FIT’s principles for fostering a collaborative classroom | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Professor Christie Shin of the Fashion Institute of Technology uses Figma to create a virtual classroom centered on systems thinking, frequent feedback, and open collaboration. Her approach treats design as an evolving process rather than a finished object, helping students build habits that mirror professional design teams. She organizes coursework into Figma teams, projects, files, and templates while preserving space for experimentation and individual expression.

Celebrate Early Work

• Students share unfinished ideas regularly instead of waiting for polished presentations.
• They visit one another’s files and provide feedback both verbally and directly in Figma.
• This reduces the fear of exposing imperfect work and reinforces design as a way of thinking.

Guide the Process While Leaving Room to Grow

• Coursework—from exercises to final presentations—is kept in Figma.
• Students receive structured files with named pages and templates for each activity.
• The infinite canvas leaves room for sketches, iterations, and exploratory work.
• Each file becomes a “creative journey,” documenting research, summaries, wireframes, and development over time.

Work Individually, Together

• Students complete individual projects within study groups.
• For a project involving an MTA app design system and video case study, students presented progress incrementally rather than waiting for final critiques.
• Continuous peer feedback reflects real-world cross-functional collaboration and helps students become less attached to initial solutions.

Embrace Influences

• Students are encouraged to share work openly instead of hiding ideas to prevent others from copying them.
• Shin frames influence as a normal and valuable part of design practice.
• Each project requires students to collect and credit visual references from professional designers and classmates.
• Discussing these influences during critiques makes the design process more transparent.

The article recommends combining clear structure with open collaboration: provide students with organized tools and milestones, but give them room to experiment, share early work, learn from peers, and acknowledge the influences shaping their designs.