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User Experience

165 posts

figma3 min readCurated summary

18 designers predict UI/UX trends for 2018 | Figma Blog

The article gathers predictions from 18 designers about UI/UX in 2018, emphasizing that the field should improve users’ experiences rather than prioritize novelty or designer ego. Common themes include accessibility, ethical responsibility, collaboration, and closer integration between design and development. It also warns that efficiency and standardized systems can become harmful when adopted without critical thought. ## Accessibility and Inclusive Design - Designers argue that accessibility should become a central responsibility rather than an afterthought. - Common problems include: - Using ultra-light gray text for essential content - Adding unnecessary animation - Making interfaces harder to understand for visual flair - Inclusive design is described as an important trend that the industry needs, even if it is unlikely to attract attention or headlines. - The article suggests that many teams avoid accessibility work because it requires sustained effort rather than producing immediately visible results. ## Design Collaboration Inspired by Engineering - Design teams may begin working more like engineering teams. - Possible developments include: - Formal design reviews similar to code reviews - Design tools that identify inconsistencies like code linters - Open-source design patterns and shared UX standards - This approach could make collaboration more systematic and help establish common practices for user experience and information design. ## Ethics and Designer Responsibility - Designers are encouraged to recognize the influence their work has on people’s behavior and decisions. - UX choices should be evaluated for their ethical consequences, not only their usability or business value. - The broader prediction is that designers will become more accountable for how products affect users and society. ## Risks of Overreliance on Design Systems - Standardized systems such as Material Design and Microsoft’s Fluent Design may become increasingly dominant. - One concern is that designers will adopt these systems automatically without questioning whether they fit a product’s users or context. - Design systems can improve consistency, but they should not replace independent judgment or thoughtful problem-solving. ## Convergence of Design and Development Tools - Design and development tools are expected to become more integrated and centralized. - Technologies such as CSS Grid, custom variables, Vue, and React could make implementation more efficient and flexible. - Greater efficiency should create more time for designers to focus on responsible design and more inclusive experiences. - The article frames technical progress as valuable only when it supports better outcomes for users. Overall, the predictions recommend treating accessibility, ethics, and inclusion as core design requirements—not optional trends—while using collaboration frameworks, design systems, and new development technologies thoughtfully.

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User ExperienceDesign SystemsReactAccessibility+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

Stitch Fix accelerates design sprints by collaborating in Figma | Figma Blog

Stitch Fix uses Figma to make design sprints faster, more collaborative, and easier to manage across departments. Its browser-based workflow gives everyone access to one shared source of truth, eliminating file handoffs and tool-installation delays. Real-time collaboration and reusable components let the team focus on solving UX problems instead of managing files or repeating production work. ## Sprinting in the Cloud - Stitch Fix brings designers, engineers, marketers, and project managers together to brainstorm, whiteboard, and prototype solutions. - Because Figma runs in the browser, participants can join shared files through a URL, regardless of whether they use Macs or PCs. - The team avoids exchanging files and installing separate applications for design, prototyping, and developer handoff. - Head of Product Design Ellen Beldner describes Figma as a replacement for the combined workflow of Sketch, InVision, and Zeplin. - A shared cloud file creates a single source of truth from the beginning of the sprint. ## Brainstorming and Critiquing in Tandem - Design sprints often reveal technical challenges or unexpected effects elsewhere in the user experience. - Figma’s Multiplayer feature allows team members to inspect and edit the same design simultaneously. - Instead of gathering around one computer or emailing exported files, teammates can review specific areas directly in the shared file. - Ellen can leave comments, provide immediate feedback, or draw mockups to explain suggested changes. - Designers can return to the same URL later to review detailed critiques without scheduling additional walkthrough meetings. - Working in one file prevents conflicting versions and helps the team stay aligned as prototypes become higher fidelity. ## Shared Components Reduce Busywork - Tight sprint schedules leave little time for repeatedly recreating common UI elements. - Figma’s shared components provide reusable instances of interface elements. - When the master component changes, all instances update automatically. - During a card-based design-system sprint, Stitch Fix used components to test different card combinations efficiently. - Team members could continue placing component instances while others worked on navigation and related areas. - This automation freed designers to focus on broader UX questions rather than repetitive production tasks. ## Practical Conclusion Stitch Fix’s experience suggests that browser-based collaboration, real-time feedback, and reusable components can significantly streamline design sprints. Teams seeking faster cross-functional iteration should prioritize a shared design environment that reduces tool friction and keeps everyone working from the same source.

