Figma Designer Advocate Lauren Andres shares her tips for streamlining handoff.

5 Things Designers Need to Know for a Smooth Handoff | Figma Blog

How learning app Duolingo’s cheeky five-second spot beat the odds in a crowded field.

The Anatomy of a Super Bowl Ad | Figma Blog

Uncover what a design system is, types, best practices, and when to use it. Discover Figma’s solutions for multi-brand systems and compare design systems vs style guides.

What Is a Design System | Design Systems 101 | Figma Blog

It’s been over a year since Adobe announced that it intended to buy Figma for $20 billion, yet the two companies are still separate entities.

TC+ Roundup: What happened to the Adobe-Figma deal?

Robbins LLP reminds investors that a shareholder filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) common stock between July 23,

Adobe Inc. (ADBE) Shareholder Notice: Robbins LLP Reminds Investors of Class Action Against Adobe Inc.

Aditi Gupta discusses the design choices made early on during service development ... Carl Sverre explores how popular apps like WhatsApp, Figma, and Linear elevate their user experience and facilitate seamless collaboration by harnessing the power of ...

Goldsky’s Streaming-First Architecture for Blockchain Data with Flink, Redpanda and Kubernetes

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Ado

ADOBE ALERT: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Announces that a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Adobe Inc. and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP notifies investors in Adobe Inc. ("Adobe" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:ADBE) of a class action securities lawsuit. CLASS DEFINITION:

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky Notifies Adobe Inc.(ADBE) Investors of a Class Action Lawsuit and Upcoming Deadline

C reative Bloq is holding a free webinar with Figma to discuss the future of UI and UX design. We'll be sitting down with experts to unpick changes in the disciplines and how to approach UI and UX in today's climate.

Free webinar: An insider's guide to UX and UI with Figma

Creative Bloq is holding a free webinar with Figma to discuss the future of UI and UX design. We'll be sitting down with experts to unpick changes in the disciplines and how to approach UI and UX in today's climate.

