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figma3 min readCurated summary

The Future of Design Systems is Automated | Figma Blog

Design systems are moving from static libraries toward automated, extensible ecosystems powered by plugins, widgets, and AI. These tools can automate repetitive work, expand Figma’s capabilities, and increasingly generate or recommend design solutions using existing system components. The article argues that automation will change designers’ responsibilities, but not eliminate the need for human judgment, creativity, and strategy. ## Plugins and Widgets as Design-System Extensions - Plugins have a long history in design and publishing software, dating back to tools such as HyperCard and QuarkXPress. - They created a broader ecosystem in which users could build and share custom effects, brushes, styles, and workflows. - In modern design systems, plugins generally serve two purposes: - Automating repetitive existing tasks. - Extending product capabilities through analytics, testing, accessibility checks, and other functionality. - Widgets add collaborative and visual tools directly to the design workspace, helping teams organize information and communicate around design systems. ## Automating Repetitive Tasks - Plugins can reduce manual work involved in maintaining and applying design-system assets. - Automation allows designers to spend less time on mechanical operations and more time on problem-solving and decision-making. - The broader trend reflects a shift from tools merely supporting designers to tools actively performing parts of the design process. ## Extending Design-System Capabilities - Plugins can provide capabilities that are not included in a core design application. - Examples include: - Gathering usage and library analytics. - Testing designs. - Improving accessibility. - Connecting design workflows to other tools and systems. - This extensibility enables teams to adapt their design environment to specialized organizational needs. ## AI-Assisted Design - Earlier experiments, such as Airbnb’s 2017 work on generating code from low-fidelity wireframes, demonstrated the potential of machine-learning-assisted design. - More recent tools such as Diagram’s Genius can analyze Figma files and suggest designs using components from an organization’s design system. - These developments suggest that AI is beginning to make earlier prototypes practical. - AI tools may eventually help generate interfaces, recommend components, complete workflows, or produce code from design input. ## Changing Roles and Responsibilities - Automation raises concerns about whether designers and developers will be replaced by software. - The article frames this as a question about how tools shape professional practice, rather than simply whether they eliminate jobs. - As routine production becomes automated, human designers may focus more on: - Defining problems. - Making judgments and trade-offs. - Establishing product direction. - Applying empathy, taste, and contextual understanding. - The future of design therefore depends on how practitioners adapt alongside increasingly capable tools. Design teams should treat plugins, widgets, and AI as ways to expand human capability rather than substitutes for design thinking. The most effective systems will combine automation for repetitive work with human oversight, creativity, and strategic judgment.

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FigmaAIDesign SystemsMachine Learning+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

Can design make work, work? | Figma Blog

The post argues that people managers should redesign their work rather than accept today’s overloaded, meeting-heavy norms. By reclaiming time, making feedback visible earlier, and creating better asynchronous collaboration practices, managers can help teams work with more focus and flexibility. The central recommendation is to question existing routines and deliberately build a more effective future of work. ## Reclaim Time by Reducing Meetings - Shopify began 2023 by eliminating recurring meetings with more than three participants, later restoring only the most essential ones. - The goal was to protect uninterrupted time for independent work, especially in a fully remote organization spanning multiple time zones. - Asynchronous collaboration through tools such as Figma and FigJam allows people to contribute when they are available. - Managers should examine how they actually spend their days and compare that with what leadership expects them to do. - Collaboration tools, visual planning, and brainstorming can replace some meetings—or make remaining meetings more focused on relationships, shared values, and team culture. ## Make Feedback Cycles More Manageable - Sharing early drafts helps prevent late-stage “swoop and poop” feedback from stakeholders. - Posting screenshots or work-in-progress material in FigJam lets colleagues annotate, add sticky notes, and react with emojis without interrupting the team’s workflow. - Early visibility creates a manageable feedback loop rather than requiring the team to respond to every comment immediately. - Visual brainstorming also documents decisions and makes collaboration easier to revisit. - Teams benefit from repeatable processes, but they also need structured opportunities to identify what is not working. - At Super, anonymous suggestions during monthly retrospectives led to operational improvements, including a new bug-reporting system and short weekly sessions for testing new features. Managers can improve team performance by removing unnecessary meetings, shifting more work asynchronously, and inviting feedback early and continuously. The broader lesson is to treat management practices as redesignable systems rather than fixed workplace traditions.

