Tweets
Removing base components
Speaking of base components, Greg Huntoon explains why he decided to stop using them and how he used Automator plugin to decouple base components from the design system.
There's been a lot of talk about base components lately. At one point they were the belle of the ball, a common piece of how many of us built components. But no more, for me.
— Greg Huntoon (@GregHuntoon) March 10, 2022
In this thread, I'm going to share some @loom vids & tips on how to decouple base components gracefully. pic.twitter.com/gkOP2iC1z2
Interactive Components with Lottie files
Nice trick on using “after delay” animation in combination with a Lottie file to avoid an infinite animation loop and play it only once.
Ready for a @figma prototyping pro tip?
— Ridd 🏛 (@Ridderingand) February 21, 2022
Use interactive components w/ @LottieFiles
It's the best way to add animations to your design system
Here's how it works 👇 pic.twitter.com/A4oxSfefJW
5 principles for using .base components the right way
Ridd discusses a few key principles for using base components: How often are you iterating on the component? How complex is it? Avoiding problems with Interactive Components. Pairing primitives with slots. Bringing in base components early on to speed up the process.
I'm starting to believe we're thinking about .base components the wrong way...
— Ridd 🏛 (@Ridderingand) March 6, 2022
They're extremely powerful but only when used correctly.
So here are 5 principles for using .base components the right way👇 pic.twitter.com/HjYKEy7nOX
Building a fire
Another drawing challenge from Miguel. Love the simplicity of his approach and how well the icon has turned out.
Another attempt at building a fire icon in @figma for today's prompt by @disco_lu non-destructive Boolean operations FTW! pic.twitter.com/eIauhyayFt
— miggi from figgi (@miggi) February 14, 2022
Creating a spiral
How would you create a spiral in Figma without any external tools? Miggi’s answer is in the thread, but some of the solutions from others are really smart and creative too!
Quick challenge.... without plugins, external apps, or @jsngr's magical tools, how would you make this in @figma? Show me your solution in the thread... Ill show you how I did it tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/iTUg2Te0OK
— miggi from figgi (@miggi) February 15, 2022
WASD for aligning points and elements
Super useful tip from Miguel — use Option‑W/A/S/D shortcuts (which you may know from gaming) to align elements or points in vector networks. The latter is going to be a massive time-saver for me!
Option (alt) + W,A,S,D (⬆️,⬅️,⬇️,➡️) align shortcuts in @figma can be used when editing vector paths / points. https://t.co/YvRDIZNMlB pic.twitter.com/giLDWMj30x
— miggi from figgi (@miggi) February 11, 2022
Writing process with FigJam
Miggi shows his process of writing in small chunks using FigJam. Love how flexible and multi-faceted this product is!
Made a little FigJam template / video to help people get started with their writing process. This is how I use @figma's FigJam to collect my thoughts for blog posts.
— miggi from figgi (@miggi) February 10, 2022
Duplicate template here: https://t.co/9XtAJgcqCg pic.twitter.com/or5skevXqH
‘Access Code’ breakdown
Yet another great tutorial breaking down the process of creating an artwork by Fons Mans.
📣 Tutorial Thread!
— Fons Mans (@FonsMans) February 5, 2022
As promised, here’s the breakdown of my poster ‘Access Code’ —Learn how to create this visual in @figma
Let’s dive in 👇 pic.twitter.com/a9SWOYlrlP
Poster tutorials
Fons Mans started publishing step-by-step tutorials for creating some of his artworks. See also a couple of other — one and two.
Tutorial Thread! 🧵
— Fons Mans (@FonsMans) January 25, 2022
Learn how to make this poster in @figmadesign. Let’s dive in 👇 pic.twitter.com/V3tgRphxFA
Pros and cons of Spacer components
Dan Hollick shares a few pros and cons of using Spacer components vs. Auto Layout.
Why do people use Spacer components?
— Dan Hollick 🇿🇦 (@DanHollick) January 26, 2022
Personally, I prefer using Auto Layout wrappers and controlling spacing with gaps but there might be a use case I'm overlooking?
Made some pros and cons below 👇 pic.twitter.com/uHHJndbRrn
Text baseline alignment is coming to Auto Layout?
