It’s been a year since Figma introduced the new UI at last year’s Config. The beta is over and the previous UI is no longer supported, everyone has been moved over to UI3.

The new curved connectors mode for right-brained people. I’ll stick to my neatly organized ​“elbowed” connectors.

The new Edit Image feature allows changing an image using prompts, powered by gpt-image‑1. The Make an Image feature got an AI model picker so users can choose between gpt-image‑1, Gemini Imagen 3, or Titan V2. Additionally, the AI beta was rolled out to all Professional, Organization, and Enterprise plans. If you’re not seeing AI features, check that your Admin has your AI access toggle turned on.

Jesse Showalter explores 5 latest features: Lock Aspect Ratio, Collapse Layers, Reorder Modes and Collections, Accessibility Contrast Information, and Copy and Paste Styles.

Create QR codes for websites, text, Wi-Fi, calls, and messages with custom styles. After generating a custom QR code, click ​“Get QR Code” to add it to your Figma designs.

“Connected Projects makes it easy for freelancers and agencies on different Figma plans to collaborate seamlessly with clients. Work together to co-edit designs, and share resources like libraries — all while staying on your own Figma seat.”

Three primary updates: hide and show variable fills, duplicate and copy styles, and the go-to-main component shortcut (Control+Option+Command+K). See the complete list of quality-of-life updates in the release notes. 

The recording of the latest Release Notes livestream is finally available. While these updates have already been covered in the last two issues, I always enjoy watching hands-on demos and explainers. In this episode, Luis Ouriach and Alexia Danton share all the latest goodies like FigPals (RIP), design handoff releases, accessibility contrast info, annotations in design mode, collapsing layers, reordering modes and collections, and more.

Annotations are now available in Design Mode with new color-coded categories. Love that categories are fully editable, so you can adjust them to your team’s workflow.

This one is a big ​“finally” for me! BRB, I have some library cleanup to do.

Freshly baked goodies: FigPals for April Fun Week (extended until April 11); a button for collapsing layers — love that it excludes the layer tree of your selection; quality-of-life improvements to corner radius inputs and flyouts for effects, fills, and layout grids; reordering variables modes and collections; annotations in Design Mode; accessibility contrast in color picker; and finally, an eyedropper added to Dev Mode.

“On April 30, we’ll be fully transitioning to UI3, our redesigned interface that puts your work center stage. Here’s what you need to know about the change, along with tips for a smooth transition.”

“Figma is localizing for the Spanish market. This includes full product translation, culturally adapted user interfaces, and dedicated support for Spanish language users. Figma plans to expand product localization to additional languages throughout the year, as it continues to invest in its global community.” (Coincidently, I was in Spain when this was announced. Rest assured I didn’t touch Figma while vacationing with my family.)

A few tweaks and improvements to the file browser create a more consistent experience.

See if color contrast meets accessibility standards right within the color picker. I’m glad this is now built-in and the UI looks great (see an X thread from Billy Sweeney), but as a color nerd and creator of Accessible Palette, I wish Figma went a step further and supported APCA. I wrote about issues with the WCAG 2 back in 2021 (see the last section), and Arthur Objartel made a strong case for supporting it as well.

“Figma now transforms common character combinations into smart symbols in all fonts. Now when you type the following characters – ©, ®, ™, ->, <-, vv, ^^, \[ \] – Figma will automatically transform them into smart symbols: ©️, ®️, ™️, →, ← , ↓, ↑, ▢. This will occur with every font, as long as you have the ​“Use smart quotes/​symbols” preference on. Also available in FigJam and Slides.”

Last Tuesday, Figma rolled out the new pricing, which was announced in December. The design seats price increased, while Dev Mode seats remained unchanged and all paid seats now include FigJam and Slides. Admins got upfront approval over seat upgrades.

Nice built-in support for code blocks with syntax highlighting in Slides.

Figma shared new details about connected projects that will launch in the first half of 2025. They let two separate teams or organizations — like an agency and a client — collaborate on a shared project using billable seats from their plans without paying for extra seats. Pro users can connect up to 3 projects, Organization 6 and Enterprise 15. The plan of the team initiating a connected project determines features available to all users collaborating on the project. Resources like shared libraries and fonts can be enabled for everyone.

“We’ve made the scrubbable area to the left of input fields larger to make it easier to start scrubbing. We also fixed a bug that inadvertently made 1 pixel scrubbable on the right side of an input field. Rolling out over the next few days, you’ll only be able to initiate scrubbing from the left side of an input field.”