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FigmaFigjamRemote WorkBrainstorming+2
figma3 min readCurated summary

How Pinterest’s design systems team measures adoption | Figma Blog

Pinterest’s Gestalt design systems team created a “design adoption” metric to understand how widely its components are used during the design phase, not just after implementation. Code-based adoption metrics were limited to web components and often lagged behind design activity, while raw Figma instance counts lacked context. Using Figma’s REST API, the team built FigStats to measure Gestalt usage relative to all content in Pinterest design files. ## Why Code Adoption Wasn’t Enough - Gestalt’s existing adoption metric tracked component usage in code. - Code provided concrete data about which components shipped and whether teams modified them. - However, it had two limitations: - It only covered web components, not Gestalt’s iOS and Android components. - It took time for newly designed components to reach production code. - Measuring adoption in Figma provided earlier insight into whether designers knew about and used Gestalt components across all platforms. ## Defining a More Meaningful Adoption Metric - Figma’s built-in library analytics reported: - Component instances - Component insertions - Usage by team - These were useful counts but did not indicate whether usage was significant. - For example, 10 Gestalt components in a 1,000-node design represent only 1% adoption, even though the raw usage count is nonzero. - Pinterest therefore defined adoption relatively: Gestalt usage compared with the total content in a design file or page. - This approach helped distinguish isolated component use from meaningful reliance on the design system. ## Building FigStats with the Figma REST API - The Gestalt team used Figma’s REST API to inspect design files and identify layers originating from Gestalt libraries. - FigStats aggregated this information into a dashboard for visualizing component usage. - The dashboard enabled the team to explore adoption across Pinterest’s design work rather than relying only on manually selected examples. - Measuring actual file content also helped reveal whether designers were using complete Gestalt components or recreating and modifying patterns themselves. ## Using Adoption Data to Guide the Design System - Design adoption became a way to evaluate the value and reach of Gestalt. - Higher usage could demonstrate that investment in corresponding engineering components was justified. - Low adoption could indicate that: - Designers were unaware of an existing component. - The component did not meet their needs. - Documentation or discoverability needed improvement. - A component required redesign or better cross-platform support. - Because design precedes implementation, Figma usage could serve as an earlier signal than production code adoption. Figma’s native analytics provide a useful starting point, but meaningful adoption measurement requires context. Teams should compare design-system usage with the total design surface, use the data to identify gaps, and treat Figma adoption as a complementary metric to code adoption.

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FigmaDesign SystemsRest ApiData Analytics+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

How Linear made the most of a DDoS | Figma Blog

Linear’s website went down during a DDoS attack shortly after a major redesign launch. Rather than leave visitors at a login page, the team turned the crisis into an opportunity by publishing the redesign directly as a Figma file. The unexpected workaround generated significant attention and demonstrated the value of fast, creative incident response. ## The Redesign and Its Complexity - Linear’s team had spent months exploring ideas for the new website. - The Figma file contained thousands of iterations, frames, large images, and design inspirations. - The file became so large that Figma warned it was approaching the browser’s memory limits. - Although the redesign took months to develop, the final work came together during the last 24 hours before launch. ## The DDoS Attack - On October 13, 2022, Linear’s homepage became unavailable. - The team initially suspected that the new redesign had introduced a technical problem. - Investigation revealed that the outage was caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack overwhelming the site with traffic. - Their immediate priority was restoring access to the application, so visitors were redirected from site pages directly to the login page. ## Turning the Outage into an Alternative Homepage - The direct login redirect restored app access but made the public launch feel anticlimactic. - As social media discussions about the redesign continued, Jori Lallo suggested publishing the Figma design file itself. - Paco Coursey and Edgar Ambartsoumian were initially hesitant, but Jori encouraged them to proceed. - The Figma file became an unconventional replacement for the unavailable homepage and attracted widespread attention online. The incident shows how a team can respond constructively under pressure: stabilize critical functionality first, then use creativity to preserve the user-facing experience when the normal solution is unavailable.