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User ExperienceFigmaDesign SystemsPrototyping+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

Introducing DesignSystems.com | Figma Blog

Figma introduced DesignSystems.com as a central resource for learning about and building design systems. The site aims to address practical challenges—such as consistency, communication, organizational culture, and implementation—rather than presenting only polished success stories. Figma also planned community events, including sponsored design-system dinners, to encourage candid offline discussion. ## Why Design Systems Matter - As products grow across multiple screens and teams, designers need processes that scale. - Companies increasingly compete through user experience, making consistency and efficient collaboration more important. - Common questions include: - Whether design components should be connected to code - Whether dedicated teams are necessary - How to start a design system - Whether design systems could replace designers - Figma had already supported this work through features such as team libraries, which allow companies to share component libraries across files and teams. ## DesignSystems.com as a Community Hub - The site was created as a place to learn, create, and discuss design systems. - It intends to cover: - Difficult implementation problems - Real-world failures and “war stories” - Lessons learned and best practices - The cultural and economic effects of design systems - Figma encouraged designers to contribute their successes, failures, and unresolved questions. ## Bringing the Conversation Offline - Design-system work involves organizational politics and social dynamics that can be difficult to discuss publicly. - Figma sponsored dinners where designers could openly debate how design systems affect their organizations. - The first dinner took place in San Francisco, with plans to support similar gatherings hosted by design communities worldwide. DesignSystems.com was positioned as both an educational resource and a community-building effort. Figma’s recommendation was to learn from honest implementation experiences and connect directly with peers facing similar challenges.

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User ExperienceFigmaDesign SystemsDesign Components+1
figma3 min readCurated summary

5 international cities with up-and-coming UI/UX design communities | Figma Blog

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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User ExperiencePrototypingDesign ThinkingDigital Design+4
figma2 min readCurated summary

Introducing: Figma Pages | Figma Blog

Figma Pages adds an organizational layer within a single design file, letting designers separate brainstorming, wireframes, iterations, and final assets without creating separate documents. The feature supports multiple workflows, including platform-specific designs, shared component libraries, and multiple prototypes. Figma emphasizes that Pages are for organization—not version control—and warns that duplicating large files across Pages may hurt performance. ## Organizing Designs with Pages - Pages can be added, switched, or deleted from the file’s left-hand panel. - The Pages menu collapses after use but can be kept open with a control-click. - Sketch imports preserve the original document’s pages and symbols. - There is no limit to the number of Pages in a file. ## Common Uses - Separate brainstorming, wireframing, and polished designs. - Organize iOS and Android screens on different Pages. - Store shared components, icons, or other interface elements separately. - Choose the first Page to control which design appears as the file thumbnail. - Create separate prototypes within one file. ## Collaboration and Moving Components - Sharing one Page grants access to the entire file containing it. - Components can be moved between Pages by right-clicking and choosing **“Move to Page.”** ## Pages Versus Version Control - Pages should not be used to create copies of designs as a version-control system. - Figma already provides version history for tracking changes. - Repeatedly duplicating large designs across Pages can negatively affect performance. Figma Pages is best used to structure related design work within one accessible file, while Figma’s version history should handle historical snapshots and revisions.

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User ExperienceFigmaPrototypingVersion Control+2
figma3 min readCurated summary

