Articles

Always happy to support an argument for adopting OKLCH and Display P3: ​“Many design systems use hex values to represent colours. As far as I’m aware, there’s currently no way to provide a colour space with a hex value in CSS. That’s okay though — the color() function includes a parameter for the colour space. color(display-p3 1 0 0) is bright red in Display P3. In fact, color(1 0 0) is not allowed. A colour space must be provided. Are you noticing a trend? Colour spaces will be required in the future.” 

Tia Sydorenko argues that our interactions with digital systems ​“are not just changing; they are shifting in their very essence.” She builds her argument on this insight from Jakob Nielsen: ​“With the new AI systems, the user no longer tells the computer what to do. Rather, the user tells the computer what outcome they want.”

“Unlike straightforward direct manipulation — such as dragging a file between folders, where actions unfold step by step — AI interactions demand a more fluid, iterative process. Users articulate their goals, but instead of executing every step manually, they collaborate with the system, refining inputs and guiding the AI as it interprets, adjusts, and responds dynamically.”

“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.

Data from the State of the Designer 2025 survey tells us that product builders are mostly happy at work with 41% of designers and developers more satisfied than they were last year. So what impacts their happiness, and how can we drive an upward trend? Here, Figma dives into 5 crucial contributors to happiness: design’s place in the organization, company policies on hybrid work, how leaders empower their teams, effective collaboration and communication, and tools for self-empowerment.

Linear’s CEO shares his approach to quality at a time when ​“move fast and break things” no longer cuts it. My favorites: ​“Commit to quality at the leadership level”, ​“Do away with handoff”, ​“For quality, you need a team that views the spec as the baseline, not the finish line”, and ​“The simplest way to increase quality is to reduce scope”.

Figma Slides is now out of beta and available to everyone with six major new updates: import and export .pptx files, object animations, slide numbers, components, and video improvements. Learn about new features from Noah Finer’s video or read how other teams adopted Slides to tap into a design system, use branded assets, improve collaboration, and get audience feedback.

“With our FedRAMP Moderate status officially approved, the public sector can use Figma to brainstorm, design, and build better digital experiences for U.S. citizens.”

“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.)

Monotype published a new kind of trends report for 2025: ​“Ancient oracles peered into the future. From a specific point in time, they forecast what could come. That’s what we want this report to be: a typographic oracle. We want to mark this moment in time, to celebrate design and typography’s progress, and to challenge all of us to envision what lies ahead by looking at the larger cultural forces shaping our time and work.”

I love mid-century modern architecture and furniture, and Herman Miller is one of the most iconic brands. Order created an identity system establishing a new but familiar foundation for their visual language, capturing and building on its rich history and influence. Incredible case study covering brand history and modern brand application. Don’t miss the identity guidelines website as well.

“Collaboration tools like Figma promise streamlined workflows and collective creativity, but there’s a darker side: too many opinions, endless edits, and a loss of individual vision. In this piece, we explore whether Figma’s collaborative power might actually hinder great design by inviting too many cooks into the kitchen.”

(Read without a paywall.) Bloomberg: ​“Design startup Figma Inc. plans to double the number of employees in its New York office over the next nine years, taking advantage of state subsidies to continue to add to an expanding workforce. San Francisco-based Figma now has 1,600 employees, up from 500 at the start of 2022, a spokesperson said. The New York office, Figma’s second biggest, will grow to about 500 people by 2034, supported by a tax credit from the state.”

(Read without a paywall.) The New York Times reports: ​“Figma, a cloud-based design platform, has met with investment banks in recent weeks to discuss an initial public offering that could come as soon as this year, two people with knowledge of the matter said.”

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.

Gabriella shares her take on Scott Belsky’s article Collapsing the Talent Stack (which I also highly recommend): ​“I’ll start with what it means to collapse the talent stack. My interpretation is that it’s about having the same person own multiple parts of a process, and therefore naturally, have the same person act as multiple ​“roles”. It’s when the designer owns copy across the product, and therefore, owns the responsibilities of what other companies might hire the specialized role of ​“copywriter” for. Or a product manager running and analyzing user interviews, owning traditional responsibilities of a ​“user researcher”. It’s about streamlining work so that a single person handles as much of the process as possible.”

“See when teammates and invited guests last visited your Figma files, helping you track engagement and keep projects moving forward.”

Xinran Ma walks through the creation of an AI automation that instantly categorizes Figma comments and generates a structured summary in Google Docs.

“At trusted titles like The New York Times, The Economist, and The Minnesota Star Tribune, great design can support great journalism. Here’s how media teams use Figma to collaborate on news design and explore new formats.”

Euphrates Dahout, Senior UX Designer on Google’s Material Design team, on how harnessing user feedback made Material 3 the world’s most popular design kit: ​”As a UX Designer and the manager of the Material 3 Design Kit — a Figma library with 3.5 million users and counting — I’ve had to learn the hard way not to take negative feedback personally. Today, I’ve fully embraced comments. I believe that reading and considering this feedback is an essential part of making a valuable design resource. Whether positive or negative, user feedback helps me and the Material team get people what they need.”