Figma

figma

This is gonna be a guide to bookmark for anyone who uses Figma! The ultimate design tool, Figma is the new talk of the town, no matter if you are a designer, UI/UX expert or frontend developer. But you might feel like there's still more to find out. I must admit, you are correct! Figma is full of unexplored features that can turn you into a full-fledged designing powerhouse. So, this blog will simplify some amazing tricks and quick ways you may not have discovered yet in Figma. Now, without further ado, let’s improve your abilities in Figma and amaze your design peers (or simply feel like a professional yourself). Mastering Navigation and View Having confusion within your Figma document? Bid farewell to never-ending scrolling and zooming! Figma includes intelligent built-in shortcuts to help you navigate your design like an expert. Jump to Specific Frames Instead of searching for the frames manually, use key shortcuts to quickly access the "Go to Frame." Dialog: ⌘ + Option + G (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt + G (Windows). Enter the name of the frame, and there you have it! You are present. Zoom Like a Boss To get rid of the clumsy zoom feature, you may: Press and hold ⌘ (Command) (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while pressing the + or - key to adjust zoom levels.
And to zoom even more quickly, press ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows and use your mouse wheel to scroll. Navigate with Keyboard Arrows Here is an easy way to easily navigate through your design. Utilize the directional keys to move in various directions: left, right, up, and down. Merge this with the zoom shortcuts mentioned earlier for complete control. Use Keyboard Shortcuts in the Smartest Way Mastering Figma's keyboard shortcuts will help you save time and become a more efficient designer. Here are some hacks that will enhance your workflow: To get a duplicate of an item, just choose it and press ⌘ (Command) + D (Mac) or Ctrl + D (Windows) to create an exact duplicate next to the original.
Using the keyboard shortcuts, you may perfectly align the layout easily.
Select multiple elements and use the arrow keys to move them closer together. Also if you want additional control, then just press and hold the Shift key and at the same time adjust for precise placement at the pixel level.
To bring a layer closer to the front, press ⌘ (Command) + [ on a Mac or Ctrl + [ on Windows. Or if you want to push a layer further back, press ⌘ (Command) + ] on a Mac or Ctrl + ] on Windows.
Dealing with an intricate design can become overpowering. Easily show and hide layers by pressing ⌘ (Command) + Shift + H on a Mac or Ctrl + Shift + H on Windows. This helps maintain a tidy layers panel and allows you to concentrate on particular sections. Tame Your Layers Like a Pro If you're not cautious, Figma layers can easily become a disorderly jumble. Don't fret; keyboard shortcuts are here to save the day as your hero for managing layers. Here’s how you explore deeply nested layers: Press Enter (Mac) or Return (Windows) to enter a group or frame, and press Shift + Enter (Mac) or Shift + Return (Windows) to exit back out.
If you want to access particular layers, click on them while holding down ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows. And to deselect a layer just Press and click the same key once more.
Renaming a layer can also be done quicker than by double-clicking its name. Choose the layer and hit F2 (on the majority of keyboards). This immediately activates the rename mode, saving you valuable clicks.
Looking to easily organize multiple layers at once? Press ⌘ (Command) + G (Mac) or Ctrl + G (Windows) after choosing all of them. Disappeared! The group formed immediately. Make Use of Components Figma components serve as the foundational elements of a properly structured design system. After you become proficient at making and utilizing components, you can organize your work process and maintain uniformity in your designs. However, Figma's capabilities extend even more with plugins. These impactful extensions give you an edge to use Figma’s capabilities, turning you into a design master. Picture making a button once and seeing it immediately and automatically change in your design. That is the enchantment of components! Components guarantee uniformity, reduce time spent, and let you easily implement changes. Figma's collection of plugins is a valuable resource with a multitude of tools to improve your design workflow. For instance, If you need placeholder text, user flows, or compressed assets, there's a plugin available for all those tasks! You may dig deeper by checking out the plugin repository and uncover valuable tools that can simplify your experience with Figma. Must-Have Plugins for Figma Figma has the potential to become even stronger with the addition of plugins. These convenient plugins/add-ons provide additional features and capabilities. Let's check out some plugins that may help you in the future. Content Reel The content reel incorporates life-like content into your designs. This allows you to create random user avatars, placeholder text, and placeholder images quickly and easily. No more wasting time looking for stock images or writing placeholder text. Component Collector Component Collector lets you add hundreds of high-quality Figma components with a single click. Simply get “Componen" and paste it directly into Figma. It's free to try, and the sign-up process is a breeze with no password required. Autoflow Autoflow is the best and easiest Figma plugin for creating quick user flows. With Autoflow, you can design user flows in no time by simply creating shapes and connecting them within Figma. Zeplin Cooperation is essential! Zeplin makes it easy to create style guides and handoff designs with detailed specs, facilitating communication between designers and developers. Developers can find all necessary resources in one convenient location, streamlining the development process for all involved. Copy & Paste Like a Pro Sharing design elements across different Figma files may occasionally seem like a tedious task. But here’s a hack! Figma lets you copy anything and paste it anywhere you want, even from one file to another. There is no need to be concerned about styles or components being lost during translation. Figma ensures a smooth transfer of everything, which saves time and maintains design consistency across projects. Smooth Exporting and Handoff Figma extends beyond design alone. It manages your entire design directories and assists you in transferring your designs for development! By clicking once, you can produce details for inspection. This essentially provides developers with a preview of the code used in your design elements. Key Takeaways! Navigating Figma becomes easy by mastering keyboard shortcuts for accessing frames, zooming, and utilizing arrow keys.
Keyboard shortcuts make your design tasks more efficient. From copying items to achieving precise positioning and organizing layer hierarchy, they will help you save a significant amount of time.
Control your layers by using shortcuts to easily navigate through nested layers, select and deselect quickly, rename instantly, and group multiple layers in no time.
Utilize the component's potential to establish an orderly design system. Design a button one time and make sure it updates in all locations, saving time and guaranteeing uniformity.
Explore Figma's plugin library to enhance your productivity, such as creating filler content and incorporating stunning visuals. "In vision, the designer sees the thing which ought to be, not the thing which is." - Saul Bass Signing off for now, but I will surely have some more guides for you guys in the future! Happy Designing… This is gonna be a guide to bookmark for anyone who uses Figma! The ultimate design tool, Figma is the new talk of the town, no matter if you are a designer, UI/UX expert or frontend developer. This is gonna be a guide to bookmark for anyone who uses Figma! The ultimate design tool, Figma is the new talk of the town, no matter if you are a designer, UI/UX expert or frontend developer. UI/UX But you might feel like there's still more to find out. I must admit, you are correct! Figma is full of unexplored features that can turn you into a full-fledged designing powerhouse. Figma So, this blog will simplify some amazing tricks and quick ways you may not have discovered yet in Figma. Now, without further ado, let’s improve your abilities in Figma and amaze your design peers (or simply feel like a professional yourself). Mastering Navigation and View Having confusion within your Figma document? Bid farewell to never-ending scrolling and zooming! Figma includes intelligent built-in shortcuts to help you navigate your design like an expert. Jump to Specific Frames Instead of searching for the frames manually, use key shortcuts to quickly access the "Go to Frame." Dialog: ⌘ + Option + G (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt + G (Windows). Enter the name of the frame, and there you have it! You are present. Zoom Like a Boss To get rid of the clumsy zoom feature, you may: Press and hold ⌘ (Command) (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while pressing the + or - key to adjust zoom levels. And to zoom even more quickly, press ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows and use your mouse wheel to scroll. Press and hold ⌘ (Command) (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while pressing the + or - key to adjust zoom levels. And to zoom even more quickly, press ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows and use your mouse wheel to scroll. Navigate with Keyboard Arrows Here is an easy way to easily navigate through your design. Utilize the directional keys to move in various directions: left, right, up, and down. Merge this with the zoom shortcuts mentioned earlier for complete control. Use Keyboard Shortcuts in the Smartest Way Mastering Figma's keyboard shortcuts will help you save time and become a more efficient designer. Here are some hacks that will enhance your workflow: To get a duplicate of an item, just choose it and press ⌘ (Command) + D (Mac) or Ctrl + D (Windows) to create an exact duplicate next to the original. Using the keyboard shortcuts, you may perfectly align the layout easily. Select multiple elements and use the arrow keys to move them closer together. Also if you want additional control, then just press and hold the Shift key and at the same time adjust for precise placement at the pixel level. To bring a layer closer to the front, press ⌘ (Command) + [ on a Mac or Ctrl + [ on Windows. Or if you want to push a layer further back, press ⌘ (Command) + ] on a Mac or Ctrl + ] on Windows. Dealing with an intricate design can become overpowering. Easily show and hide layers by pressing ⌘ (Command) + Shift + H on a Mac or Ctrl + Shift + H on Windows. This helps maintain a tidy layers panel and allows you to concentrate on particular sections. To get a duplicate of an item, just choose it and press ⌘ (Command) + D (Mac) or Ctrl + D (Windows) to create an exact duplicate next to the original. Using the keyboard shortcuts, you may perfectly align the layout easily. Select multiple elements and use the arrow keys to move them closer together. Also if you want additional control, then just press and hold the Shift key and at the same time adjust for precise placement at the pixel level. To bring a layer closer to the front, press ⌘ (Command) + [ on a Mac or Ctrl + [ on Windows. Or if you want to push a layer further back, press ⌘ (Command) + ] on a Mac or Ctrl + ] on Windows. Dealing with an intricate design can become overpowering. Easily show and hide layers by pressing ⌘ (Command) + Shift + H on a Mac or Ctrl + Shift + H on Windows. This helps maintain a tidy layers panel and allows you to concentrate on particular sections. Tame Your Layers Like a Pro If you're not cautious, Figma layers can easily become a disorderly jumble. Don't fret; keyboard shortcuts are here to save the day as your hero for managing layers. Here’s how you explore deeply nested layers: Press Enter (Mac) or Return (Windows) to enter a group or frame, and press Shift + Enter (Mac) or Shift + Return (Windows) to exit back out. If you want to access particular layers, click on them while holding down ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows. And to deselect a layer just Press and click the same key once more. Renaming a layer can also be done quicker than by double-clicking its name. Choose the layer and hit F2 (on the majority of keyboards). This immediately activates the rename mode, saving you valuable clicks. Looking to easily organize multiple layers at once? Press ⌘ (Command) + G (Mac) or Ctrl + G (Windows) after choosing all of them. Disappeared! The group formed immediately. Press Enter (Mac) or Return (Windows) to enter a group or frame, and press Shift + Enter (Mac) or Shift + Return (Windows) to exit back out. If you want to access particular layers, click on them while holding down ⌘ (Command) on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows. And to deselect a layer just Press and click the same key once more. Renaming a layer can also be done quicker than by double-clicking its name. Choose the layer and hit F2 (on the majority of keyboards). This immediately activates the rename mode, saving you valuable clicks. Looking to easily organize multiple layers at once? Press ⌘ (Command) + G (Mac) or Ctrl + G (Windows) after choosing all of them. Disappeared! The group formed immediately. Make Use of Components Figma components serve as the foundational elements of a properly structured design system. After you become proficient at making and utilizing components, you can organize your work process and maintain uniformity in your designs. However, Figma's capabilities extend even more with plugins . These impactful extensions give you an edge to use Figma’s capabilities, turning you into a design master. plugins Picture making a button once and seeing it immediately and automatically change in your design. That is the enchantment of components! Components guarantee uniformity, reduce time spent, and let you easily implement changes. Figma's collection of plugins is a valuable resource with a multitude of tools to improve your design workflow. For instance, If you need placeholder text, user flows, or compressed assets, there's a plugin available for all those tasks! You may dig deeper by checking out the plugin repository and uncover valuable tools that can simplify your experience with Figma. Must-Have Plugins for Figma Figma has the potential to become even stronger with the addition of plugins. These convenient plugins/add-ons provide additional features and capabilities. Let's check out some plugins that may help you in the future. Content Reel The content reel incorporates life-like content into your designs. This allows you to create random user avatars, placeholder text, and placeholder images quickly and easily. No more wasting time looking for stock images or writing placeholder text. Component Collector Component Collector lets you add hundreds of high-quality Figma components with a single click. Simply get “Componen" and paste it directly into Figma. It's free to try, and the sign-up process is a breeze with no password required. Autoflow Autoflow is the best and easiest Figma plugin for creating quick user flows. With Autoflow, you can design user flows in no time by simply creating shapes and connecting them within Figma. Zeplin Cooperation is essential! Zeplin makes it easy to create style guides and handoff designs with detailed specs, facilitating communication between designers and developers. Developers can find all necessary resources in one convenient location, streamlining the development process for all involved. Copy & Paste Like a Pro Sharing design elements across different Figma files may occasionally seem like a tedious task. But here’s a hack! Figma lets you copy anything and paste it anywhere you want, even from one file to another. There is no need to be concerned about styles or components being lost during translation. Figma ensures a smooth transfer of everything, which saves time and maintains design consistency across projects. Smooth Exporting and Handoff Figma extends beyond design alone. It manages your entire design directories and assists you in transferring your designs for development! By clicking once, you can produce details for inspection. This essentially provides developers with a preview of the code used in your design elements. Key Takeaways! Navigating Figma becomes easy by mastering keyboard shortcuts for accessing frames, zooming, and utilizing arrow keys. Keyboard shortcuts make your design tasks more efficient. From copying items to achieving precise positioning and organizing layer hierarchy, they will help you save a significant amount of time. Control your layers by using shortcuts to easily navigate through nested layers, select and deselect quickly, rename instantly, and group multiple layers in no time. Utilize the component's potential to establish an orderly design system. Design a button one time and make sure it updates in all locations, saving time and guaranteeing uniformity. Explore Figma's plugin library to enhance your productivity, such as creating filler content and incorporating stunning visuals. Navigating Figma becomes easy by mastering keyboard shortcuts for accessing frames, zooming, and utilizing arrow keys. Keyboard shortcuts make your design tasks more efficient. From copying items to achieving precise positioning and organizing layer hierarchy, they will help you save a significant amount of time. Control your layers by using shortcuts to easily navigate through nested layers, select and deselect quickly, rename instantly, and group multiple layers in no time. Utilize the component's potential to establish an orderly design system. Design a button one time and make sure it updates in all locations, saving time and guaranteeing uniformity. Explore Figma's plugin library to enhance your productivity, such as creating filler content and incorporating stunning visuals. "In vision, the designer sees the thing which ought to be, not the thing which is." "In vision, the designer sees the thing which ought to be, not the thing which is." - Saul Bass - Saul Bass Signing off for now, but I will surely have some more guides for you guys in the future! Happy Designing…