How Inneract Project empowers brown and black designers | Figma Blog

The article highlights ten UI/UX design internships recommended by Figma users, arguing that the best programs offer meaningful design work, mentorship, user research, and opportunities to learn—not merely perks or high compensation. Across companies ranging from Shopify and Facebook to Hotels.ng and Palantir, interns are given varying degrees of responsibility, collaboration, and professional guidance. The strongest internships help students build practical skills and often lead to full-time employment. ## What Makes an Internship Valuable? - Respondents valued opportunities to practice design, conduct real user testing, and learn from experienced professionals. - Mentorship was a recurring theme: - Shopify assigns every intern a staff mentor. - Spotify provides interns with a designated mentor or manager. - Perks such as catered meals, generous stipends, travel credits, and office amenities were appreciated but considered secondary to meaningful work and learning. ## Shopify - Places interns on cross-functional teams to develop communication and collaboration skills. - Design interns work on deployable products, including Timeline. - Approximately 80% of interns reportedly return to Shopify or become full-time employees. - Strong emphasis on individual mentorship. ## Hotels.ng - Offers a remote, paid UI/UX internship for Nigerian residents through a partnership with the Akwa Ibom State government. - Interns must complete assigned tasks successfully to remain in the program. - The program lasts three months. - Many graduates receive full-time offers from Hotels.ng or other local companies. ## Facebook - Provides a reported average stipend of about $5,600 per month. - Interns receive substantial responsibility and are treated similarly to full-time employees. - The work environment is described as resembling an intensive “college campus.” ## Spotify - Runs a ten-week program organized into close-knit squads and two-week sprints. - Interns are treated as “band members,” reinforcing the company’s collaborative culture. - The product design program is highly design-focused, with strong expectations for visual craft. - Mentorship and free food are notable parts of the experience. ## Salesforce - Its Futureforce program gives interns meaningful projects and opportunities to learn design systems. - Interns participate in social events with executives and receive up to seven days of Volunteer Time Off. - The program combines professional development with networking and community activities. ## Uber - Offers health benefits, unlimited vacation, and Uber credits. - Interns work in an intense but rewarding environment. - Product design interns may have direct access to senior leaders, whose willingness to listen can give interns significant influence. ## IBM - Austin’s Maelstrom program guides roughly 15 young designers through four tracks: - Design research - Visual design - UX design - Front-end development - Program leaders attribute its success partly to an emphasis on emotional intelligence. ## Airbnb - Known for a strong design culture, influenced in part by its designer co-founders. - Offers a close-knit, progressive, and innovative work environment. - Interns receive travel credits and access to extensive employee perks. - The company was ranked highly as a workplace in 2016. ## Square - Gives interns flexibility to explore different types of design problems as their interests develop. - Recognized for efforts to address gender inequality in technology. - Interns may work beyond conventional UI design, with opportunities to approach problems creatively and artistically. ## Palantir - Product design interns focus on solving complex problems rather than making minor visual adjustments. - The company’s open-source Blueprint style guide reduces repetitive interface work. - The program emphasizes product thinking and meaningful design challenges. ## Practical Takeaway When evaluating internships, prioritize mentorship, real product responsibility, cross-functional collaboration, and opportunities to learn from feedback. Compensation and perks are useful, but a program that develops practical design skills and provides a path to future employment is likely to have the greatest long-term value.

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User ExperienceFigmaDesign SystemsUser Testing+3
figma3 min readCurated summary

How to throw a design-friendly hackathon | Figma Blog

Hackathons have traditionally centered on engineers, but design is now essential to building successful technology products. To attract and retain designers, organizers must deliberately recruit them, communicate the event’s creative value, make applications inclusive, and provide design-focused support. Hack@Brown’s experience shows that these efforts can raise designer participation to roughly one-fifth of attendees. ## Why Hackathons Need Designers - Early hackathons were created around programming and engineering, reinforcing the idea that they were primarily for coders. - As design became a major product differentiator, hackathons began seeking stronger collaboration between designers and engineers. - Hack@Brown, Brown University’s annual event with more than 500 participants, experimented with different approaches and reached about 20% designer participation by 2017. ## Recruit Designers Directly - Designers often do not encounter hackathon promotions through computer-science networks. - Organizers should contact: - University art departments - Campus design clubs and social groups - Local art and design schools - Hack@Brown reached out to institutions including RISD, Parsons, and Northeastern’s design club, Scout. - Organizers with personal connections to design communities have an advantage, but broader outreach is necessary to build awareness. ## Market the Creative Opportunity - Generic messaging such as “24 hours” and “loads of prizes” may not appeal to designers. - Promotional materials should demonstrate strong visual design and involve artists or visual thinkers on the organizing team. - Hack@Brown replaced conventional hacker-focused messaging with “Make, play, learn,” emphasizing creativity, collaboration, and experimentation. - The goal is to show designers that they can make meaningful contributions to hackathon teams. ## Create an Inclusive Application Process - Application systems can unintentionally favor experienced engineers or exclude candidates from nontraditional backgrounds. - Organizers can use: - A lottery system with reserved designer spaces - A separate evaluation process for design applicants - Design experts to help review applications - Hack@Brown received about 3,000 applications for 500 places and used representation targets, including at least 15% designers, 50% women, and 20–30% first-time hackathon participants. - Broader participation produced more varied and innovative projects. ## Build a Design-Friendly Event - Recruiting designers is not enough; the event must also support their needs and make them feel included. - Useful initiatives include: - Design workshops before or during the hackathon - UX/UI introductions for participants unfamiliar with design - Designer mixers to help attendees build community - Design mentors, especially those with coding experience - Design recruiters offering job and internship opportunities - Hack@Brown scheduled its event shortly after Brown and RISD career fairs so recruiters could meet many potential candidates efficiently. ## Recognize Designers - The article begins a section on rewarding designers to encourage them to return and recommend the event to others, but the provided text ends before describing the specific reward strategies. A design-friendly hackathon requires intentional outreach, inclusive selection, relevant programming, and visible support for design participants. Treating designers as equal contributors—not as an afterthought—helps create stronger teams and more innovative projects.