Don’t know how reliable this leak is, but that would be sweet! There is also another rumor on text truncation.
#Figma is adding “Text baseline alignment” to the upcoming version of “Auto Layout”.
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) January 24, 2022
(A small piece of it was visible in my previous tweets but I wanted to draw more attention to it.) pic.twitter.com/BXv8BLxR6e
Macintosh 128K
Macintosh 128K was released on January 24th, 1984. Figma celebrated the anniversary with a cool Easter egg: create a frame using the “Macintosh 128K” template from the Archive, then switch to the Presentation mode. Also, check out this community file by Keeyen to see how it was made.
Jump into prototype mode :) pic.twitter.com/6LpjqVo3HD
— Grant (@grantgarrett) January 25, 2022
Config 2022
Config is back on May 10–11, 2022! The call for speakers is open until February 20th, 2022.
Mark your calendars. May 10-11, 2022. Config is back and we're going global. 🌏
— Figma (@figma) January 24, 2022
We're looking for speakers from all over the world to create the agenda for our virtual conference.
Have an idea? We want to hear from you!
Submit by Feb 20: https://t.co/EClUtRG1tw #Config2022 pic.twitter.com/CNCE7FliaY
Hexagons
Anthony DiSpezio goes deep on hexagons, and this has absolutely nothing to do with Twitter or NFTs.
Seeing a lot of hexagons... learn more about hexagons (the shape) in @figmadesign! ⬢⬣ pic.twitter.com/UK32I2KCUm
— Anthony DiSpezio (@adispezio) January 21, 2022
3 copy & paste tips
Zander shows a few copy-paste features that Figma released back in October.
✂️ 3 super @figmadesign copy & paste updates #ux #ui #figma #memorisely pic.twitter.com/tL13o58dG0
— Zander Whitehurst ⚡️ (@zander_supafast) January 21, 2022
Slots for dummies
“Slots Components for Dummies” by Ridd, who is one of the biggest proponents of this approach. Great guide to one of Figma’s ultimate superpowers.
"Slots for dummies"
— Ridd 🏛 (@Ridderingand) January 15, 2022
The complete guide to @figmadesign 's ultimate super power 👇 pic.twitter.com/hhlkNVKuPl
Walkcycle animation
Cool (but creepy) character animation experiment by Miggi from Figgi.
Progress from today. Four frames, four component sets... creepy crawley gait / walkcycle in @figmadesign #prototype #animation #walkcycle pic.twitter.com/6fmmwTtv28
— ❖miggi_from_figgi (@miggi) January 10, 2022
Mirabel
As always, Vijay is pushing the limits of illustration possibilities in Figma. The new artwork from the Encanto movie has 2,500+ vectors and took him about 12 hours. Don’t miss the thread with some details.
After watching #Encanto, drawing #Mirabel seemed obvious to me🤩. Made purely in @figmadesign.
— vijay verma ᵍᵐ (@realvjy) January 11, 2022
Loved the overall movie commotion and theme. Movie says - Your biggest miracle is you. You are unique and special in your own way. pic.twitter.com/Q915uFzdXU
Not relying on base components too much
With all the discussions around composition-based design systems, Joey Banks provides a counterpoint on reducing complexity and increasing reliability with simpler variants.
One change I've made when it comes to building components in @figmadesign has been to not rely on base components as often, especially when working with Variants. Adding *only* the relevant layers means less complexity & less probability of a variant option/layer mismatch. 🎛 pic.twitter.com/yZ5brRJm53
— Joey Banks (@joeyabanks) January 12, 2022
Beta-testing the iPad app
This is really exciting! Many iPad users already know and enjoy the Figurative app, but having an official app will be amazing.
🥁 Exciting updates for the @figmadesign iPad app!
— ˗ˏˋrogieˎˊ (@rogie) January 12, 2022
If you want to beta test the app & share feedback with us, sign up here: https://t.co/3XKj5IPiGJ
For the beta, you’ll need to have an iPad Pro (2018 or later), iPad Air (2020), iPad mini (2021), or iPad (2021). pic.twitter.com/A9OUPIwOtj