Figma Hacks and Shortcuts You Didn't Know About

Let’s talk about how to add icons to a website from . Figma Checking the layouts created by layout artists and developers, I often encounter issues with adding icons to a website, which can result in an awkward appearance. Icons are sometimes added as PNG images or replaced with similar ones from Font Awesome. Trust me, navigating this situation can be quite challenging. HTML In this regard, I would like to make sense of it and share, in sufficient detail, how best to add icons to your website from the Figma layout. There are plenty of ways, and the choice of a specific method depends on the project itself and the designer who is responsible for the layout. This is what we are going to talk about! Method #1: Export the Icons to an SVG Format and Embed Them Either As Code, as an Image or as a CSS Property For this, we select the icon in Figma and click on export to SVG format, save it to our project, and paste it into our website: 
<img src="image/icons/icons-refresh.svg" alt="">


<svg width="23" height="23" viewBox="0 0 23 23" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
	<path d="m 421.316,734.84 c -325.7222,0 -421.31990625,100.48 -421.31990625,379.19 v 346.8 c 0,278.74 95.59770625,379.22 421.31990625,379.22 H 1192.67 V 1630.99 H 421.316 c -142.597,0 -176.632,-42.15 -176.632,-170.16 v -74.55 H 1186.21 V 1190.21 H 244.684 v -77.78 c 0,-132.899 32.421,-168.539 176.632,-168.539 H 1192.67 V 734.84 H 421.316" fill="white"/>
</svg>


<span class="icons-refresh"></span>

<style>
    .icon-refresh {
        display: inline-block;
        position: relative;
        height: 16px;
        width: 16px;
        background-position: center;
        background-size: 100%;
        background-image: url('image/icons-refresh.svg');
        background-repeat: no-repeat;
    }
</style> This option is obvious, simple, and works well enough. However, there are 2 very unpleasant problems with this method is that if we use svg code, the code itself becomes quite large since the icon can be very complex in terms of colors and the number of vectors inside. The first problem is that if we connect the icon in this way, it becomes problematic for us to change its color through CSS or even JS. We will have to export a duplicate icon with a different color. As for the object tag, the link will not work properly at all if we wrap it in the tag. The second problem <a> There is another : we cannot set the icon size through the font-size property (i.e. we do not inherit the font size). Thus, you have to waste your time on setting width and height. small drawback Perhaps the only is that the option is quite simple and saves a little time for small projects. benefit Therefore, this option is suitable when there are not many icons in the layout (i.e. a maximum of 3-5 pieces) and their colors do not change anywhere (for example, on hover or in a layout theme). Method #2: Create 1 file with all the icons. This can also be referred to as Icon texture. This option also involves exporting icons to svg or png format but in one file, where all the icons will be of the same size. This is a rather old method, but you need to know about it. I know for sure that VKontakte used this method for a very long time. After the redesign, they abandoned this method in favor of SVG + JS. For example, social media icons: Writing the code for the and icons: Facebook Instagram <span class="icons icons_facebook"></span>
<span class="icons icons_instagram"></span>

<style>
    .icons {
        display: inline-block;
        position: relative;
        width: 42px;
        height: 42px;
        background-image: url('imgs/socials-pack.svg');
        background-size: 290px;
        background-repeat: no-repeat;
    }

    .icons_instagram {
        background-position: 240px 0;
    }
</style> Here, we also have 2 problems: , it can take a long time for us to prepare the CSS properties. First is that it is also very problematic to change colors. You will have to export as many duplicate icons as you need colors. The second problem However, there is 1 nice benefit. We get small HTML code since we use only one class to add an icon. The option should be used with caution, taking into account the specifics of the project; for example, if we want to make a plugin with emoticons for a chat). In other situations, you need to use other options. Method #3: Use a ready-made icon service. Here you need to ask your designer where the icons are taken from. Let’s make a brief excursion away from the main topic: you should always ask your designer about what icons you need, where the images come from, where to get the font, etc. It often happens that icons are taken from some service that allows you to add icons through styles or scripts. In Figma, designers often use the Iconify service. Also, some designers use icons that can be exported directly to the website, for example, EvaIcons. An example of exporting from Iconify: <script src="https://code.iconify.design/2/2.1.1/iconify.min.js"></script>
<span class="iconify" data-icon="ci:refresh-01"></span> Here I’m going to start with the pros: firstly, we can easily and quickly add all the icons to the website; secondly, it is easy to change the color of the icon by using the color property in CSS; thirdly, the size of the icon is inherited from the font and we can change it by using the font-size property; and in general, our html code looks neat, the icons occupy 1 line. Perhaps the only is that we connect a third-party service/library, which causes a lot of extra code. However, it’s the little things, especially if the project is on a deadline. This option should be used if there are more than 5 icons in the layout and their colors do not change anywhere. drawback Method #4: Turn all the icons into an icon font In this case, you’re out of luck since the designer used icons that cannot be exported directly to the website (what a bad man). What we do: we export all icons to svg format (it would be better if they were all black, written in the Latin script without any symbols or the word “icon”); we send them to the icomoon service (to save a lot of time). Your icons must be filled. The service does not work with strokes, and it will warn you if some icon is stroked; we generate an icon font and get a ready-made CSS file and a thumbnail with icons. Our code: <link rel="stylesheet" href="fonts/icomoon/style.css">

<i class="icons-refresh"></i>

<button class="button">Button with icon</button>

<style>
    .button:before {
        font-family: 'icomoon', sans-serif;
        content: '\e90a';
    }
</style> I would like to highlight the following pros: the ability to easily change the color by using the CSS  color property; the ability to set the size of the icon by using the font size (i.e. the icon inherits the font size); a small html code since we only use 1 small class to add the icon; simple icon support (to easily add and remove icons from our arsenal); we save space by having only those icons and code that we need (as opposed to using a ready-made solution, where there may be more than a hundred icons). The cons are: we spend a little more time preparing the icon font; it is important for us to ensure that the icons are filled rather than stroked. This option is suitable when there are a lot of icons in the layout and their colors can change. Conclusion My dear friends! Believe me, all this is enough for you to learn how to correctly add any icons to any website. After all, the html layout must match the layout in Figma, while maintaining performance and code quality.