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User ExperienceCollaborative DesignDesign ThinkingVisual Design+2
figma1 min readCurated summary

Discover Hidden Functionalities with #FigmaTip Roundup 1.0 | Figma Blog

The post launches Figma’s **#FigmaTip Roundup**, a collection of small, community-shared techniques for discovering less obvious features in Figma. The featured tips focus on faster editing, navigation, and object selection, showing how keyboard shortcuts and property-based commands can streamline design workflows. ## Copying Layer Properties - Multiple layer properties can be selected and copied to other objects. - This provides a quicker alternative to manually reproducing styles or settings across layers. ## Canvas Panning Shortcuts - Press **Z + an arrow key** to pan around the canvas. - Hold **Shift + Z** to pan using larger movements or “nudges.” - These shortcuts make navigating large canvases faster without relying on scrollbars or trackpad gestures. ## Selecting Objects with Matching Properties - The roundup also highlights a feature for selecting objects that share the same properties. - This can help designers efficiently work with groups of similarly styled or configured objects. The article encourages designers to explore Figma’s hidden capabilities and share their own discoveries through **#FigmaTip**.

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User ExperienceFigmaKeyboard ShortcutsCanvas Panning+1
figma2 min readCurated summary

Combine is taking on the design venture capitalist world | Figma Blog

Combine is a new seed-stage venture firm founded by former Facebook and Airbnb design leaders Soleio Cuervo and Adam Michela. Rather than relying on publicity, it plans to build an elite, design-focused portfolio and provide hands-on support through an in-house team of design partners. The firm’s model combines early investment with design-studio services, reflecting the growing importance of user experience in competitive software markets. ## A Quiet Venture Launch - Combine launched with little publicity, sharing only cryptic images of its warehouse office and no formal Medium announcement. - Despite its low profile, Silicon Valley insiders were watching closely. - The founders’ understated approach reflects their belief that reputation should come from past work rather than promotional claims. ## Founders with Deep Design Experience - Soleio Cuervo was Facebook’s second design hire. - He helped shape the company’s early design culture. - He led work on Facebook Messenger, Groups, and the original Like button. - Adam Michela joined Facebook after Cuervo’s departure. - He created Facebook’s first design system. - He later built a design system at Airbnb. - Their contrasting personalities complement each other: - Cuervo is an expressive, relationship-oriented connector. - Michela is a quieter, methodical operator. - Both share a strong interest in design and people, along with a reluctance to self-promote. ## A Venture Firm Built Around Design - Combine had raised more than $12 million for its first fund. - The firm planned to maintain a small, selective portfolio. - It intended to hire a team of highly experienced design partners. - These partners would work directly with portfolio companies on: - Branding and marketing - User research - Product design - Recruiting and team-building - The model resembles Andreessen Horowitz’s service-oriented venture approach, but with an unusually strong focus on design. ## The Growing Importance of Design - Combine was launching as startups increasingly compete through user experience. - Cloud infrastructure has made software cheaper and easier to build, giving consumers more alternatives. - As functional differences narrow, thoughtful design can become a company’s strongest competitive advantage. - Users increasingly blame a product—not themselves—when they cannot understand how to use it, making usability central to business success. Combine’s approach represents a shift from venture capital as primarily financial support toward venture capital as an active operating partnership. Its success would depend on whether elite design expertise can meaningfully improve early-stage companies and establish a repeatable model for design-driven investing.