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FigmaIncident ResponseDdosWeb Application Security+1
figma2 min readCurated summary

Figma Persona 2022: What’s your creative collaboration style? | Figma Blog

Figma Persona 2022 presents a playful quiz designed to help people reflect on their creative collaboration and working styles. Based on 21 questions across problem-solving, workspace habits, and collaboration, the quiz assigns one of eight Figma-inspired personas. The article encourages teams to use these insights to improve communication, planning, and creative collaboration. ## The Figma Persona Quiz - The quiz is intended as an end-of-year reflection and goal-setting exercise. - It evaluates three areas: - How someone generates ideas and solves problems - How they organize their workspace and use tools - How they collaborate with others - Results fall into eight personas: - Lone Ascender - Canvas Captain - Direct Mobilizer - Artful Detacher - Bounding Boxer - Branch Merger - Vector Networker - Bézier Curve Baller ## Organized Individualists - Organized individualists prefer: - Tidy processes and clear deliverables - Defined milestones and structured workflows - Working independently before regrouping - Async updates and bug bashes - They are most effective when given space to develop ideas and solutions. - Collaborators should provide clear expectations, async pre-work, and precise requests. ## The Lone Ascender - The Lone Ascender is described as an organized, analytical individualist. - This persona excels at: - Solving complex problems - Building tactical, practical, systems-driven solutions - Applying consistent processes - Scaling difficult or complicated work - Lone Ascenders favor pragmatism and systematic thinking over idealism. - They value occasional collaboration but may be protective of file organization and formatting. - Suggested tools and habits include: - Memorizing shortcut keys and quick actions - Using FigJam templates to extend structured workflows - Applying strong organizational systems within Figma Overall, Figma frames the personas as a lighthearted way to recognize different working preferences. The practical recommendation is to use the results as a conversation starter, giving teammates the structure, independence, or collaboration style that helps them do their best work.

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FigmaFigjamCollaborative DesignHTML+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

Welcome to the WIP | Figma Blog

Modern digital products are never truly finished, so product development rarely follows the neat sequence of research, brainstorming, design, testing, and launch. Figma argues that teams should embrace this “work in progress” reality, sharing work earlier and designing workflows around continuous collaboration. The challenge is managing changing feedback and uncertainty without waiting for a mythical perfect moment to review or finalize work. ## Digital Products Are Always Works in Progress - Physical product development historically required a linear process because changes were expensive and slow. - Digital products can be updated quickly, making iteration continuous rather than stage-based. - Browser-based tools let collaborators access and modify the same file in real time. - Early sharing lowers the stakes: labels such as “[WIP]” signal that feedback is welcome and the work is not final. ## The Benefits and Confusion of Continuous Collaboration - Real-time collaboration encourages teams to share unfinished work sooner. - Feedback can become outdated as designs change. - Previous approvals may no longer apply when the underlying work evolves. - Teams need better ways to stay informed, including notifications, mobile comments, and integrations with tools such as Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. - Because work may never have a clearly defined final state, teams can even forget to remove “work in progress” labels after launch. ## Review Work on a Predictable Cadence - In an always-changing workflow, it is difficult to identify the perfect time to involve stakeholders or leadership. - Teams may be tempted to wait until the problem, solution, or product feels sufficiently complete. - Figma recommends predictable, intentional reviews—such as regular weekly critiques—instead of waiting for a supposedly ideal milestone. - Frequent check-ins help teams build confidence progressively while keeping feedback connected to the current state of the work. Teams should treat iteration as a normal operating condition, not a sign of poor planning. Regular reviews, clear communication, and collaboration tools can make continuous work more manageable without forcing it into an unrealistic linear process.

