Or: How getting roasted by designers led to building something useful
"Why can't AI create a simple blog header without looking like abstract art gone wrong?"
That's the question that started LayoutCraft. As a solo founder, I'd spent countless hours with tools like Midjourney and DALL-E, trying to generate something—anything—that looked professional enough for my startup's blog. The results? Beautiful chaos. Artistic masterpieces with text that looked like it was written in an alien language.
When I shared my frustration on r/design, suggesting that maybe AI could be trained to create structured layouts instead of artistic chaos, the response was... memorable.
One particularly passionate designer called me a "scumbag" for even suggesting it. Others explained, at length, why AI would never understand "real" design principles.
And you know what? They were partially right. LayoutCraft isn't trying to replace designers. It's not for them. It's for the millions of us who need design but aren't designers.
Every day, thousands of founders, developers, marketers, and small business owners need visual content. We don't need award-winning artistic expression. We need:
Traditional AI image generators treat every prompt like a request for art. LayoutCraft treats prompts like requests for functional design.
Without getting too deep into the technical weeds, LayoutCraft works differently. Instead of generating pixels directly, our AI first creates a structural blueprint—think of it like an architect drawing plans before building. This ensures proper hierarchy, readable text, and consistent layouts.
It's not perfect. It's not trying to be. It's trying to be useful.
When we launched on r/SaaS and r/indiehackers, the response was completely different:
600+ users in the first 18 hours. Hundreds of messages from founders who felt the same frustration. The validation was clear: there's a massive gap between what designers think people need and what non-designers actually need.
LayoutCraft is still in its early stages. We're adding features based on real user feedback, not design theory. Things like:
If you're tired of AI that creates art when you need design, if you're frustrated with tools that prioritize beauty over utility, if you just want something that works—welcome to LayoutCraft.
We're building for you. Not for design awards. Not for artistic recognition. For you.
No designers were harmed in the making of this tool.