4 Ways to Add Icons from Figma to Your Website

A recent addition to ’s toolkit has caused quite a stir among its myriad of users and for a good reason. If there ever was an easy way to improve collaboration between designers and developers, Figma’s Dev Mode could be it. Figma What we get in the Dev Mode is a handy - albeit still a bit raw - tool for navigating and inspecting designs. Its main goal is to help designers and their arch nemeses developers translate designs into code. To understand the perks of this new feature, let’s take a step back and examine the reasons that led to the necessity of bridging the dreaded gap between developers and designers. Why Do Designers and Developers Need Figma’s Dev Mode? Frictions between developers and designers rarely - if ever - result in a coherent usable product. And those frictions are more common than people are willing to admit. No wonder there are tons of articles written on the issue of bridging this gap and restoring peace between the two parties. So what are the main roadblocks that keep the developers and designers from collaborating efficiently? Image-based prototypes. Granted, there are few other ways a designer can communicate their vision of an interface to a developer. Still, image-based designs are not exactly known for their fidelity and functionality. Moreover, they are often hard to interpret or even to navigate through. Undisclosed decisions. Designers usually have solid reasons for wanting a component - or an entire product - to look the way it does. The bad thing is that they usually neglect to communicate this to the development team. So don’t get frustrated if your design choices are viewed more as guidelines and not laws. Lack of source of truth. Since developers and designers speak different languages, think in alien terms, and rely on their truths, it’s hard to connect. Want to create a proper product? Then you need a system that you can all use as the one source of truth. Figma’s Dev Mode seems to promise a solution to these issues, and perhaps others that are not as obvious. I will now take a closer look at what the new and much-talked-about mode has in store for the perpetually-conflicting teams. Why Designers Will Love Figma’s Dev Mode I won't be going into too much detail theory-wise, as the Dev Mode is very reminiscent of the Inspector panel. Instead, I’ll focus on a more practical approach. So, how can you improve your handoff to designers without becoming a dev yourself? The feature I enjoy the most is the tool. With it, you’ll be able to see how the chosen element has evolved. You’ll find the same one in the Abstract. There are two options for viewing the changes - the standard side-by-side view and the overlay option that makes it possible to see those changes that are not quite as obvious. Track All the Changes To do that, select any component and click . Then select the object you want to view the changes made to. This tool is very similar to that of Abstract and will be beneficial to both dev and designer teams as they’ll be able to preview changes right in the current file. Compare with Previous Version Another thing I enjoy a lot is the feature. Once a certain design is done, select the artboard and click the upper toolbar button. This will highlight the frame, which in turn will signal to the dev that the frame is - you guessed it - ready for development. You no longer need to leave any comments, which in and of itself is a great timesaver. Ready for Dev While creating a component, you can in the Description window in Component Configuration, both for other designers and for developers. Once in the Dev Mode, the latter will see the guidelines in the right-hand panel of the Component submenu. write guidelines The Open in allows you to open a certain component and alter its properties (the pursuit of perfection never ends, right?) Your fiddling won’t alter the whole design and cause the dev team to riot. The feature allows devs to check all the properties assigned to a component and to - what’s more - play with each of them to check all the edge cases. Playground feature Open in Playground In case you need to communicate an important piece of information regarding a certain component, you can now do it with the . Find it in the toolbar above, type in the vital information, and rest assured - it won’t be missed by the dev. This is much more useful than regular comments and allows designers to provide guidelines directly for the layout design. Annotation feature Why Devs Will Love  Figma’s Dev Mode Since the Dev Mode is aimed at a faster and easier transition of design into code, developers might also benefit considerably from this new feature. Let’s look at what handy tools and perks Dev Mode has brought them. Devs can - pixels and Rems - with ease. The latter comes in handy if you want to create a scalable component. switch between measurement units In case you need , Figma now gives you direct access to it. By selecting the whole layout, devs will be able to see all the possible exportable assets. The only thing left to do is to click a button and select the format. to export an asset from a project Last but not least, . This means that each Jira ticket can be connected to the designs. The dev team will have access to the designs swiftly and easily. the Dev Mode allows you to connect to Jira And there you have it! Granted, Figma’s Dev Mode is too much of a raw product to be the cure-all for bridging the gap between devs and designers, but at least it is an impressive and much-praised step in the right direction. If your main goal as a designer is to improve your handoff flow with the development team, Dev Mode is a worthy addition to Figma as your go-to tool. If you are a developer, then you’ll appreciate a more coherent prototype from the designers. Whichever side you are on, Figma’s Dev Mode still seems like a worthy investment. That’s right, . As of January 31, 2024, this mode is now secured behind a paywall. Still, since it saves you time (and time is and will always be a valuable resource). Money shouldn’t be an issue, right? investment