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User ExperienceFigmaDesign SystemsProduct Design+1
figma2 min readCurated summary

How Braintree Cut Time Spent on Design Critiques by 50% | Figma Blog

Braintree redesigned its critique process by replacing static presentations and follow-up meetings with real-time collaboration in Figma. Designers worked together in the same file during Slack audio calls, making and demonstrating changes immediately. This cut critique time by roughly 50% while also improving collaboration and simplifying developer hand-offs. ## Challenges with Traditional Critiques - Designers typically presented work, collected feedback, and worked alone afterward. - Feedback could be misunderstood or difficult to apply correctly. - Follow-up meetings were needed to review revisions and address new issues. - After PayPal acquired Braintree, multiple design teams, style guides, services, and developer groups increased coordination complexity. ## Finding Figma - Braintree’s Developer Experience team experimented with new critique methods. - Figma’s browser-based, collaborative files allowed designers to work together regardless of device or location. - Designers joined an audio Slack call and opened the same file instead of scheduling several in-person meetings. - Figma’s observation mode let one designer follow another’s screen and move through different frames in real time. ## Collaborative Work Instead of Static Feedback - Designers could duplicate an artboard and make changes while discussing the design. - Feedback became concrete and immediately understandable rather than being recorded as notes for later. - Team members brainstormed, explored alternatives, and combined the strongest elements of multiple designs. - Craig Wattrus estimated that critiques took 50% less time because collaborators could demonstrate ideas directly. - The process often produced better results than one designer working independently and applying feedback later. ## Faster Developer Hand-off - Designers shared a single link with developers instead of repeatedly exporting updated files. - Designers could explain interactions and demonstrate behavior directly in the shared file. - Developers received answers immediately, reducing long message exchanges. - Design and engineering teams needed fewer meetings to clarify how interfaces were intended to work. Braintree’s experience suggests that real-time, shared design files can turn critiques into productive collaboration sessions. Teams looking to reduce review cycles and improve design-to-development communication should consider working together directly in the design artifact rather than relying on presentation-based feedback.

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User ExperienceFigmaSlackReal Time Collaboration+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

Are hackathons the answer to the tech designer shortage? | Figma Blog

Hackathons could help address the tech industry’s designer shortage by connecting design students with engineers, rapid product development, and recruiting companies. However, traditional hackathons often make designers feel unwelcome because they emphasize coding and seem aimed exclusively at developers. Hack@Brown shows that deliberate outreach and inclusive programming can turn hackathons into an effective pathway into product design careers. ## Making Hackathons Welcoming to Designers - Many design students believe they do not belong at hackathons because they cannot code or view tech companies as “selling out.” - Hack@Brown changed its branding to appear more professional and appealing to designers. - Organizers introduced dedicated UX and UI prizes. - They contacted design clubs nationwide and paid travel costs for students to attend. - The event’s design team grew from four members to six, helping ensure designers’ concerns shaped the experience. ## The Missing Path into Tech Design - Engineers have established routes into technology through coding education, projects, and recruiting pipelines; designers often lack an equivalent path. - Even invited designers sometimes left after seeing recruiting booths focused on engineers, reinforcing the sense that they did not fit in. - Companies need to take responsibility for finding potential designers rather than waiting for them to enter traditional tech channels. - Personal mentorship can be decisive: Atty Eleti discovered his potential as a designer after encouragement from Figma engineer Jessica Liu and designer Alice Lee. ## Hackathons as a Recruiting Funnel - Hack@Brown grew from 15–20 designers in 2013 to more than 100 in 2017—about 20% of attendees. - Companies including Facebook, Kayak, LinkedIn, Dropbox, IBM, and GE were increasing designer recruitment. - Facebook representatives attended to identify students with potential and followed up with attendees, including campus visits. - Recruiters seek designers with a combination of skills that remains difficult to find because product design is still a relatively young field. - Hackathons give companies an opportunity to meet promising candidates early and show students that tech design offers substantial career opportunities. Companies and hackathon organizers should actively invite, support, and mentor designers. With inclusive branding, design-specific challenges, financial assistance, and visible designer participation, hackathons can become a meaningful bridge into tech careers rather than developer-only events.

