Displays Dev Mode annotations across all pages in a single list.

Wow, this looks incredible for mini-interactions. Looking forward to trying Magic Animator by Lottielab soon.

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

The design community never lets a good meme opportunity go to waste. ​“Figma slapped Swedish AI coding startup Loveable with a cease-and-desist warning for naming one of its new product features ​“Dev Mode.” It turns out Figma successfully trademarked the term Dev Mode in November last year, according to the US Patent and Trademark office, having introduced its own Dev Mode feature in 2023.”

In her blog post, Alice Packard explores innovative applications of Figma variables beyond traditional light and dark modes. She outlines 11 use cases — including validation styling, asset availability, breakpoints, brand themes, seasonal promotions, subscription levels, loyalty statuses, authentication states, interface density, contrast settings, and levels of fidelity — demonstrating how variables can enhance design systems by enabling dynamic UI adjustments and improving collaboration between designers and developers.

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.

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. 

“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.”

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.

Advanced search and rename features for variables.

Brett from Designjoy shows how to apply dithering in Figma using the Dither plugin.

Advocates Jake Albaugh and Chad Bergman wrote a tactical guide to collaborating with your developer counterparts, including common pitfalls, practical tips, and guidance on when to lean in.

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.

“Designers crafting elaborate prototypes in Figma to mimic basic digital interactions are essentially building digital Rube Goldberg machines. If you’re going to spend hours creating intricate simulations in Figma, you might as well put that effort directly into code — because in the end, code is where your designs must ultimately function.”

I might be biased, but I don’t see many designers that ​“tweak their Figma files endlessly, push back on any technical constraints, and then smugly hand over their ​“perfect” design — only to be baffled when development comes back with a hundred questions about feasibility”. What I do see is designers learning to program, adopting AI tools like Cursor, and getting heavily involved in building and shipping their vision — and I’m here for that.

“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.)

“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.”

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.