Dev Mode in Figma: A Game-Changer in Design-Developer Relations

Are you tired of spending countless hours and resources on developing mobile apps from scratch? Look no further, as a revolutionary solution is here to turn your dreams into reality. Introducing no-code platforms that effortlessly transform your Figma designs into functional mobile apps. With the increasing demand for mobile applications, businesses are constantly seeking cost-effective and efficient ways to bring their ideas to life. Traditional app development can be time-consuming and requires technical expertise. However, no-code platforms eliminate these barriers by allowing designers to seamlessly convert their Figma designs into fully functional mobile apps without writing a single line of code. Imagine being able to bring your app ideas to life without the need for complex coding languages. No-code platforms enable you to design, prototype, and deploy your app in a matter of minutes, drastically reducing development time and costs. Whether you are a developer looking to speed up your workflow or an entrepreneur with a vision, no-code platforms are the game-changers you've been waiting for. Stay tuned as we dive into the world of no-code platforms and discover how you can transform your Figma designs into functional mobile apps effortlessly. Say goodbye to coding roadblocks and hello to a faster, more cost-effective way to make your app dreams a reality. Benefits of Using No-Code Platforms for App Development No-code platforms have revolutionized the app development process, offering numerous benefits to both developers and entrepreneurs. Let's explore some of the key advantages of using no-code platforms for app development. First and foremost, no-code platforms eliminate the need for manual coding, making it accessible to individuals with little to no coding experience. This means that designers, entrepreneurs, and even marketing professionals can bring their app ideas to life without having to rely on developers or coding specialists. By removing the coding barrier, no-code platforms empower individuals to take control of the app development process. In addition, no-code platforms significantly reduce development time. Traditional app development involves coding each feature from scratch, which can be a time-consuming process. With no-code platforms, developers can leverage pre-built components and templates to quickly build and deploy functional apps. This not only accelerates the development process but also allows for rapid prototyping and iteration. Furthermore, no-code platforms offer cost-effective solutions for app development. Hiring developers or outsourcing app development can be expensive, especially for startups or small businesses with limited budgets. No-code platforms provide an affordable alternative by allowing businesses to create their apps in-house, without the need for additional resources or expensive development teams. This cost-saving aspect makes no-code platforms a game-changer for businesses of all sizes. In summary, the benefits of using no-code platforms for app development are numerous. From accessibility and reduced development time to cost-effectiveness, no-code platforms offer a powerful solution for turning app ideas into reality. Overview of Figma and Its Role in Designing Mobile Apps When it comes to designing mobile apps, Figma has emerged as a popular tool among designers and developers. Figma is a cloud-based design tool that allows for collaborative design, prototyping, and development. Its intuitive interface and powerful features have made it a go-to choice for many app designers. Figma offers a wide range of design capabilities, including the ability to create interactive prototypes and design system components. Its real-time collaboration feature enables multiple team members to work on a design simultaneously, making it ideal for remote teams or designers working in different time zones. One of the key advantages of using Figma for app design is its seamless integration with no-code platforms. Figma designs can be easily exported and imported into no-code platforms, allowing designers to transform their static designs into fully functional apps. This integration eliminates the need for manual coding and streamlines the app development process. In addition, Figma's design handoff feature enables designers to share their designs with developers, ensuring a smooth transition from design to development. This collaboration between designers and developers is crucial for creating a seamless user experience and ensuring that the final app aligns with the original design vision. Understanding the Process of Turning Figma Designs Into Functional Apps Using No-Code Platforms The process of turning Figma designs into functional apps using no-code platforms is relatively straightforward and requires no coding experience. Let's walk through the steps involved in transforming your Figma designs into fully functional mobile apps. Export your Figma designs: Start by exporting your Figma designs in a format compatible with the chosen no-code platform. Most no-code platforms support importing designs in popular formats like SVG or PNG. Ensure that your designs are properly organized, and include all necessary design assets. Import designs into the no-code platform: Once you have exported your Figma designs, import them into the selected no-code platform. This process may vary depending on the platform but typically involves uploading the design files and selecting the desired screens or components to import. Map design elements to interactive components: After importing your designs, it's time to map the design elements to interactive components. No-code platforms provide a range of pre-built components that can be customized to match your design. This step involves linking buttons, input fields, and other interactive elements to their corresponding screens or actions. Define app logic and functionality: Once the design elements are mapped to interactive components, it's time to define the app's logic and functionality. No-code platforms offer visual interfaces or drag-and-drop editors that allow you to configure app behavior without writing code. You can define user flows, add animations, and incorporate complex logic to create a fully functional app. Test and iterate: After configuring the app logic and functionality, it's crucial to test the app to ensure everything works as expected. No-code platforms typically offer built-in preview or testing capabilities that allow you to simulate the app's behavior on different devices and screen sizes. Use this opportunity to identify any issues or areas for improvement, and iterate on your design if necessary. Publish and deploy your app: Once you are satisfied with your app's design and functionality, it's time to publish and deploy your app. Most no-code platforms provide options to generate app binaries or deploy apps directly to app stores. Follow the platform-specific instructions to create app builds or publish your app to the desired app store. By following these steps, you can transform your Figma designs into fully functional mobile apps using no-code platforms. This streamlined process allows for rapid app development and iteration, empowering designers and entrepreneurs to bring their app ideas to life in a fraction of the time. No-Code Platforms for App Development To transform Figma designs into working mobile applications without coding, various No-code platforms are available. Here are some of them: : Bravo Studio This platform allows you to convert Figma designs into functional mobile applications. It offers a streamlined development process, helping turn your designs into interactive prototypes with native features. Once your prototypes are ready, you can seamlessly publish them as fully functional apps​​. : Buzzy Buzzy is described as a No Code Native App & Website Builder, allowing the creation of fully working native apps, responsive websites, MVPs, or prototypes straight from Figma without any coding required. It supports real data, user-generated content, and live forms​. : Crowdbotics This platform facilitates the conversion of Figma files into real code. By importing your Figma designs into Crowdbotics, your designs are transformed into real React Native screens, enabling the development of mobile applications​. Moxly: Moxly provides a simplified pathway for turning your Figma designs into working mobile applications, aligning with the no-code/low-code development trend which significantly lowers the barriers to mobile app development. These platforms provide intuitive interfaces and processes to help convert your Figma designs into mobile applications without the need for coding skills, making the transition from design to app more straightforward. Tips for Optimizing and Customizing Your App on a No-Code Platform While no-code platforms offer a convenient way to transform your Figma designs into functional apps, there are still opportunities to optimize and customize your app to align with your specific requirements. Here are some tips to help you make the most out of your no-code app development journey. Understand platform limitations: Familiarize yourself with the limitations and constraints of the chosen no-code platform. Each platform has its own set of features, capabilities, and restrictions. By understanding these limitations, you can plan your app design and functionality accordingly. Customize app components: Most no-code platforms offer customization options for app components. Take advantage of these options to personalize your app's look and feel. Customize colors, fonts, and layouts to create a unique app experience. Leverage third-party integrations: Explore the third-party integrations offered by the no-code platform. These integrations can enhance your app's functionality and allow for seamless integration with external services or APIs. Optimize app performance: Pay attention to app performance and optimize where necessary. No-code platforms generate app code behind the scenes, and inefficient design or logic can impact app performance. Test your app on different devices and screen sizes to ensure a smooth user experience. Gather user feedback: Once your app is live, gather feedback from users and iterate on your design and functionality. Use analytics tools provided by the no-code platform to track user engagement and make data-driven decisions for app improvement. By following these tips, you can optimize and customize your app on a no-code platform, ensuring that your app meets your specific requirements and delivers a seamless user experience. Case Studies of Successful Mobile Apps Built Using No-Code Platforms and Figma Designs To truly understand the power of no-code platforms in transforming Figma designs into functional mobile apps, let's explore some real-world case studies of successful apps built using these technologies. - An app that connects food lovers with local restaurants Case Study 1: "Foodie Finder" Foodie Finder is a popular mobile app that allows users to discover and explore local restaurants. The app was built using a combination of Figma for design and Adalo for app development. Designers created stunning visual designs in Figma, and developers seamlessly translated these designs into a fully functional app using Adalo's no-code platform. The app's intuitive interface, seamless navigation, and real-time restaurant updates have made it a go-to choice for food enthusiasts. - A fitness tracking app for personalized workouts Case Study 2: "FitBuddy" FitBuddy is a fitness-tracking app that helps users achieve their fitness goals through personalized workouts. The app was created using Figma designs and Bubble's no-code platform. Designers crafted engaging workout interfaces in Figma, while Bubble's visual programming environment enabled developers to incorporate complex workout tracking and analytics features. FitBuddy's seamless integration with fitness wearables and personalized workout recommendations have made it a favorite among fitness enthusiasts. These case studies highlight the potential of combining Figma designs with no-code platforms to create successful and functional mobile apps. By leveraging the power of these technologies, you can bring your app ideas to life and make a meaningful impact in the app market. Conclusion and Future Possibilities of No-Code App Development With Figma No-code app development is not just a fleeting trend, but a substantial shift in the way digital products are created. Platforms like Figma, paired with no-code tools, are at the forefront of this evolution, enabling designers and non-technical individuals to transform ideas into functioning mobile apps swiftly. Here are some concluding remarks and future possibilities surrounding no-code app development with Figma: Democratization of App Development:
No-code platforms, when integrated with design tools like Figma, democratize app development. They lower the entry barrier, enabling a broader spectrum of individuals to contribute to app creation without needing to learn code. Faster Time-to-Market: With the ability to quickly transform Figma designs into working apps, businesses can significantly reduce the time to market for their products. This speed can be a competitive advantage in rapidly evolving markets. Cost Efficiency:
No-code development can also be more cost-effective as it requires less specialized knowledge and resources. The savings can be substantial, especially for startups and small businesses. Enhanced Collaboration:
These platforms foster better collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders. The seamless transition from design to functioning app can streamline the feedback loop and improve the overall development process. Continuous Innovation:
The ease and accessibility of no-code platforms can spur innovation. As more people are able to develop apps, the influx of fresh ideas and diverse perspectives can drive the digital landscape forward. No-code development, backed by the powerful design capabilities of Figma, is poised to continue its upward trajectory, reshaping the digital creation landscape and opening up exciting new possibilities for individuals and businesses alike.