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User ExperienceFigmaProduct DesignUser Interface+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

Women Who Design | Figma Blog

The article argues that the tech industry’s claim that qualified women are difficult to find is false. Women Who Design, a searchable directory created by Jules Forrest, demonstrates the breadth of talented female designers in tech and provides a resource for recruiting, networking, and mentorship. Its central message is simple: organizations can find women for leadership roles, teams, and conferences if they make the effort to look. ## The Lack of Visibility for Women in Tech - Women in technology often receive less attention than male peers despite having comparable expertise. - Earlier efforts, including a list of 1,000 women in tech and directories of female venture capital investors, challenged the idea that qualified women are scarce. - These initiatives do not solve systemic gender discrimination, but they make underrepresented talent easier to discover. ## Women Who Design - Product designer Jules Forrest created **Women Who Design**, a directory of female designers in the technology industry. - Users can filter the list by categories such as: - Founder - UX research - Other design specialties and leadership roles - The directory is intended for: - Recruiting designers - Finding professional role models - Discovering people to follow or work with - Forrest planned to expand the directory through a nomination form and allowed people to opt out if they did not want to be identified or searchable as women in design. ## The Community Response - Forrest was inspired by a tweet from Shopify design lead Helen Tran, who asked followers to name female design influencers. - The tweet generated: - 256 retweets - 704 likes - 368 replies - More than 450 suggested names - Responses came from prominent design leaders at organizations including BuzzFeed and Google Ventures. - The reaction showed that the design community already knew many talented women; the problem was that they were not always included in public conversations. ## Balancing Representation and Labels - Forrest recognized a tension between highlighting women by gender and avoiding the impression that gender defines their professional value. - She also emphasized that visibility matters, particularly for younger women who need to see peers and leaders they can identify with. - The directory reflects an attempt to improve representation while acknowledging the limitations of categorizing people primarily by gender. The article concludes that “there aren’t enough qualified women” is not a credible excuse for hiring decisions or conference lineups. Employers and event organizers should use resources like Women Who Design to broaden their searches and make overlooked talent visible.

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User ExperienceProduct DesignDesign RecruitingDesign Community+2
figma2 min readCurated summary

Should designers learn to code? | Figma Blog

The article argues that learning to code is not a universal requirement for designers. Alex Cornell chose filmmaking and motion graphics instead because his engineering-heavy startup already had strong coding expertise, and that specialization later helped him launch Facebook Live. While coding can improve collaboration with engineers, designers should choose skills based on their interests, team needs, and career goals. ## Coding Is a Personal Choice - In 2007, deciding whether to code was viewed as an individual career choice rather than an expected designer milestone. - Cornell worked alongside highly experienced engineers, so learning to code would have duplicated an existing team strength. - He chose filmmaking, After Effects, and Premiere because he found motion graphics more engaging and useful. - Without modern prototyping tools, he used After Effects to demonstrate animated interface ideas. ## The Value of Learning Adjacent Skills - Cornell sometimes wonders what learning to code might have enabled, but does not fundamentally regret his decision. - His design career benefited from understanding how engineers think and how to translate design concepts into technical language. - At Facebook, coding is helpful but not essential to his role. - Specializing in a complementary discipline can make a team stronger than having everyone develop the same skills. ## The Boundary Between Design and Code Is Blurring - Modern tools such as Framer and Origami combine visual design with logic and interaction. - Designers increasingly work with systems that sit between traditional design and programming. - Because roles and tools overlap, the question is no longer a simple choice between coding and not coding. - There is no universally correct answer; the best path depends on the individual. ## Writing and Communication Matter - Cornell recommends writing and communication or presentation as especially valuable alternatives to coding. - Strong design or technical execution may have little impact if the designer cannot persuade others to support the idea. - Communication can take many forms: - Speaking in meetings - Presentations and slide decks - Films or demonstrations - Clear written explanations - These skills combine practical communication with emotional intelligence, helping designers influence decisions and move projects forward. - Cornell also cautions against leaving school too early because writing, communication, and interpersonal skills are harder to acquire independently than technical skills. Designers should learn to code when they are genuinely interested in it or when it serves their goals—not because it has become an expected rite of passage. Building complementary strengths, particularly in writing and communication, can be just as valuable.

