Figma is enhancing its design capabilities with the reintroduction of a feature previously known as Make Designs, now renamed First Draft. This change aims to better encapsulate the feature's purpose: providing designers with a streamlined way to initiate their projects. The design process often involves navigating various challenges before reaching a first draft, and Figma recognizes the potential of AI to alleviate some of this tedium, allowing designers to more effectively translate their ideas into tangible designs. First Draft operates using established AI models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Amazon Titan, and is built on three core components: model, context, and prompt. The context is enriched with proprietary design systems that include a variety of components and assembly examples. Users can input their design objectives as prompts, and the AI will then curate and customize design elements accordingly, creating a foundational design for users to build upon. At the recent Config 2024 event, Figma announced over ten new AI features in limited beta, including First Draft. Initially launched as Make Designs, the feature faced challenges due to its design system producing outputs too similar to existing applications, prompting a temporary suspension. After thorough analysis and refinement, First Draft has been reintroduced with significant updates. Users can now select from four distinct libraries tailored to their needs, ranging from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity designs, facilitating a more exploratory design process. Looking ahead, Figma envisions First Draft evolving to support custom libraries, enabling organizations to utilize their unique design languages without the hassle of manually sifting through numerous components. This initiative is being developed in collaboration with industry-standard design systems, such as Google Material 3, to demonstrate how robust, code-backed components can enhance team collaboration and iteration. Figma AI, including the First Draft feature, is currently in limited beta and will be gradually rolled out to users in the coming months. The team is committed to gathering user feedback to continuously improve the feature and ensure it meets the needs of designers effectively. Noah Levin, the Vice President of Design at Figma, oversees these developments, emphasizing the importance of integrating intelligent tools to empower designers and enhance their creative processes.

Figma's Make Designs feature has been renamed to First Draft. First Draft allows users to input design goals, then uses AI to select, arrange, and customize design system components, creating a starting point for designs. It aims to give designers more ways to explore their options and help bring ideas to life. First Draft is now available in a limited beta and will be rolled out to users gradually over the coming months.

Figma has reintroduced its AI-powered app generator, originally named Make Designs, now rebranded as First Draft. This decision follows the initial removal of the tool due to concerns that it closely mimicked Apple's iPhone weather app. Despite Figma's assurances that the AI models used were not trained on customer data, the company opted to take the feature offline for further testing. The relaunch of First Draft comes with several enhancements aimed at improving user experience. Users can now select from four different libraries tailored to their design needs, ranging from wireframing options for low-fidelity sketches to higher-fidelity libraries that offer more visual elements. This flexibility allows designers to explore various styles and approaches, complementing Figma's existing Visual Search feature, which enables users to locate files or components through prompts or images. First Draft operates using established AI models, such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and Amazon Titan, and is built on three core components: model, context, and prompt. The context incorporates proprietary design systems with a variety of components and examples, while users provide their design objectives as prompts. The AI then curates and organizes design elements based on these inputs, effectively generating a foundational design for users to build upon. Figma has emphasized that First Draft does not utilize customer content for training, and the feature has been relaunched after thorough analysis and testing. Additionally, Figma's suite of AI tools includes capabilities for auto-generating text within designs, further enhancing the design process for users.

Figma is updating its drafts system, requiring users on Starter and Professional plans to move their drafts into team spaces for better organization and access to paid features. This change addresses unclear ownership issues, inconsistent experiences, and security by ensuring all drafts are associated with teams while remaining private and free to edit. Users will have time to transition their drafts. The update aims to improve future billing and project management for freelancers.

Figma introduced a significant UI redesign, generative AI tools, and slide creation functionalities at its Config conference. The redesign includes a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. It aims to make the platform more approachable for new users and useful for experienced ones. The new AI tools can help users quickly create project drafts, while Figma Slides enables users to build and share presentations within the app.

Figma has rolled out a transformative feature called multi-edit which significantly reduces the effort needed to edit across multiple designs by enabling simplified multiple-object editing in just a few clicks, aiming to blend seamlessly into the user's workflow. Developed by Sho Kuwamoto and Nikolas Klein, multi-edit diverges from conventional selection norms in design software. It is the result of an extensive process of ideation and refinement.

Over the past decade, Figma has evolved from a design tool to an ecosystem supporting entire product teams. Its new brand refresh focuses on versatile primitives, dynamic compositions, an expanded color palette, and integrated motion principles, creating a flexible visual language. Inspired by playgrounds and collaborative activities, the refreshed identity reflects Figma's diverse user base and interactions. This reimagined design system, featuring bold shapes and vibrant colors, emphasizes adaptability and collaboration, pointing to Figma's future growth.