From Figma to Mobile: Unveiling No-Code Platforms for Seamless App Creation

Figma, a frontrunner in the design software arena, offers a plethora of plugins tailored to amplify its functionality and cater to the diverse needs of designers. These plugins, whether they're streamlining complex tasks or ushering in groundbreaking features, can be truly transformative in the design landscape. Dive into our curated list of the best Figma plugins that are making waves in the design community and discover how they can elevate your design process to new heights. : Enhancing Content Quality in Design Grammar Checker & Rewriter It's crucial that content is not only visually captivating but also grammatically accurate and clearly articulated. This is where the "Grammar Checker & Rewriter" plugin for Figma, developed by Linguix, steps in. It offers not just a multilingual grammar checker but also a rewriter, optimizing content in various languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish. What sets this plugin apart is its real-time ability to detect grammatical errors and rewrite content to enhance it immediately. Writing mistakes or sentences that could be improved within a given Figma object are underlined. Users can apply corrections with a single click or expand them for more context. With such a tool by your side, you can ensure that your designs are top-notch, not just aesthetically but also in terms of content quality. : Elevate Your Designs with Stunning Imagery Unsplash Graphic content holds a crucial position in design, frequently determining the ambiance and feel of the entire endeavor. Acknowledging the significance of top-tier visuals, this tool for Figma surfaces as a revolutionary asset for designers. Crafted in partnership with Unsplash, this plugin grants users immediate entry to an extensive collection of stunning, high-definition images that are complimentary to utilize. No longer do designers need to toggle between multiple platforms or download images separately; with the Unsplash plugin, a plethora of stunning visuals is just a click away, right within the Figma workspace. This seamless integration not only streamlines the design process but also inspires creativity, allowing designers to experiment with different visuals effortlessly. By leveraging the power of Unsplash's diverse photo collection, designers can ensure that their projects stand out with unparalleled visual appeal. : Bridging the Gap Between Design and Development Figma to Code The transition from a visual prototype to functional code can often be a challenging process. Figam to Code offers a revolutionary tool that seeks to simplify this transition and foster a more collaborative environment between designers and developers. This powerful plugin allows designers to convert their Figma designs directly into usable code for various platforms, including HTML, Tailwind, Flutter, and SwiftUI. Gone are the days of tedious manual coding or misinterpretations of design elements. With Figma to Code, designers can ensure that their original vision is accurately translated into the final product, maintaining design integrity. Moreover, by automating the code generation process, this plugin not only speeds up project timelines but also reduces potential errors, ensuring a smoother and more efficient workflow. : Taking Design Demonstrations a Notch Higher Mockup In the domain of design, display is vital. It's not merely about crafting a captivating design, but also about presenting it in a manner that seizes its core and practicality. The Mockup plugin for Figma emerges as an invaluable tool in this context, enabling designers to transform their flat designs into beautiful, realistic mockups within seconds. With a vast library of device frames, from smartphones to desktop monitors, designers can effortlessly select the most suitable frame for their design, ensuring that their presentations are both visually appealing and contextually relevant. The plugin's intuitive interface and seamless integration with Figma make it a breeze to use, eliminating the need for external tools or software. : Streamlining the Process of Isolating Subjects Icons8 Background Remover For designers, the ability to seamlessly remove backgrounds from images is invaluable. The Icons8 Background Remover plugin for Figma offers users this precise capability, ensuring that designers can focus on their creative process without getting bogged down by the often tedious task of manual background elimination. By integrating advanced AI technology, this plugin can efficiently isolate subjects in images, making it a must-have tool for designers aiming for a cleaner and more professional look in their projects. Whether you're working on web designs, marketing materials, or any other visual content, the Icons8 Background Remover can significantly enhance the quality and clarity of your designs. : Infusing Creativity with a Vast Array of Artistic Assets Illustrations Having access to a diverse range of illustrations can be the difference between a good project and a great one. The Illustrations plugin for Figma steps in to fill this need, providing designers with a rich library of artistic assets right at their fingertips. This plugin boasts a collection of high-quality illustrations, spanning various styles and themes, ensuring that designers always have the perfect visual element for their projects. Whether you're looking to infuse a hint of playfulness, expertise, or anything in between, the Illustrations plugin presents a wealth of choices. It's a crucial instrument for those aiming to uplift their design endeavors and enchant their viewers with striking images. : Extracting the Essence of Visuals through Colors Image Palette Colors play a pivotal role in design, often setting the mood, tone, and overall feel of a project. The Image Palette plugin for Figma is a designer's ally in this realm, allowing for the extraction of dominant colors from any image seamlessly. By simply selecting an image within Figma, this plugin generates a palette that captures its core hues, providing designers with a harmonious set of colors to work with. This not only ensures visual consistency but also saves valuable time that would otherwise be spent manually picking colors. For designers aiming to create cohesive and visually appealing designs, the Image Palette plugin is an indispensable tool, bridging the gap between imagery and color theory. ** Figma has emerged as a go-to platform for designers worldwide. Its adaptability, supported by a plethora of extensions, guarantees that designers possess all the resources they require within reach. As the design realm keeps evolving, it's thrilling to ponder the upcoming potentials and improvements these extensions will introduce. For now, leveraging these tools can undoubtedly transform your design process, making it more efficient, collaborative, and impactful.

Top 7 Figma Plugins to Invigorate Your Design Process

As we all know, part of a product developer's work is to convert the design from Figma into code with a framework of choice, and it can be complex if the project is significant. The essence of the designer-to-developer handoff is that the developer implements the screens from the design into exact and pixel-perfect components. In this article, we will extend the functionality of AWS Amplify Studio to build an application from Figma and import the components into React. The connection between Figma and React, with the help of Amplify, creates reusable React components that save you time and from writing long lines of code. The conversion process from Figma to code is seamless and makes it efficient for developers to build faster (which is probably why ). Abode acquired Figma for billions Prerequisites To understand and complete this guide, the following are required: A Figma account. Sign-up is free installed on our local machine for package installation Node >= 14.0.0 and npm >= 5.6 A code editor Install the AWS Amplify CLI on our terminal. Run this command: npm install -g @aws-amplify/cli Knowledge of JavaScript and React Have an AWS account. Register for an account here Creating a Template UI Kit on Figma Before we create the React components from the UI kit, we need to set up the Figma project. Once on Figma, go to the after creating an account and search for . AWS community the AWS Amplify UI kit Figma file Click on “Get a copy” to duplicate or clone a copy of the UI kit. The Amplify UI kit comes installed with some pre-built pages, which are: : This page binds to AWS Amplify Studio, which comprises all the styles for the pre-built components. Changing the content of this page will affect the look of the React UI library from the Figma components. The Primitives page : This page gives you control to edit, change, and create components, and it comes with pre-built components. The My Components page : This page shows the example designs of some custom components from the My Components page. The Examples page This tutorial will use two components from the My Components page: the and UI. NavBar FormCheckout Creating an Amplify Project With the setup complete in Figma, head to the AWS console to create a new Amplify project. Log in to your , and search for AWS Amplify. account Select AWS Amplify from the list of services. Once in the dashboard, click the button and select from the dropdown. All Apps New app Build an app Give the app a name and click confirm deployment to create the app. With the Amplify project deploying, let’s create a new React app. Creating a React App To scaffold a new React app, head over to your terminal and paste in the following command: npx create-react-app no-code This command unpacks all the files and folders necessary to build a beautiful and scalable web application. Launch Amplify Studio After installing our React app, now is time to launch the project. Click the launch studio to display the no code's staging. Click the launch studio button as it takes you to the page showing the staging environment for . no-code Here, we will be able to do lots of things like creating data models, authentication, and so on. But our focus will be on the UI library under the Design tab. Click the Get started button. Sync with Figma. This dialog box will allow you to paste the Figma file link from the . My Components page If this is your first time doing this step, it may require authentication to access your Figma account. Fetching Components from Figma Accept all the changes of the pulled components from Figma. We will be able to view all the UI components from the Figma file in Amplify Studio. from Figma's imported components is the same as displayed in Amplify Studio. FormCheckout Working with the Fetched Components in React Now that we have the fetched UI components in Amplify Studio, we must have all the UI components in our React application. To connect our app with Amplify Studio, we need to pull the components into our source code using the Local setup instructions link and run the command from the project root folder. Remember that for this command to work, install the AWS Amplify CLI globally, as stated in the prerequisites section. Running the command will prompt our program with an authorization message. Click yes to grant permission to the React app. After, a series of prompts appear when pulling the components. Accept the default to the questions. If you encounter challenges or any error log messages in the terminal, it will probably be that you haven’t configured AWS. Check out if you face this challenge. this guide The installation creates a new folder in the directory, which contains all the pulled UI components from Amplify Studio. ui-components src Getting Started with the Amplify UI library The Amplify UI React library is essential for the styling purposes of our app, which is similar to every other CSS utility library. Run this command: npm install @aws-amplify/ui-react aws-amplify Styles In the application's entry point, the index.js file, import the CSS file. Copy and update the index.js file with this code which is responsible for the look and feel of the app: root.render( ); // src/index.js import React from 'react' ; import ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client' ; import App from './App' ; import '@aws-amplify/ui-react/styles.css' ; // add this const root = ReactDOM.createRoot( document .getElementById( 'root' )); < React.StrictMode > < App /> </ React.StrictMode > Fonts Amplify UI ships with the default fonts, during installation of Amplify UI dependency. In the file, copy and paste the following Google fonts CDN links in the element: Inter public/index.html <head> ...
<head> </head>

