Articles

Tom Quinonero shows how to build a simple Figma plugin with Rollup and Svelte.

Interesting perspective on Figma vs. Sketch from Jishnu Hari, who took the usual route of switching from Figma to Sketch while joining a new company. He really missed some of the things we take for granted in Figma, and in the end, convinced his team to switch back to Figma.

“Could you imagine a place where you design, prototype, animate, work together and have feedback sessions at once? Figma solved all these problems at a glance with a set of features they provided from the get-go.”

Molly Hellmuth and the UI Prep team installed and tested over 100 plugins to find the true gems. In this article, they recommend 21 plugins organized into 6 different ​“stacks”.

Edward Chechique explains how to organize and communicate the information in your Figma files for better collaboration with developers.

A recap of all updates to the editor shipped a few weeks ago.

“Idean is a design consultancy that has recently joined frog, a global design and strategy consultancy and part of Capgemini Invent. Last year, they built Cards for Humanity, an online card game that helps teams design accessible, inclusive products. We interviewed them to learn more about how they built the Figma plugin, what they learned, and the power of inclusive design.”

Alek Mackie, a Senior Illustrator at Shopify, shares how he stays creative and productive.

Now it’s official! Katie Szeto, a product manager and member of the New York City landing team, shares a bit about why Figma is growing in New York City, how they’re thinking about the hybrid work model, and what she’s excited about in the months ahead.

“I build several design systems every year and have learned a lot about designing components that are easy to use and maintain. One of the most important ones being inputs. They deserve to be built with great care because of how important, frequently used, and complex they are.”

Creating variants based on a master component makes it much easier to maintain multiple states.

Great explanation of the differences between groups and frames in Figma.

The team at Blush recommends 11 of their favorite plugins for improving a workflow.

In this Smashing Magazine article, Emiliano explains why Interactive Components (now in beta) will improve how we create prototypes. The new feature reduces the time and effort needed to create interactions by bringing down the cost of design exploration.

Compare, test, and present multiple interactive ideas from a single page. Check out a couple of quick tips for using the new feature by Miguel Cardona.

“Not to be confused with the traditional office space of the pre-pandemic before-times, Figma’s hubs are designed to accommodate its new hybrid work model. In this model, each employee — or ​“Figmate” — can decide if they want to be fully remote or associated with a specific hub. Those who are aligned with a hub are expected to go into the office a minimum of two specific days a week, meaning they will be the same for everyone in the office.”

Dylan Field’s internal email to the Figma team announcing a new round of investments.

“Software design company Figma Inc. has raised fresh funding at a valuation of $10 billion, quintupling its pricetag since last year. The company, which allows customers to collaborate on software as they build it, said demand jumped during the pandemic while more people worked remotely. Figma raised $200 million in the funding round, the company told Bloomberg. Backers included Durable Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley through its Counterpoint Global group.”

Not directly related to Figma, but I’m a big fan of checklists, and this one by MDS is really good: ​“The top 101 things to consider when designing visually beautiful interfaces. Use this to self-critique any of your designs, whether it’s homework from this course or your own projects.”

“Because many of us have little to no background in visual arts or graphic design, Figma is not usually prioritized as a skill for writers, and we’re not usually asked if we’re proficient. However, there are numerous benefits to learning the basics. Many folks working in content have become self-taught Figma aficionados because taking the time to master the essentials has made their work easier—and their role on the team more effective—in the long run.”