Figma has undertaken a significant redesign of its interface, known as UI3, aimed at enhancing the user experience for designers. This overhaul was driven by a desire to minimize distractions and keep the focus on the design work itself. The team dedicated over two years to this project, iterating on various concepts and even reversing some initial design decisions based on user feedback. The goal was to create an interface that not only meets the needs of current users but also anticipates future demands. The redesign process involved a deep engagement with user feedback, as the team recognized that understanding the needs of designers is crucial. Marcin Wichary, the Design Director, emphasized the importance of listening to users and processing their feedback carefully, as metrics related to creativity and flow are often elusive. The team aimed to ensure that the redesign journey included input from a broad range of users, making the transition smoother and more inclusive. One of the key features of UI3 is the introduction of docked panels, which allow for a more streamlined workspace. The team explored various configurations for these panels, including floating options, but ultimately decided to fix them in place based on user feedback indicating that floating panels could be distracting and hinder productivity. The redesign also introduced a "Minimize UI" feature, which collapses side panels to provide a distraction-free workspace while still allowing easy access to tools. The evolution of blend modes and the properties panel was another focus area. The team sought to modernize these elements while ensuring they remained intuitive for users. For instance, the blend modes were initially hidden behind an icon, which slowed down workflows. The final design features an inline dropdown for easier access, reflecting a balance between minimalism and functionality. Throughout the redesign, the team engaged in extensive collaboration and feedback sessions, adapting their approach based on insights gathered from users. This iterative process included experimenting with various design elements, such as clip content controls, which ultimately returned to a checkbox format for clarity and efficiency. Recognizing that redesigns can be daunting for users, Figma provided an opt-out option during the beta phase of UI3, allowing users to familiarize themselves with the new interface at their own pace. This gradual rollout is intended to facilitate a smoother transition and ensure that users feel supported as they adapt to the changes. As UI3 becomes available to all users on October 10, the Figma team encourages ongoing feedback to continue shaping the future of their design tools. The redesign reflects a commitment to enhancing user experience while remaining responsive to the needs of the design community.

Figma has announced a major UI redesign, new generative AI tools, and a built-in slide show functionality. The UI redesign includes a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. The new generative AI tools allow users to quickly get started with a design. Figma Slides is a Google Slides-like feature that allows users to build and share presentations inside the app. It has interactive features for audience members and allows designers to present app prototypes right from the deck. Figma Slides is free while the feature is still beta - it will eventually become a paid feature once officially launched.

Figma briefly rolled back its 'Make Designs' AI feature from its limited beta after realizing it generated UI designs that too closely resembled existing apps. The feature uses off-the-shelf AI models like GPT-4 and Amazon's Titan and it needs refinement to ensure originality. Figma aims to re-enable the feature with improved QA processes to better assist designers in leveraging AI for efficient design creation.

Engineering crits at Figma are collaborative sessions designed to foster brainstorming, knowledge sharing, and problem-solving early in the development process. Inspired by design critiques, Figma uses FigJam to facilitate asynchronous feedback, ensuring everyone’s perspectives are included in the conversation. Unlike traditional reviews, engineering crits emphasize suggestions over mandates.

Figma has launched Figma Slides in beta. Figma Slides integrates with Figma's existing suite. Emphasizing intuitive design features and collaboration, it includes AI functionalities to enhance presentations. Despite the competition from established players like PowerPoint and Google Slides, Figma Slides aims to stand out by focusing on creativity and user participation to combat the dullness often associated with traditional presentation tools.

The recent updates to Figma, including new AI features and a redesigned interface, have frustrated many designers. Critics argue that Figma is prioritizing profit and appealing to non-designers at the expense of usability and the needs of its core design community, leading to concerns about the product's future direction.

The current use of Figma as a middle ground for design might become obsolete as AI advances. AI will enable designers to quickly generate code from sketches, bypassing the need for vector-based tools like Figma. This shift will require a rethinking of design workflows, potentially moving towards low-fidelity, AI-friendly sketching tools that provide more structure for AI to interpret and generate code.

These small and big Figma design tips will help to make your Figma design workflow smart, fast, and super productive.

Figma AI is a new suite of AI-powered tools for Figma that helps designers with tasks such as visual search, asset search, text editing, image editing, prototyping, layer renaming, and design generation. These features are powered by third-party AI models and are free to use during the beta period.

Figma is hosting Framework, a global design systems virtual event, on April 16. The event will explore Figma's approach to building tools and features that support today's and tomorrow's design systems challenges. Various sessions will cover new features, insights from industry leaders on their design systems journeys, and expert Q&As. In addition, there will be product sessions about structuring and maintaining your system.

Figma is launching AI-powered features, from automating tedious tasks to providing advanced search capabilities, to enhance design workflows by aiding creative processes. These Tools will be free to all users during the beta phase. The pricing structure will be clarified before general release in 2024. Figma is committed to data privacy and gives admins control over their team's content usage for AI training, with robust security measures ensuring the protection of user data.

Figma's new AI feature enables users to convert content from FigJam boards into structured Figma Slides, making organizing brainstorming and research sessions easier. Users can select key elements from any FigJam board they have edit permission for and create a presentation based on specific parts like pages, diagrams, or sticky notes.

