figmaFeb 26, 2024

Nicole Boettcher’s Figma-Designed Quilts | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Nicole Boettcher, a former product designer, uses Figma to design and plan her quilts. Her UX background leads her to carefully map patterns, colors, measurements, and sewing steps before cutting fabric. Figma helps her iterate quickly, reduce waste, and translate digital layouts into precise handmade pieces. ## From Product Design to Quilting - During the pandemic in 2021, Nicole left product design at Artsy and began learning to quilt. - She taught herself through online tutorials and beginner patterns. - As her projects grew more ambitious, she turned to Figma to create original designs. - She designs roughly 80% of each quilt digitally before cutting any fabric. ## Building Designs in Figma - Nicole often starts with a traditional quilt block and experiments with its shapes, colors, and proportions. - She maintains a Figma color library using swatches from fabric manufacturers. - Existing fabric supplies influence her palette and pattern choices. - Figma makes it easy to recolor sections, adjust layouts, and create many variations. - Plugins such as Random Colors Fill help her explore different palettes. - Auto layout allows her to move or modify entire rows of a quilt grid at once. ## Planning Fabric and Construction - Once a design is finalized, Nicole duplicates it and breaks it into individual pieces. - The Count Things plugin helps calculate quantities, such as the number of rectangles and squares required. - Pixels in her Figma files correspond to inches in the physical quilt. - She plans cuts carefully to minimize scraps and use fabric efficiently. - She adds a quarter-inch seam allowance to each side of every piece before estimating fabric requirements. - She also rearranges pieces digitally to determine an efficient sewing sequence and reduce unnecessary steps. ## Inspiration and Influences - Nicole draws inspiration from quilting books and artists on Instagram. - She recommends exploring Amish quilts and Gee’s Bend quilts. - Favorite sources include accounts focused on vintage quilts and contemporary textile artists. Figma gives Nicole a bridge between digital product design and physical craft: it lets her experiment freely while preserving the precision quilting requires. For complex, material-intensive projects, digitally planning patterns and construction can save both time and fabric.

digital-designfigmaproduct-designux-design+2

figmaDec 17, 2023

Figma and Adobe are abandoning our proposed merger | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma and Adobe jointly ended their proposed acquisition after 15 months of regulatory review, concluding that approval was no longer achievable. Although the merger was intended to accelerate both companies’ impact, Figma will remain independent and explore future partnerships with Adobe. CEO Dylan Field framed the decision as a renewed opportunity to pursue Figma’s original mission: helping people turn ideas into digital products. ## Why the Merger Was Abandoned - The companies spent thousands of hours addressing regulators’ concerns worldwide. - Despite explaining the differences between their businesses, products, and markets, they no longer saw a viable path to approval. - The decision was made jointly, ending the pending acquisition. ## Figma’s Progress During the Review - Figma continued shipping products despite the uncertainty surrounding the acquisition, including: - Native AI features for FigJam - Dev Mode for improving the handoff between designers and developers - Variables - Advanced prototyping - The company also: - Opened new hubs in the United Kingdom and Asia - Hosted Config 2023 in San Francisco - Acquired AI startup Diagram - Added more than 500 employees ## Figma’s Independent Direction - Figma will continue operating as an independent company. - The company remains focused on eliminating the gap between imagination and reality. - Field sees the growth of the digital economy and advances in AI as making this mission more urgent and attainable. - Figma aims to support the entire product-development process on a single multiplayer canvas, from ideation through production. Figma’s practical next step is to maintain its independent momentum, deepen its design-to-development platform, and use AI and collaboration tools to help more people build digital products.