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FigmaFigjamProduct DesignReal Time Collaboration+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

Figma’s feedback gift guide | Figma Blog

Feedback is most effective when it is treated as a thoughtful, context-dependent exchange rather than a generic “gift.” Figma argues that good feedback depends on timing, project stage, team culture, and the relationship between the people involved. Matching feedback to the work’s level of development helps teams stay open to possibilities while still making progress toward clear goals. ## Match Feedback to the Design Stage - **Brainstorming:** Keep feedback expansive so it does not eliminate promising directions too early. - **Early concepts:** Use research and data to narrow options while preserving an open mind. - **Product reviews:** Check that the work supports product and business objectives. - **Design critiques:** Offer detailed UX and visual suggestions and encourage consistency. - **Prototypes:** Focus on usability and animation. - **High-fidelity designs:** Examine detailed decisions that may benefit from another perspective. - **Final designs:** Identify overlooked flows, use cases, or remaining gaps. - When requesting feedback, explain what type of input would be most useful at that stage. ## Adapt to Team Culture - Feedback practices should reflect where a company is in its shift toward collaboration. - Teams early in that transition may need more context, frequent critical conversations, and patience while feedback relationships develop. - Teams with an established feedback culture can rely on direct communication through proven channels. - Feedback should meet teammates where they are rather than assuming every team has the same norms. ## Respect Timing and Working Styles - Timing matters as much as content; feedback is more constructive when people are ready to receive it. - Consider project deadlines, teammates’ schedules, time zones, and personal preferences. - Avoid sending work-related messages at inconvenient hours without setting expectations. - Communicating your own working style and accommodating others’ schedules can reduce friction. Thoughtful feedback helps turn conversations into action, but it requires adapting both the message and delivery to the project, people, and culture involved.

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FigmaUser ExperiencePrototypingProduct Design+2
figma3 min readCurated summary

Behind the feature: find and replace | Figma Blog

Find and replace in Figma and FigJam proved far more complex than adding a search bar. The team had to design an intuitive experience for navigating a multidimensional canvas, develop reliable result-ordering logic, and adapt the feature across two different products. They combined prototyping, experimentation, internal testing, and lessons from an earlier plugin to create a native tool. ## Building an Intuitive Search Experience - The team began with a brainstorm involving design, engineering, product management, UX writing, and product marketing. - They studied search experiences in other applications and established three principles: - Fast and lightweight - Smooth when navigating across the canvas - Familiar, like search in a browser - Jackie Chui built an early prototype based on her 2019 Find and Replace plugin. - Engineers continuously iterated on working designs, while Figma employees tested the feature in daily work, participated in bug bashes, and provided feedback. ## Establishing the Core Experience in FigJam - The team launched the work in FigJam first to focus on the fundamentals: - Finding text - Highlighting matches - Navigating through results - FigJam provided a simpler starting point before tackling Figma’s broader range of objects and file structures. ## The Challenge of Sorting Search Results - Unlike web pages or documents, Figma and FigJam canvases are multidirectional and multidimensional. - Search results needed a predictable order so navigation would feel coherent rather than jumping randomly across the canvas. - The team had to account for the user-defined spatial structure of each file. ### Reusing Existing Sorting Logic - The first solution reused row-by-row sorting from Figma’s prototyping engine. - This worked for orderly layouts such as presentation slides. - It was less effective for FigJam boards, where stickies, shapes, and other objects may be scattered across the canvas. ### Using Sections and Spatial Grouping - The introduction of FigJam sections gave files clearer structure. - Results could be sorted within each section, producing an order that better matched visual groupings. - The team observed that users commonly clustered stickies around themes, next steps, or threaded discussions. - To handle groups outside sections, an engineer created a spatial-sorting algorithm that groups nearby elements together. ### Developing Heuristics - The team mapped heuristics for determining how section shapes should influence sorting direction. - These rules helped the system infer a natural reading and navigation order from the canvas layout. The broader lesson is that seemingly simple productivity features often require product-specific interaction models. Building prototypes early, testing with real files, and combining existing logic with new spatial heuristics helped Figma create find and replace that felt natural across both structured and free-form canvases.

