Issue no.17: Build with joy | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Figma’s Issue No. 17, “Build with joy,” celebrates the creative motivation behind making things: turning a vision into reality. Inspired by Config 2026, it presents tools, ideas, and stories that encourage designers to explore their own paths while developing stronger creative judgment. The central message is that tools help, but care, taste, and a clear point of view ultimately shape meaningful work. ## Config 2026 and Choosing Your Own Path - Figma introduces new tools and materials for its canvas, enabling teams to extend existing workflows and move faster. - The accompanying Config magazine uses a choose-your-own-adventure format, allowing readers to explore topics in any order. - Its broader focus is how teams are adapting established processes to reach new creative and professional goals. ## Cultivating Taste - Chief Design Officer Loredana Crisan defines taste as more than recognizing quality; it also involves sustaining the energy and care required to achieve it. - Her experience playing music helped shape her understanding of creative judgment. - The article emphasizes that taste develops continuously through practice, attention, and a strong point of view. - Crisan identifies care for the user, the craft, and the final result as essential qualities. ## Motion as Design in Time - Figma’s Brand Studio offers an introduction to motion design. - Motion is framed as the combination of design and time, with timing and movement affecting how an idea is perceived. - Small distinctions—such as whether an animation feels like a “whoosh” or a “whoop”—can significantly change its character and meaning. ## Color as Cultural Language - Pantone’s color experts explain how colors acquire cultural associations and influence behavior. - Familiar examples include Coca-Cola red, Barbie pink, and Brat green. - Brands use color to create meaning, communicate identity, and help drive cultural trends. - Color is presented not merely as decoration, but as a system of shared social and emotional signals. ## Further Exploration - Dylan Field recaps Config 2026 and the new dimensions Figma is bringing to its canvas. - Figma’s community imagines future software, including systems that respond to moods and tools that predict what comes next. - The latest Figma merchandise collection follows eight illustrators from initial sketches through production. Figma’s recommendation is ultimately to build with curiosity and joy: use new tools as a starting point, but rely on care, experimentation, and cultivated taste to determine what is worth making.