Issue #38 • April 26th, 2021

Config 2021 and FigJam

Have you tried FigJam yet? I adore all the UI interactions and details in Figma’s newest product. Make sure to go through behind-the-scenes reports on building it in a dedicated section below. Subscribers of this newsletter heard the rumors about FigJam and voice chat months ago, but newly announced Branches caught me by surprise. That was the only part of the design workflow I thought Abstract was handling better, and after years of work, Figma finally shipped the beta to Org accounts. Can’t wait to try it!

Dylan Field’s opening keynote with all announcements is already on YouTube, while recordings of other talks will be available in a month. If you missed the conference, check out a few talk recaps and slide decks below.

— Eugene

Config Announcements

Coming together at Config 2021

At Config 2021, Figma announced six new ways to collaborate and bring you and your teammates together — their 2^nd product FigJam, branching (currently in beta to Org accounts), a new mobile app, voice chat, higher user limits, and publishing to the Figma Community for everyone.

Opening Keynote by Dylan Field

Watch Figma CEO’s opening remarks and some exciting product announcements.

Noah Levin on Config launches

Check out this thread by Figma’s Design Director if you want to learn more about the design teams behind the new features.

Rasmus Andersson on branches

Love this quote: “Great software is not built in months; it often takes a long time to get things right enough for a first version.”

FigJam

Introducing FigJam

FigJam is an online whiteboard made for designers to ideate and brainstorm with their extended teams. Think of it as a lightweight version of Figma that’s easier to learn and even more fun to use. It’s for defining user problems, looking for inspiration, and exploring ideas.

#FigJam

Figma’s next product is a multiplayer whiteboard called FigJam

Protocol on a new product: “FigJam is a simple tool for brainstorming, and the next step toward the company’s vision for a multiplayer internet.”

#FigJam

Magnetic arrows in Figma

Great tip: you can copy a magnetic arrow from FigJam to Figma, and it will keep working!

#FigJam

Copy-paste a variant into FigJam from Figma

Another good tip, this time from Miggi. Love how tightly the apps are integrated!

The color of the “dislike”

Good observation by Mica.

What Jenny Wen learned from this launch

Jenny led the design of FigJam and now reflects on what she learned from launching it.

#FigJam

Designing FigJam’s toolbar

Keeyen led the design of the toolbar and shares some of the process and design details.

#FigJam

Artists behind FigJam’s sticker packs

Alice Lee shows her cat café-themed sticker pack and highlights a few other artists in this thread.

#FigJam

Project Workflow Kit

One of the first few Community files for FigJam. “Keep your team aligned and in sync during a project from start to finish. By using these workshop templates you can easily facilitate kick-off workshops, stand-up’s and retro-meetings.”

#FigJam

Config Talks

Playing with Plugins

Great talk by Jordan Singer, who builds some of the most creative Figma plugins.

The building blocks of Collaborative Creativity

Niko tweeted a quick recap of his talk.

Figm-illustrations

Educational slides from Joey Lamelas’s talk on illustrating in Figma. If you’re a long-time reader, you’ll recognize some of his illustrations.

How was my Config 2021?

Gleb Sabirzyanov on his experience of speaking at Config 2021.

Using Figma

10 Figma Tricks I Wish I Knew Earlier

“I frequently stumble upon time-saving features that I wish I knew about sooner — hopefully, some of these are as exciting for you as they were for me when I discovered them.”

#Tips & Tricks

Introduction to Figma’s interactive components

“While it’s always been possible to animate controls using Figma prototypes, it required some crazy workarounds and a ton of views to be created. With the new functionality, it’s super easy, and it allows you to create some pretty nifty interactive and animating prototypes.”