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FigmaFigjamUser Interface DesignFind And Replace+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

A sneak peek at Schema 2022 | Figma Blog

Schema 2022 is Figma’s annual conference focused specifically on design systems rather than design in general. The event combines in-person gatherings in New York, London, and Tokyo with a virtual livestream, bringing together designers, developers, and advocates to discuss practical challenges, emerging standards, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. ## A Global Design Systems Conference - Schema 2022 includes: - In-person events in New York, London, and Tokyo - A virtual event open to anyone unable to attend in person - Community meetups in each host city - Each city features a distinct lineup of speakers representing different areas of design expertise. - The conference is invite-only, but interested attendees can apply online. - Talks were later made available through DesignSystems.com. ## A More Focused Conference Than Config - Whereas Figma’s Config conference addresses design broadly, Schema concentrates on the specialized field of design systems. - Its narrower focus allows speakers and attendees to explore the field’s specific opportunities and challenges in greater depth. - Organizers aim to balance innovative content with introductory material for people who are still new to design systems. ## Collaboration Between Designers and Developers - Design systems require a mix of design, engineering, and organizational skills. - Schema is intended to encourage “creative cross-pollination” between designers and developers. - Designers can share ideas for plugins, extensions, and integrations. - Developers can demonstrate tools and systems they are building. - The event highlights how design systems create a shared language between the two disciplines. ## Design Tokens and Emerging Standards - The W3C Design Tokens Community Group is highlighted as an important part of the program. - Design tokens provide a technology-agnostic way to scale visual design across tools, devices, and platforms. - The group is working toward standards that allow products and design tools to share design-system styles consistently. - Figma’s developer advocates are especially interested in how the group addresses accessibility and internationalization early in the standards process. Schema 2022 presents design systems as both a specialized practice and a meeting point for design and software engineering. Its recommendation is implicit: people working with design systems should use the event and its talks to learn from adjacent disciplines, follow developing standards such as design tokens, and connect with the broader community.

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FigmaDesign SystemsAccessibilityDesign Tokens+2
datadog3 min readCurated summary

DRUIDS, the design system that powers Datadog

Datadog created DRUIDS in 2018 to provide consistent UX patterns across its rapidly expanding observability platform. The system succeeds only if designers and developers trust and use it, so its documentation and tooling are designed to be easy to understand, implement, and contribute to. Datadog’s approach connects design, source code, documentation, and development workflows into a shared source of truth. ## Easy to Understand ### Fast Navigation and Discovery - The DRUIDS documentation supports Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K) quick navigation for finding components, patterns, icons, logos, and other resources. - The “DRUIDS Loupe” lets Datadog employees inspect components directly on product pages. - Hovering over an inspected component reveals links to its source code, Figma files, and documentation. ### Connected Documentation - Component pages link to GitHub, Figma, and VS Code. - JSDoc comments provide descriptions and links back to DRUIDS documentation inside VS Code. - Figma also links back to relevant components and guidance. - These connections minimize dead ends and keep supporting context close to where people are working. ## Easy to Implement ### Editable Playgrounds - DRUIDS treats React, TypeScript, and CSS implementation as the source of truth because code defines the actual browser experience. - Interactive playgrounds let users explore component props, test variations, and copy production-ready code. - A Code Sandbox page allows multiple components to be combined into live prototypes. - Stateful internal URLs make it easier to share ideas and reproduce bugs. - The tools also help teams without dedicated frontend specialists build internal applications using familiar Datadog patterns. ### Auto-Generated API Documentation - Each component includes an API table listing its props, allowed values, and descriptions. - The tables are generated directly from source code rather than maintained separately. - This prevents documentation from drifting away from the implementation across more than 150 components. - Clear, meaningful prop names improve predictability for both designers and developers. ## Easy to Contribute Back ### Contribution Guidelines - DRUIDS is intended to evolve as Datadog’s products and customer needs change. - Internal contribution guidelines define expectations for core design, structure, prop naming, documentation, styling, responsiveness, accessibility, and testing. - The guidelines aim to reinforce quality without making contributions burdensome or intimidating. ### CLI Tooling - A command-line wizard generates the standard structure for new components, including code, tests, and documentation examples. - For example, `yarn component button` creates the scaffolding for a button component. - Automating boilerplate lets contributors focus on design, user experience, and performance. Datadog’s central recommendation is to treat a design system as more than a component library: it should connect users, designers, and developers through consistent patterns, live examples, source-linked documentation, and lightweight contribution workflows.

