Understanding AI Performance in UI/UX Design and Coding: Insights from a Global Survey
In recent months, I embarked on an extensive research project to evaluate how various AI models perform in the realms of user interface/user experience (UI/UX) design and programming. This investigation involved gathering feedback from over 6,000 participants worldwide through a crowdsourced benchmark platform dedicated to testing AI capabilities across different creative and development tasks.
About the Research Platform
To facilitate this analysis, I developed Design Arena, an open-source platform where users can generate websites, games, 3D models, and data visualizations using multiple AI models. Participants can compare outputs side-by-side, providing valuable insights into each model’s strengths and weaknesses. The platform has attracted approximately 5,000 users and garnered nearly 4,000 votes, making it a comprehensive resource for assessing AI efficacy in design and coding.
Key Findings
- Top Performers in Coding and UI/UX: Claude and DeepSeek
Among the evaluated models, Claude and DeepSeek stand out as leaders for coding and design tasks. Users favored Claude Opus, which consistently ranks highest on the leaderboard. The DeepSeek suite, especially version 0, shows strong performance, notably excelling in website generation. Interestingly, the Grok model also emerged as a surprising contender, offering impressive capabilities that warrant attention. However, it’s worth noting that DeepSeek’s models tend to operate more slowly, which might influence your choice depending on project urgency.
- Grok 3: An Underappreciated Resource
Despite limited online popularity—partly due to controversial associations with Elon Musk—Grok 3 warrants recognition. It consistently ranks within the top five and delivers faster output than many peers, making it a valuable tool for developers seeking efficiency without sacrificing quality.
- Mixed Results with Gemini 2.5-Pro
The Gemini 2.5-Pro model presents an inconsistent performance profile. Some users report excellent UI/UX outputs, while others encounter poorly designed applications. It demonstrates solid coding of business logic but can falter in creating polished user interfaces, leading to varied user experiences.
- Position of OpenAI’s GPT and Meta’s Llama Models
OpenAI’s GPT models occupy the middle tier, demonstrating moderate competence in tasks. Conversely, Meta’s Llama models lag significantly behind their competitors, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by certain AI offerings. This