digital-designfigmaaiprototyping+4

figmaJun 20, 2023

Figma & Chromebook expand to K12 and Japan | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma and Google for Education are expanding their Chromebook partnership to make Figma and FigJam freely available to all K–12 districts in the US, with Japan as the first international expansion. The initiative aims to give students industry-standard design and collaboration tools while helping educators create more visual, interactive learning experiences. Figma argues that the tools can improve technical skills, classroom engagement, confidence, inclusion, and students’ ability to express ideas. ## Expanding Figma access in schools - A beta program previously gave Figma and FigJam access to students in 50 US school districts. - The program included large urban districts and smaller rural districts. - Figma is now offering free access to all K–12 districts across the US. - Students of every age can use Figma on Chromebooks, including younger learners. - Districts can receive free Figma Enterprise access, giving administrators: - Greater control over school environments - Visibility into usage - Class-management features - Support for student safety - The Chromebook partnership is expanding globally, beginning with Google schools in Japan. ## Design tools as a foundation for future skills - Figma is intended to help students develop: - Problem-solving skills - Iterative thinking - Collaboration - Empathy - Its infinite canvas lets students combine diagrams, images, mind maps, videos, and other media. - Students can demonstrate understanding visually rather than relying only on traditional written assessments. - Beta participants created projects such as nonprofit design concepts and app prototypes for improving local government services. ## Reimagining classroom collaboration - Teachers used FigJam for lesson plans, group projects, study guides, and interactive curricula. - The tools created a shared space where students and educators could build learning experiences together. - Projects included prototypes, visual explanations, and other forms of digital storytelling. - Figma describes the impact as extending beyond academic work to classroom culture and students’ sense of belonging. ## Supporting student voices and inclusion - Teachers reported that quieter students became more confident expressing ideas in digital spaces. - Features such as sticky notes, comments, reactions, and other collaborative interactions gave introverted students more ways to participate. - Digital collaboration helped some students build connections after years of remote learning. - The visual and flexible format was especially valuable for neurodiverse students who may find traditional tools difficult. - One special education teacher reported improvements among autistic students in: - Social skills - Executive functioning - Self-regulation - Collaboration ## Encouraging engagement and creative learning - Teachers said students were more excited to attend class and engage with coursework. - Some students continued working on Figma projects at home. - Figma enabled alternative forms of assessment, including: - Infographics - Storyboards - Prototypes - The platform functions as a creative sandbox where students can construct and communicate their own understanding. - In some classrooms, previously disengaged students rediscovered interest in learning through design. Figma’s recommendation is to make collaborative, visual design tools a normal part of K–12 education. By combining broad Chromebook access, administrative controls, and flexible creative workflows, the company aims to help every student participate more actively and become better prepared for a digital future.

digital-designfigmafigjamdesign-thinking+2

figmaSep 28, 2022

The outsized role culture plays in attracting design talent | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Companies that attract strong design talent tend to cultivate cultures where designers feel valued, supported, and empowered. Figma’s research suggests that design culture directly influences hiring success and designer happiness, especially through strong operations, visible design leadership, and meaningful professional development. Recruiting also requires engaging designers in the communities and channels where they already connect. ## Design Culture as a Hiring Advantage - Companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Airbnb attract designers through established design principles, tools, processes, and respected teams. - Organizations known for strong design cultures are **4.3 times more likely** to report hiring success. - Designers look for evidence that they will not have to repeatedly defend design’s value or fight for influence in business decisions. - Public visibility matters: - Design leaders speaking at industry events - Teams publishing their perspectives and work - Designers being quoted or recognized externally - When the broader design team—not only senior leadership—shares its work and experiences, it sends an even stronger signal. ## The Role of Design Operations - Design Operations helps teams work effectively by facilitating, organizing, and supporting designers. - **83% of organizations successful at hiring** had a Design Ops practice. - Useful operational investments include: - Evaluating and improving design tools - Streamlining staffing and resourcing - Balancing project timelines, deliverables, and milestones - Companies making these quality-of-life improvements are **twice as likely** to report successful hiring. ## Meeting Designers Where They Are - Posting a job on a general careers site is often insufficient, particularly for experienced designers and design leadership roles. - Recruiters and hiring managers should build relationships with designers and participate in design communities before or beyond the hiring process. - Effective recruiting requires understanding which Slack groups, specialized job boards, and professional communities are active and relevant. - Examples include design-focused boards and communities such as Design Dept, Leaders of Awesomeness, and ADPlist. A practical hiring strategy is to treat culture as part of the recruiting process itself: invest in designers’ daily experience, make design’s organizational influence visible, and engage authentically with the communities where design talent already participates.

digital-designfigmaproduct-designdesign-ops+1

figmaJun 29, 2022

Digital Design Is Now A Real Job | Figma | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Digital design has gained formal recognition as a distinct profession, reflecting its growing importance to businesses and everyday life. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics now separately tracks “web and digital interface designers” and projects nearly 40% growth in the broader category through 2030. This change confirms a global surge in demand driven by the increasing importance of digital products, subscriptions, and user engagement. ## Formal Recognition of Digital Design - The BLS previously grouped digital designers with web developers or did not track them separately. - Its new category recognizes web and digital interface design alongside established fields such as graphic, industrial, interior, and architectural design. - The broader web development and digital design category is projected to grow from 2020 to 2030 by almost 40%. - Projections for 2030 increased from 188,000 jobs before the pandemic to 225,000 by February 2022. ## Demand Is Growing Globally - Design recruiter Judy Wert describes demand for designers as unprecedented, with company inquiries reportedly tripling in recent years. - LinkedIn identified design and UX research as fast-growing job categories across countries including the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and India. - Figma’s survey of 280 enterprise companies in four countries found that design teams grew by an average of 31% between 2019 and 2022. ## Why Businesses Need More Designers - People increasingly depend on digital interfaces for essential activities, including banking, work, healthcare, entertainment, education, and personal planning. - Many companies now operate through subscriptions or user engagement, making retention and satisfaction critical. - Frequent product updates and rapidly changing user expectations require organizations to respond quickly to feedback. - Design therefore influences not only how products look, but also how companies compete, retain customers, and operate. - Design thinking and initiatives such as Stanford’s d.school have made design methods more accessible across organizations, reducing resistance to design work. Digital design’s recognition by the BLS is less a symbolic change than evidence of a broader business transformation. Organizations should treat design as a core strategic capability and continue investing in designers who can shape effective, adaptable digital products.