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FigmaUser ExperienceReactTypeScript+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

The outsized role culture plays in attracting design talent | Figma Blog

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.

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FigmaProduct DesignDigital DesignDesign Ops+1
figma2 min readCurated summary

What’s new in Figma: September 2022 | Figma Blog

September 2022 brought Figma and FigJam updates focused on collaboration and design-system workflows. Component properties became more flexible through an open beta, while Google Calendar integration made it easier to connect files with meetings. Figma also announced Schema events and released more than 300 templates for common design and team activities. ## More Flexible Component Properties The open beta expands component-property capabilities to make design systems easier to manage and customize: - **Preferred values** provide curated component options when swapping instances. - **Exposed nested instances** let users customize nested-instance properties from the parent component. - **Simplified instances** hide unnecessary layers and details, emphasizing only editable elements for people using the component. ## Figma and FigJam in Google Calendar A new Google Chrome extension connects Figma and FigJam directly to Google Calendar: - Users can attach a Figma or FigJam file to a calendar event. - Teams can add meeting materials without leaving Calendar or manually copying links. ## Schema Design Systems Conference Figma opened registration for Schema, its design-systems-focused conference: - Programming is available virtually and in person. - In-person sessions are planned for New York, Tokyo, and London. - The event brings together design-systems leaders and practitioners to share ideas and improve their systems. ## More Than 300 New Templates Figma and FigJam added hundreds of templates organized by role and use case, helping teams start projects more quickly. Examples include: - Brand guidelines for documenting a brand’s visual source of truth - Product development roadmaps for moving features from idea to execution - Team meeting agendas - Roadmap planning, SWOT analysis, and design critique activities These updates make Figma more practical for collaborative meetings while giving design-system teams greater control over reusable components.

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FigmaDesign SystemsFigjamComponent Properties+3
figma2 min readCurated summary

Designing in the cloud with confidence | Figma Blog

Figma’s post announces that it has received the EU Cloud Code of Conduct compliance mark, making it one of only 17 companies to earn the designation at the time. The certification signals that Figma’s privacy and security practices have been independently validated against GDPR-related cloud data protection standards. Figma presents this as reassurance for global teams, particularly organizations operating in or expanding into Europe. ## Commitment to Global, Secure Collaboration - Figma says scaling design work across regions requires a reliable and trustworthy product. - Its international strategy includes: - Building features for users around the world - Expanding its global presence - Protecting customers’ design intellectual property - Meeting regional security and compliance requirements - The company emphasizes transparency around its security practices and track record. ## EU Cloud Code of Conduct Compliance - Figma became one of only 17 companies to receive the EU Cloud Code of Conduct compliance mark. - The Code is described as a leading European standard for cloud data protection. - The mark indicates that Figma has established processes intended to handle user data in compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). - Figma’s privacy and security policies were validated by SCOPE Europe, the accredited monitoring body for the Code. ## What It Means for Customers - Figma users can have greater confidence that their design data is handled according to recognized security standards. - European organizations and companies planning international expansion can use Figma with clearer assurance about its compliance posture. - The company directs readers to the EU Cloud Code of Conduct and its broader security documentation for more information. Figma’s practical message is that customers can continue using its cloud-based design platform with increased confidence in its European data protection and security controls.

