banner means the connection failed — go back and re-check your API key or agent status.
Step 3 — Start Your First Design
Click into the canvas chat and describe what you want built.
Build me a clean, modern landing page for a productivity app. Use a dark background, bold white headline, and add a subtle animated gradient in the hero section.
The AI generates it live. Keep chatting to refine it.
Make the headline bigger. Change the gradient to purple and blue. Add a CTA button that pulses.
This is the whole workflow — describe, refine, repeat. You never leave the canvas.
Step 4 — Export When You're Done
Hit Export in the top right corner.
- Animated website → exports as HTML/CSS
- Slides → exports as PDF or image set
- App prototype → exports as interactive HTML
- Motion graphics → exports as video or GIF
🏆 Top 5 Use Cases
1. 🌐 Animated Landing Pages
Build a full, live landing page with hero animations, smooth scroll sections, and CTA buttons — all from a single prompt. Export the HTML and hand it straight to a developer or drop it into Webflow.
Best for: Founders, marketers, freelancers pitching clients
2. 📱 Mobile App Prototypes
Describe your app screen-by-screen and Open Design builds an interactive, tappable prototype. Show investors or clients a working demo before a single line of code is written.
Best for: Product managers, indie developers, startup founders
3. 🎞️ Slide Decks
Describe your presentation topic and let the AI build branded, visually clean slides. Iterate until the layout, hierarchy, and flow are exactly right.
Best for: Consultants, agency pitches, course creators
4. 🎬 Motion Graphics & Short-Form Video Assets
Generate animated text sequences, logo reveals, or social media motion graphics. Export as video or GIF and drop directly into your editing timeline.
Best for: Content creators, social media managers, video editors
5. 📊 Dashboards & Data Displays
Describe your data and the layout you want. Open Design builds interactive dashboard UIs — charts, KPI cards, filterable tables — ready to hand off or use as a design spec.
Best for: Analysts, SaaS teams, agencies building client reports
You're Ready
Your link is at the top of this page. Pick Option A or Option B. Type your first prompt. Everything else is just refining until it looks right.