digital-designfigmaux-designux+2

figmaJun 6, 2022

Figma and Chromebook: Empowering the next generation of designers | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s partnership with Google for Education brings Figma and FigJam to Chromebooks, making professional design and collaboration tools available to millions of students at no cost to participating schools. The initiative aims to remove financial, hardware, and geographic barriers to design education while preparing students for a digital-first workforce. Figma argues that design skills—especially visual communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity—should be accessible to everyone, not only students with specialized degrees or expensive equipment. ## Bringing Design Tools to Chromebooks - School districts can deploy and manage free Figma Organization licenses through the Google Admin Console. - Figma and FigJam will be available on Chromebooks, the most common personal computing devices for students. - Students can design, brainstorm, and collaborate from their own school devices rather than relying on limited computer-lab sessions. - Schools can apply for the beta program beginning in summer 2022. ## Removing Barriers to Design Education - Specialized degrees, costly hardware, and expensive creative software can prevent students from gaining design experience. - Cloud-based Chromebooks make design tools more affordable and accessible. - Figma’s founders designed the product to be free because they had seen how expensive creative tools could be for college students. - The broader goal is to give students access to opportunities in design and software regardless of their financial background. ## Why Design Skills Matter - The shift from physical to digital work, accelerated by the pandemic, has increased the importance of digital design and visual communication. - Design education develops: - Complex problem-solving - Collaboration - Creative expression - Communication and critical thinking - These skills are valuable across disciplines, not only in traditional design careers. - Figma cites research suggesting that design-focused companies outperform their peers by a factor of two. ## Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences - Teachers report higher student engagement and enthusiasm in class. - Students with no previous exposure to design have become interested in pursuing it after graduation. - Some students use Figma at home for personal projects simply because they enjoy creating. - Teachers use FigJam for icebreakers, collaborative exercises, and classroom activities. ## Learning Through Play and Projects - Dylan Field emphasizes play, hands-on work, and project-based learning as important ways to develop design skills. - He describes his own project-based high school, where science concepts were reinforced through engineering projects. - That curriculum reflected a design process: - Explore broadly and generate possibilities - Narrow the options and choose a direction - Execute the selected idea - This approach helps students learn by making, experimenting, and solving concrete problems rather than relying solely on instruction. Figma’s Chromebook initiative is intended to make design education a normal part of students’ everyday learning. Providing free, accessible tools—combined with hands-on, collaborative projects—can help more students build the creative and technical skills needed for the future.

digital-designfigmafigjamcloud-computing+3

figmaApr 20, 2022

Good ideas stick | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s digital washi tape began as a playful April Fun Day experiment inspired by a community tweet. The feature translated washi tape’s blend of visual delight, flexibility, and “just-right adhesion” into Figma and FigJam, attracting 224,000 rolls in a single day. Strong user enthusiasm convinced Figma that the feature should become more than a one-day joke. ## Why Washi Tape Works - Japanese washi tape is a decorative form of masking tape used for gift wrapping, scrapbooking, drawing, and planning. - Its appeal comes from being: - Colorful and expressive - Easy to tear, move, layer, and write on - Functional without damaging the surface underneath - These qualities make it especially appealing to designers, who enjoy patterns, lines, grids, and color. ## The Origins of Modern Washi Tape - In 2007, three Tokyo artists asked Japanese industrial tape manufacturer Kamoi Kakoshi to create more colorful versions of its masking tape. - The company invited them to its factory, saw how creatively they used the tape, and developed a new product line called **mt**. - The first collection launched with 20 colors. - Kamoi refined the tape’s “just-right adhesion,” allowing it to be repositioned, torn by hand, layered, and removed without damaging walls or other surfaces. - The company continued expanding the product with new colors, patterns, and collaborations until washi tape became a common household craft material. ## Translating Washi Tape into a Digital Product - Figma’s team prototyped a digital equivalent for Figma and FigJam. - The goal was to preserve the physical product’s: - Decorative, tactile feeling - Ease of manipulation - Practical usefulness - Ability to add personality to otherwise ordinary work - The April Fun Day release let users decorate files with bold, colorful strips of digital tape. ## From April Fools’ Feature to Lasting Utility - The feature quickly spread across user files, generating 224,000 digital “rolls” in one day. - Users experimented with ways to make sticky notes feel “stickier” and incorporated the tape into their work. - Many users asked Figma to bring the feature back permanently. - Their response showed that the tape was not merely a novelty: its combination of fun and utility made it genuinely useful in collaborative spaces. Figma’s experiment demonstrates that successful digital tools can emerge by identifying the emotional and functional qualities of familiar physical objects—not just copying their appearance. Washi tape’s lasting appeal comes from making everyday work more expressive, and digital versions can offer the same sense of creativity with even greater flexibility.