Figma Slides aims to offer a creative and collaborative alternative to established presentation tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides. It includes features like presenter notes, grid view, high-quality templates, and AI-powered text adjustments. Now officially a part of Figma's suite, Slides is free while in beta but will later become a paid feature.

Figma's new AI features, particularly its 'make' tooling and layer renaming, sparked mixed reactions in the design community. While some functionalities are practical, there needs to be more concern over the impact on creativity and job security. The core issue is the commoditization of design, as AI-generated content risks diluting originality. Exploring how to maintain human uniqueness in design is crucial amidst these changes.

Figma improved the load times of large and complex files by dynamically loading content as needed instead of all at once. It used its existing dependency framework, QueryGraph, to track and load read and write dependencies across pages. The Figma team implemented a shadow mode for validating dependencies and making sure data stayed consistent across unloaded pages.

Figma CEO Dylan Field announced the temporary disabling of the company's “Make Design” AI feature after it was found to replicate designs from Apple's Weather app, sparking controversy in the design community. The AI tool, intended to generate UI layouts and components from text prompts quickly, faces accusations of being trained on existing apps, which Field denies, attributing the issue to inadequate quality assurance. Figma will suspend the feature until a robust QA process is implemented to ensure the originality and reliability of its outputs.

Figma has introduced seven enhancements to its FigJam platform, focusing on connectors' visual and functional aspects. These updates include improved connector spacing for a cleaner look, streamlined alignment indicators to reduce visual distractions, and an enhanced "Quick Create" that automatically links nearby objects. Additional improvements like dynamic connector anchor points, new hover visuals, and customizable connector text colors make FigJam more intuitive and user-friendly for diagram creation and organization.

Figma's "Make Designs" AI feature was temporarily pulled amidst concerns it generated designs too similar to Apple's apps. CEO Dylan Field attributes the similarity to third-party models and a design system the company commissioned, rather than training on Figma's own content. Figma plans to ensure future AI features align with quality standards and user privacy choices.

Figma's annual design conference, Config 2024, attracted over 10,000 attendees with its vibrant branding, which included breakdancing and Figma-branded merchandise. The ten-month visual identity project extended Figma's shape-based language with transforming glyphs. It was designed mainly in-house, with the Danish team Relay assisting with motion design. The project featured an open film to captivate attendees through abstract shapes and transformations.

Product design extends far beyond the confines of design tools like Figma. In a recent discussion, Arkadiusz Radek highlights the misconception that mastering Figma equates to becoming a proficient designer. This notion was underscored during a conversation with Miranda Slayter, a Principal Designer at Booking, who recounted an interaction with a mentee struggling to articulate their design choices. The mentee's response, "I don’t know. It just looked nice," exemplifies a troubling trend among less experienced designers who focus solely on the visual aspects of design without understanding the underlying principles. Radek emphasizes that while Figma is a valuable tool for creating design artifacts and communicating ideas, it is not the essence of product design. The real work occurs outside of Figma, involving collaboration, strategy, and understanding user needs. He shares insights from his own experience, noting that only a fraction of his time—approximately 28%—is spent on creating prototypes and mockups. The majority of his work involves discussions with product managers and engineers, planning research, analyzing customer feedback, and mentoring team members. The article advocates for a shift in focus from tools to the broader aspects of design, such as collaboration and design advocacy. Radek encourages designers to resist the temptation to jump straight into Figma when faced with a design request. Instead, he suggests taking the time to understand the problem at hand by asking critical questions about the feature's purpose, its value to users, and how it fits within the existing system. This approach aligns with the Double Diamond framework, which stresses the importance of problem definition before jumping to solutions. Radek reflects on his own early career mistakes, acknowledging that many newcomers to the field may not grasp the full scope of product design. He reiterates that the goal of product design is not merely to create visually appealing elements but to deliver value to users and contribute to business success. Understanding this broader perspective allows designers to grow and make a meaningful impact on their products. In conclusion, while tools like Figma play a role in the design process, they are just one part of a much larger picture. Emphasizing the importance of understanding user needs and the strategic aspects of design can lead to more effective and rewarding outcomes in the field of product design.

Design docs outline the implementation strategy and key design decisions for a software project. They help identify potential issues early on, achieve consensus, and ensure cross-cutting concerns are addressed. They're used extensively at Google for every software project and for documentation and knowledge sharing.

Figma recently migrated its custom Skew programming language to TypeScript, a move made possible by improved browser support for WebAssembly and internal optimizations. This transition allows for seamless integration with Figma's existing codebase and external libraries, easier onboarding for new developers, and access to the TypeScript developer ecosystem. In this article, the Figma engineering team goes over their migration process, which was done gradually and automatically so as to not disrupt developer workflows internally.

Figma had a complex permissions setup, the implementation of which was causing tech debt, bugs, and delays. After not finding any open source answers, its team built a cross-platform DSL (domain specific language) that isolated policies and data while improving performance, accuracy, and developer ergonomics. This is a good case study on problem discovery and building an MVP all the way to a performant and long-lasting solution.