... // public/index.html < link rel = "preconnect" href = "https://fonts.googleapis.com" /> < link rel = "preconnect" href = "https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin /> < link href = "https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:slnt,wght@-10..0,100..900&display=swap" rel = "stylesheet" /> Displaying the Components To display the components and , navigate to the file and remove all the code. FormCheckout NavBar src/App.js Next, update the file with this code: );
} // src/App.js import { FormCheckout, NavBar } from './ui-components' ; const App = () => { return ( <> < NavBar /> < FormCheckout marginTop = '5em' /> </> export default App; The margin-top property gives a top margin between the navbar and the checkout form. The CSS value is part of how to use styles from the Amplify UI in our components. Start the Development Server React comes with a hot-reload feature that refreshes itself every time there is an update on the file. Run this command: npm start The development server runs on . http://localhost:3000 Want to deploy this React app to the web? Check out that guides you step by step using AWS Amplify. this resource Conclusion Low-code tools with zero to no code at all are what Amplify Studio offers. This tool makes working as a developer exciting, as part of our work has been done for us without building components from scratch or, better still, implementing screens from the designer. We can boldly say that the handoff from the designer to the developer is seamless. This article taught us how to create and integrate our Figma components with the help of Amplify Studio and to connect the components to React components which function as a working app. The complete source code is in this . GitHub repo

Designer to Developer Handoff: How to Build a React Component from a Figma Design File

Transferencia de diseñador a desarrollador: cómo crear un componente de React a partir de un archivo de diseño de Figma

Transfert de concepteur à développeur : comment créer un composant React à partir d'un fichier de conception Figma

डिज़ाइनर टू डेवलपर हैंडऑफ़: फ़िग्मा डिज़ाइन फ़ाइल से रिएक्ट कंपोनेंट का निर्माण कैसे करें

設計者から開発者への引き継ぎ: Figma 設計ファイルから React コンポーネントを構築する方法

Handoff de designer para desenvolvedor: como criar um componente React a partir de um arquivo de design Figma

Nhà thiết kế cho nhà phát triển Handoff: Cách tạo thành phần phản ứng từ tệp thiết kế Figma

设计师到开发者的交接：如何从 Figma 设计文件构建 React 组件

Traditionally, creating animations with CSS is, well, a pain. Animations in general are complex in nature and the issue with creating beautiful animations is further complicated by the fact that many UX/UI designers use tools that aren’t typically intended to create animations. This makes it hard for developers to translate an idea from a designer's head to the page. Over the years, collaboration between designers and developers has accelerated increasingly with the introduction of tools like Figma and Zeplin. In this article, I want to explore how designers and developers can leverage Figma to create lightweight, beautiful animations with CSS and HTML using a plugin called . Figmotion Step 1: Installing & Launching Figmotion First, we will need a tool called Figmotion. Let’s start with an .  If you don’t already have one, you’ll have to create an account on Figma and login to interact with the design. It contains a spreadsheet and a ball. You will need to install Figmotion, which you can do . existing Figma design here To launch Figmotion, within Figma navigate to Plugins → Figmotion → Open Figmotion. You should see a box similar to the one below. Select the Animation frame and you will see the Ball and the Spreadsheet within Figmotion on top of the design. Step 2: Creating your First Animation in Figma and Figmotion Now that we have Figmotion setup, we are going to create our animation. For the sake of this tutorial, we will animate the ball around the edge of the spreadsheet over the course of 2 seconds (0.5 seconds per edge of the spreadsheet). To do so, we will use the Ball layer in Figmotion and change its position at different time intervals. In order to do this, we need to know the dimensions of the spreadsheet. Click on the spreadsheet in Figma, and record the width and height values in the top right of the screen: Great! It looks like the width of the spreadsheet is 434, and the height is 276. Now, let’s return to Figmotion. Click on the Ball layer in Figmotion. This will expand a set of animatable properties like so: For our sake, since we are only animating the position of the ball, we will only need to worry about the X and Y values within Figmotion. Let’s start by animating the ball across the top of the spreadsheet. Click on the 500ms marker at the top of Figmotion, and then click the little icons next to the X and Y properties of the ball. I have annotated the three areas to click below: Now, since we are only animating the top edge of the ball, only the X value of the ball needs to change. Click the X property at 500ms and enter 434 next to “linear” (the width of the spreadsheet above). You should see something like this after hitting OK. Cool! The ball moved to the right-hand side of the spreadsheet. We need to repeat this step 3 more times:At the 1000ms marker, change the Y property of the ball to the height of the spreadsheet (276). The X value can remain at 434. At the 1500ms marker, change the X property of the ball 0. The Y value can remain at 276. This will position the ball in the bottom right hand corner of the spreadsheet. At the 2000ms marker, we will animate the ball back to the original position of 0, 0. Change the X and Y values in Figmotion to 0, 0. Step 3: Preview your Animation In the top left of Figmotion, click the play button. You should see the ball animate around the edge of the spreadsheet. Step 4: Exporting your Animation to HTML/CSS To convert this animation to HTML/CSS, we will end with 4 files: an index.html file, an animation.css file, an SVG for the ball, and an SVG for the spreadsheet. Export ball.svg and the spreadsheet.svg from Figma. In order to do so, select the ball, and in the right panel of Figma expand the Export box and choose to save it to a folder as ball.svg. Repeat for the spreadsheet. To export the animation, click “Export” from within the Figmotion box. Choose to export As CSS and save the file as animation.css. Create an index.html file that imports the animation.css file. In our index.html file, we will need to position the ball.svg and spreadsheet.svg elements together. This is the code I added to index.html and to the bottom of the animation.css that Figmotion generated: index.html <!doctype html> < = > html lang "en" < > head < = > meta charset "utf-8" < = = > meta name "viewport" content "width=device-width, initial-scale=1" < = = > link rel "stylesheet" href "animation.css" </ > head < > body < = > div id "content" < = /> img src "spreadsheet.svg" < = = /> img src "ball.svg" id "Ball" </ > div </ > body </ > html animation.css { : relative; : ; : ;
} { : absolute; : ; : ;
} #content position margin-top 150px margin-left 150px #content img position top 0 left 0 Step 5: View Your Animation! Open index.html. That’s it! You should be able to see your animation like so: Hopefully, this tutorial helps others with the creation of their own animations! You can see my code and the final gif above . And always, for beautiful CSS and products visit us at . on GitHub here Flatirons Development

Lightweight CSS Animations with Figma & Figmotion

Figma has been at the top of its game since its launch in 2016. The web-based collaborative tool stands out from its competitors and is well-loved by the design community for the level of accessibility and its ease of use. The additional benefit of plugins has sent our designers over the moon who are sometimes rather eager to design on it. Plugins have become an integral part of any design tool for designers, it not only makes a designer’s life easier but also accelerates the workflow in the visual design process. Our design team has worked with multiple tools and software over the years but swear by Figma. Here is the list of free plugins used by our design team: 1. Blush - Illustration 2. Content Reel - Library 3. Iconify - Icons It has more than 60 icon sets like Material Design, Carbon Design, Feather Icons, etc. containing over 50,000 icons. We can select the icon from the collection and drag & drop it to the Figma file. 4. Find and replace - Productivity 5. Frame Status - Productivity 6. Mobile Upload - Productivity Open Plugin > Scan QR Code from your phone/ tablet > upload from phone gallery How to use: 7. Smooth Shadow - Design 8. Nisa Text Splitter - Productivity 9. Spell Inspector - Productivity 10. Lottie Files- Animation 11. Web Gradients - Colour 12. Stark - Accessibility There is no right software, tool or plugin, it’s a matter of personal choice. Our team have tried and tested different softwares to figure out what works best before switching to Figma. As technology and the design community progress, the tools that help us move forward also advance. Our team cannot wait to see what the future holds and is eager to try and geek out over new plugins, tools, and updates. Blog written by - Rebbaton Blogs