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User ExperiencePrototypingFramerMotion Graphics+3
figma3 min readCurated summary

Did Snapchat succeed because of its controversial UI? | Figma Blog

Snapchat’s confusing, unconventional interface may have helped rather than hurt its success. By rejecting standard usability rules, it created a product that encouraged exploration, social teaching, creativity, and a sense of insider belonging. Its design was partly accidental, but it also introduced influential mobile interaction patterns that made Snapchat distinctive. ## Breaking Conventional Usability Rules - Snapchat violated the principle of making interfaces immediately understandable. - Its navigation was chaotic: - Stories used both vertical and horizontal scrolling. - The camera screen contained unrelated controls. - There was no consistent navigation bar. - Designers argued that design should solve a problem, even if the result is less polished or intuitive. - Snapchat demonstrated that usability is not always the most important measure of a successful product. ## Tribal Knowledge and Millennial Appeal - Many users initially found Snapchat frustrating and ridiculous. - Its hidden features, such as filters and video calling, were often learned from friends. - This dependence on “tribal knowledge” created: - A sense of belonging among users. - A private space that felt separate from parents and older generations. - A rewarding discovery process. - The app’s messy interface also reflected the informal, chaotic identity its young audience associated with itself. ## Pioneering Mobile Interaction - Snapchat was among the first major social apps to open directly to the camera. - This encouraged users to create content rather than simply consume it. - Gestures such as swiping, tapping, double-tapping, and holding became essential commands. - Swiping to access filters was more fluid than browsing static filter thumbnails. - Its multidirectional navigation arguably suited touchscreen devices better than tiny menu buttons. ## “Shareable UI” Instead of Intuitive UI - Josh Elman described Snapchat’s approach as “shareable UI.” - Rather than making every feature discoverable by individual trial and error, the app encouraged users to learn from friends. - Social products can benefit from features that people want to demonstrate and discuss. - The goal is not always immediate comprehension; a powerful or entertaining product may spread because users teach one another how to use it. ## Accidental Innovation or Deliberate Strategy? - Some designers believed Snapchat’s interface was simply the result of accumulated bad decisions. - Others saw its design as unusually attuned to younger users and mobile behavior. - Regardless of intent, its unconventional choices helped establish new patterns for camera-first apps, gesture-based controls, and socially learned features. Snapchat’s success suggests that products do not always need to be intuitive or conventionally polished. A distinctive, difficult-to-master interface can succeed when it creates social value, rewards discovery, and gives users something worth sharing.

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User ExperienceUser InterfaceInteraction DesignMobile Design+3
figma2 min readCurated summary

From Furniture to Screens | Figma Blog

Furniture design taught Figma designer Sayer Pease that tools should support people’s activities without becoming the focus themselves. Figma applies this principle through simple, versatile tools, tactile controls, and a restrained visual system that helps designers concentrate on their work. The broader lesson is that useful design principles can come from disciplines far beyond digital product design. ## Tools - A small, well-designed toolset can support both simple and complex work, much like a hammer can build anything from a cabinet to a house. - Figma’s pen tool was designed to feel more like a physical pen. - Its vector objects use networks of connected points rather than traditional paths, enabling more flexible and natural drawing. - The editor is intended to resemble an organized workbench, with essential tools easy to find and use. ## Control - Familiar, tactile interactions help users feel in control of digital tools. - Keyboard shortcuts provide both physical familiarity and greater efficiency. - Figma’s Command-drag selection heuristic distinguishes containers from their contents. - Users can select nested elements—such as icons inside a toolbar—without selecting the toolbar itself, reducing the need to think about layer hierarchy. ## Color as Semantic Guidance - Figma initially used an almost entirely monochromatic, “unskinned” interface so the product would fade behind users’ designs. - As functionality increased, the lack of visual differentiation made UI components harder to distinguish. - The revised approach uses color without making the interface visually dominant. - Colors add semantic meaning: green indicates actions, while blue indicates selection. - This helps users understand what they are doing at a glance rather than focusing on how the interface works. ## Learning Across Disciplines - Product designers should challenge the assumptions and conventions of their immediate field. - Valuable solutions can come from both historical design practices and unrelated disciplines. - Furniture design provides Figma with principles centered on utility, organization, control, and unobtrusive support. Ultimately, digital tools should enable users’ creativity rather than compete with it. Designers can improve products by studying how other disciplines create tools and environments that quietly support meaningful work.

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User ExperienceFigmaDesign SystemsUser Interface+2