> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philsimon.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Claude Design: Where Can and Should Collide
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/claude-designs-infographics/
- Published: 2026-10-19T13:07:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T13:07:00.000Z
- Description: Put your audience's needs ahead of your desire to show of cool AI-generated infographics.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: PMHW, AI, Claude, Agile, Scrum, Infographic, Dataviz, Speaking, Why New Systems Fail, Seinfeld, Publishing, The Visual Organization, Project Management

All prescriptive nonfiction titles should contain clear, professional visuals. The right charts, graphs, and tables don't just give readers' eyes a break from endless text blocks. They also prove that the authors have done their research. Think of them as credibility steroids.

My 2022 release [*Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace*](https://www.philsimon.com/book-project-management-in-the-hybrid-workplace/) is no exception to this rule. One of many its figures compares two popular but contrasting software development methods: Waterfall and Agile. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/10/pmhw-fig.jpeg)

Figure From **Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace* | Click on the image to enlarge it.

Is this representation glamorous? Hell no, but it effectively serves its purpose.

## AI Experiments

On a sleepy Tuesday afternoon, I asked the revamped [Claude Design](https://claude.com/product/design?ref=philsimon.com) to create a visually pleasing infographic based on that table using my website's palette. 

I'm curious to see if you can create an interesting infographic based on this table. Use the colors on https://www.philsimon.com. 

Five minutes later, voilà!

Two Ways to Build Things

# Waterfall vs. Agile

Ten dimensions that separate a plan carved in stone from a plan that keeps changing.

Waterfall

One step at a time. No going back.

VS

Agile

Small loops. Each one improves the last.

Sequential, fixed

Approach

Incremental, continuous

Large, specialized

Team

Small, cross-functional

“We can control everything.”

Mindset

“We can’t control anything. Let’s not even try.”

Long-term

Planning

Short-term

Fixed business requirements

Building Blocks

Flexible, constantly evolving user stories

Absolute (“4.25 hours to mow Jerry’s lawn”)

Estimates

Relative (“Elaine’s lawn is bigger than Jerry’s, so longer”)

Once, when the project is complete

Feedback

Routinely, at the end of each sprint

Open

Loop Type

Closed

At the end of development, in a single phase

Testing

At the end of every sprint

Large, delivered at end of project

Batch

Small, delivered regularly

Phil Simon

philsimon.com

Note that Claude independently added the infographic's title and its one-sentence description. No prompts necessary. Ditto for the URL in the footer, although [I can't copyright it](https://www.copyright.gov/ai/ai%5Fpolicy%5Fguidance.pdf?ref=philsimon.com). 

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## Pro Tip: Limit Your Use of Cool Infographics

Claude's interpretation of my table works well, *but only in the right contexts*. Viewing online is one of them. For two reasons, though, I would never include it if I were writing *Project Management in the Hybrid Workplace* today. First, there's the aforementioned copyright issue. Second, the infographic's relative complexity would make presenting it in a 5.5" x 8.5" book challenging—and those numbers exclude margins. Brass tacks: most readers would struggle to digest it. 

> As always, remember your audience.

What about using it during a [keynote or webinar](https://www.philsimon.com/speaking)?

Hard pass—largely for the same reasons. Speakers who present dense slides and tables often lose their audiences. (Case in point: the clueless presenter in [this post](https://www.philsimon.com/communication-failures-collision-conference/).) Conference attendees are doing *one* of the following:

1. Listening to the person on stage.
2. Trying to absorb the content on the slide.
3. As is frequently the case, neither.

Foolish are the souls who believe audience members are concurrently reading and listening.

[Finding the Right Automation ToolSometimes a replacement does the same job of the former at a fraction of the price.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/300br-1-6eed80fd-be6e-401a-9034-e29b3735ea39.png)Phil SimonPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/over-the-shoulder_view_of_a_man-bc9f3d9d-85a3-41b1-b363-bb1abdbbf6ff.jpg)](https://www.philsimon.com/finding-the-right-automation-tool/)

## Simon Says

Design whatever you like using these newfangled tools, but remember your audience. Put simply:

`Can ≠ Should `

AI doesn't change that simple heuristic one bit.