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FigmaCloud SecurityCloud ComputingData Protection+1
figma2 min readCurated summary

A New Collaboration with Adobe | Figma Blog

Figma announced in September 2022 that Adobe would acquire it, presenting the deal as a way to accelerate Figma’s mission of making design and development more collaborative and accessible. Figma said it would remain operationally autonomous, with Dylan Field continuing as CEO and the product, culture, pricing, and education offerings largely unchanged. However, the proposed acquisition was ultimately abandoned in December 2023 after the companies concluded they could not obtain regulatory approval. ## Strategic Opportunity - Adobe’s technology, expertise, and resources were expected to accelerate Figma’s growth and innovation. - Figma highlighted potential access to Adobe capabilities in: - Imaging and photography - Illustration and video - 3D tools - Font technology - The companies also planned to explore new creative tools built on Figma’s collaborative technology. ## Figma’s Continued Autonomy - Adobe committed to keeping Figma operationally independent. - Dylan Field would remain CEO and report to Adobe executive David Wadhwani. - The entire Figma team would continue reporting through Field. - Figma said it would keep prioritizing its community, culture, and existing business practices. ## Product and Community Plans - Figma intended to continue improving: - Figma Design - FigJam - The Figma community platform - The company planned to expand into new areas while considering whether new capabilities should become separate products or be integrated into existing tools. - The Friends of Figma program would continue supporting local communities. - Figma said it had no plans to change pricing in the near term. - Figma’s education offering would remain free, with Adobe supporting efforts to grow the global population of designers, developers, and creatives. ## Broader Responsibility - Field described the acquisition as an opportunity to help build the next generation of creative tools. - He connected that responsibility to the rise of AI-generated content and growing questions about the role of human creativity. - He also reflected on Adobe’s influence in his own creative development and expressed optimism about working with the company. ## Final Outcome - The announcement was subject to regulatory, shareholder, and other closing conditions. - On December 18, 2023, Figma and Adobe ended the proposed acquisition because they no longer saw a viable path toward regulatory approval.

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FigmaCollaborative DesignDesign ToolsAdobe+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

What’s new in Figma: August 2022 | Figma Blog

Figma’s August 2022 update focused on improving collaboration, usability, and education support across Figma and FigJam. The headline release was a Microsoft Teams integration, while more than 20 smaller improvements refined everyday design and diagramming workflows. Figma also expanded its education offerings through new resources, templates, events, and Chromebook support. ## Microsoft Teams Integration - The new Figma app for Microsoft Teams lets users collaborate in Figma and FigJam without leaving Teams. - Users can: - Present files during meetings - Brainstorm and riff together - Add relevant files to Teams channels - Receive real-time feedback notifications - The integration targets the more than 270 million people who use Microsoft Teams for work. ## Usability Improvements Figma introduced more than 20 “Little Big Updates,” designed to make frequent tasks faster and more intuitive. - **Gradient editing:** Double-clicking gradients makes it easier to space gradient stops evenly and add depth to color fills. - **Frame markups:** Users can annotate frames without worrying that markings will be clipped or affected by auto layout. - **FigJam diagrams:** New prompts automatically create shapes, while connector mode remains active to speed up flowchart creation. - The updates cover shortcuts, design tools, collaboration features, and other day-to-day workflows. ## Expanding Figma for Education Figma highlighted new initiatives for educators and students through its Commons education conference. - Hundreds of educators participated in workshops, panels, and talks about collaborative classroom practices. - New education-focused FigJam sticker packs were released. - Figma launched an Education Community collection featuring classroom templates. - A monthly YouTube series, **“Study Hall,”** provides additional educational content. - Updates to the Chromebook beta allow U.S. high school districts to deploy Figma Organization to students and teachers for free. Overall, the update shows Figma investing both in major workplace integrations and in small workflow refinements. Teams, designers, and educators can benefit by adopting the Microsoft Teams app, exploring the usability improvements, and using Figma’s growing education resources.

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FigmaFigjamReal Time CollaborationAuto Layout+2