digital-designfigmaprototypingfigjam+1

figmaMar 24, 2021

Completing a transit map | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma invites the community to help complete a digital transit map of the San Francisco Bay Area created in memory of transit advocate Courtney Garg Brousseau. After Courtney’s death, Figma employees recreated his unfinished project from limited reference images, with his family’s permission. The resulting Figma Community file is intentionally open for others to expand, correct, and remix. ## Courtney’s Transit Map Project - Courtney was a passionate public-transit advocate who was building a Bay Area transit map in Figma. - His design was inspired by iconic New York City subway maps. - After learning of his death, Figma worked with his family to preserve and continue the project. - Because the original Figma file was unavailable, Figma rebuilt the map from a small number of images. ## An Incomplete Community File - Figma published the recreated map as a Figma Community file with Courtney’s family’s permission. - The map still contains missing details because the reconstruction was based on limited source material. - The project reflects Figma Community’s collaborative model: people can share existing work and build upon it. - The map is intended for people interested in public transit, cartography, and design. ## How to Contribute Readers can help by: - Opening the transit map in Figma Community. - Clicking **Duplicate** to copy it into their drafts. - Adding to or refining the map. - Publishing their contribution back to the Figma Community. The article also directs readers to information about Courtney’s life, legacy, and nonprofit work. Ultimately, Figma presents the transit map as a collaborative memorial. Designers and transit enthusiasts are encouraged to complete and improve Courtney’s work while keeping his interest in accessible public transportation alive.

digital-designfigmafigma-communitytransit-mapping+1

figmaNov 19, 2017

5 international cities with up-and-coming UI/UX design communities | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

The article argues that UI/UX innovation is no longer concentrated in Silicon Valley. Global conferences, meetups, education programs, and remote work are helping design communities grow in cities with distinct cultural and economic environments. It highlights São Paulo, Shenzhen, Riga, and the beginning of Lima’s profile as promising international design hubs. ## Global Design Is Becoming More Distributed - Silicon Valley’s influence can create a narrow view of the technology industry. - Design communities are expanding worldwide through: - UX conferences and local meetups - Remote work - Educational and internship programs - Growing collaboration between designers and developers - The article presents these cities as opportunities for graduates, digital nomads, and remote freelancers seeking active design communities. ## São Paulo, Brazil - São Paulo’s cultural diversity and progressive social environment support experimentation in technology and design. - The **Design Thinking para Startups** Meetup had more than 5,000 members discussing design sprints and Value Proposition Design. - **Front UX** focuses on improving collaboration between designers and developers. - UX/UI consultancy **Key Ideas** works with major clients including Nestlé, Samsung, and Colgate. - The city is portrayed as an emerging design powerhouse shaped by its large, educated population and craft-oriented culture. ## Shenzhen, China - Shenzhen transformed from a fishing village of roughly 30,000 people into a metropolis of approximately 11 million after becoming a Special Economic Zone. - By 2017, it had around: - 6,000 design firms - 100,000 design professionals - Its design scene spans digital products and many other creative disciplines. - UNESCO recognized Shenzhen as a cultural and creative center. - Industry observers predicted that Shenzhen could become a global innovation leader comparable to Silicon Valley. ## Riga, Latvia - Riga combines historic architecture with a growing contemporary creative and technology sector. - The annual **UX Riga** conference brings international speakers, workshops, and roughly 450 attendees. - The **UX/UI Riga** Meetup had 667 members discussing e-commerce UX and practical prototyping. - Riga-based startup DigiPulse attracted international attention by launching an early version of a digital cryptocurrency vault. - The city demonstrates how smaller European capitals can build globally connected design communities. ## Lima, Peru - Lima is introduced as a major coastal Latin American city, ranking behind Mexico City and São Paulo in metropolitan population. - Its Spanish Baroque and colonial architecture provide a distinctive cultural setting for its emerging design and technology scene. - The supplied excerpt ends before the article details Lima’s specific design organizations, companies, or programs. The broader recommendation is to look beyond established technology centers: emerging cities can offer strong professional networks, distinctive perspectives, and meaningful opportunities for UI/UX designers.

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