Devised for Design: Top FIGMA Plugins

This one goes to all the backend developers who create APIs for the frontend developers and want their team to succeed, become more productive, and rock everybody’s socks. Here are a few simple things that can decrease your time-to-market or improve other fancy metrics your managers want you to improve. I will tell it from the web developers’ point of view, but from what I remember, the same works for mobile development. I will use my experience working with a guy who made perfect APIs and with whom we literally understood each other without words. Okay, yes, it was me: I used to be a full-stack dev. But I firmly believe that people can understand each other just as a frontend-me and a backend-me did. I’m not going to tell you about readability, consistency, stability, and stuff like that: you know what makes a great engineer without my advice. I want to discuss those things that will help your frontend colleagues work with your API more efficiently and ship the product with as little friction as possible. Data Structure Before Everything Most of the time, our first task is to map the data we will have to the design. And that’s where your future structure might come in handy: if you start your development with the data model, feel free to share it with the frontend devs before the actual API is ready. Because—surprise!—we start with the data model as well. Translating these interfaces into Typescript (hello, Copilot) is a good kickstart. And the devs who use pure JS, God help them all, will also benefit from knowing the names of fields. I understand that some names can change later, but it is better to fix the naming after than guess it before. This way, we can discuss and change it before it is too late. We can agree on naming and avoid having a method getUsers that calls the GET /accounts endpoint (different entity naming is painful in the long term). Moreover, we can mock the data on our side to test how different enum values and optional fields are displayed, check the edge cases and whatnot. It will be even better if you get access to Figma and create a model by looking at the result. And it’s not a typo: I suggest that backend developers have access to Figma to make the data structure that solves the actual needs of the frontend part. One Call to Rule Them All Another good reason for looking at the design at this stage is the possibility of thinking about optimizing the number of calls. In a perfect world, I’d like to have one call that shows all the visible data on the page. Of course, there might be pagination, infinite scroll, common cached data, and micro-optimizations on loading crucial parts before the rest of the page. But the primary data getter should reflect the final result. I’m not saying it’s impossible to combine the data from different sources, and I understand the situations might differ, but, in general, we want to reduce the number of calls to let the users get their data faster and make the page more robust. Once again, don’t treat it as black and white: obviously, it’s okay to have several requests if we can show the significant part quickly and then load the additional data. The rule of thumb: each API call can fail independently without breaking the UI completely; it should only make one meaningful part hidden behind the error message. The same applies to data manipulation requests. I can send patching requests for each object, but if the design suggests bulk editing, it’s nice to have one call for that. Give Us Some Data Testing the empty state is always a good idea, but frankly, when we integrate the API, we would love to see some examples of data. The more, the merrier. And by saying “more”, I also mean “more different.”  If you have direct access to the dev DB or can readily test your calls, please add a few rows with different values. At this stage, it’s better to make them look like real ones, so we can find out something that wasn’t an issue in the cozy design mockups with polished data that always fits the container. The Devil Is in the Details Do you know that feeling when you need to add a comment so your code is understandable in a week? Life happens, and sometimes, tricky things arise from the complicated requirements. If you feel that, please share the news beforehand. Of course, you don’t need to say that pressing the “Delete item” button should call the deletion route, but if there’s a twisted logic you had to make an additional method for, or if there are two endpoints that look similar, but used differently, or if there’s a parameter whose value should be hardcoded for some time, please let us know. I know this one is the hardest to master because when we work on something, we dive into the tiniest details—so it feels obvious. But it is not like that from the outside, so if you had to take an unconventional approach to this API, please don’t keep it secret. Communication Is Key Like in every relationship, the most important thing is the dialogue. I told you a few things that I find efficient, but maybe in your team, you’ll want the frontend devs to describe the endpoints beforehand. Or you have a technical product manager who can do it themselves. Or maybe your development cycle allows you to do it in a very different way. And that’s where the good old talk comes in useful. You can start with this list and then align the processes to make them comfortable for everyone. Don’t wait for the managers to do that, because you know better. But whatever works best for your team, I insist that the backend devs should treat frontend devs as users. Basically, it’s like being a product manager for the API: you can do a mediocre thing that works or create something your target audience truly enjoys using. Choose wisely. Feature image:  I asked AI to make a cover for the "What Women Want" movie featuring a backend and a frontend dev This one goes to all the backend developers who create APIs for the frontend developers and want their team to succeed, become more productive, and rock everybody’s socks. Here are a few simple things that can decrease your time-to-market or improve other fancy metrics your managers want you to improve. I will tell it from the web developers’ point of view, but from what I remember, the same works for mobile development. I will use my experience working with a guy who made perfect APIs and with whom we literally understood each other without words. Okay, yes, it was me: I used to be a full-stack dev. But I firmly believe that people can understand each other just as a frontend-me and a backend-me did. I’m not going to tell you about readability, consistency, stability, and stuff like that: you know what makes a great engineer without my advice. I want to discuss those things that will help your frontend colleagues work with your API more efficiently and ship the product with as little friction as possible. Data Structure Before Everything Most of the time, our first task is to map the data we will have to the design. And that’s where your future structure might come in handy: if you start your development with the data model, feel free to share it with the frontend devs before the actual API is ready. Because—surprise!—we start with the data model as well. Translating these interfaces into Typescript (hello, Copilot) is a good kickstart. And the devs who use pure JS, God help them all, will also benefit from knowing the names of fields. I understand that some names can change later, but it is better to fix the naming after than guess it before. This way, we can discuss and change it before it is too late. We can agree on naming and avoid having a method getUsers that calls the GET /accounts endpoint (different entity naming is painful in the long term). Moreover, we can mock the data on our side to test how different enum values and optional fields are displayed, check the edge cases and whatnot. getUsers GET /accounts It will be even better if you get access to Figma and create a model by looking at the result. And it’s not a typo: I suggest that backend developers have access to Figma to make the data structure that solves the actual needs of the frontend part. backend developers One Call to Rule Them All Another good reason for looking at the design at this stage is the possibility of thinking about optimizing the number of calls. In a perfect world, I’d like to have one call that shows all the visible data on the page. Of course, there might be pagination, infinite scroll, common cached data, and micro-optimizations on loading crucial parts before the rest of the page. But the primary data getter should reflect the final result. I’m not saying it’s impossible to combine the data from different sources, and I understand the situations might differ, but, in general, we want to reduce the number of calls to let the users get their data faster and make the page more robust. Once again, don’t treat it as black and white: obviously, it’s okay to have several requests if we can show the significant part quickly and then load the additional data. The rule of thumb: each API call can fail independently without breaking the UI completely; it should only make one meaningful part hidden behind the error message. The same applies to data manipulation requests. I can send patching requests for each object, but if the design suggests bulk editing, it’s nice to have one call for that. Give Us Some Data Testing the empty state is always a good idea, but frankly, when we integrate the API, we would love to see some examples of data. The more, the merrier. And by saying “more”, I also mean “more different.”  If you have direct access to the dev DB or can readily test your calls, please add a few rows with different values. At this stage, it’s better to make them look like real ones, so we can find out something that wasn’t an issue in the cozy design mockups with polished data that always fits the container. The Devil Is in the Details Do you know that feeling when you need to add a comment so your code is understandable in a week? Life happens, and sometimes, tricky things arise from the complicated requirements. If you feel that, please share the news beforehand. Of course, you don’t need to say that pressing the “Delete item” button should call the deletion route, but if there’s a twisted logic you had to make an additional method for, or if there are two endpoints that look similar, but used differently, or if there’s a parameter whose value should be hardcoded for some time, please let us know. I know this one is the hardest to master because when we work on something, we dive into the tiniest details—so it feels obvious. But it is not like that from the outside, so if you had to take an unconventional approach to this API, please don’t keep it secret. Communication Is Key Like in every relationship, the most important thing is the dialogue. I told you a few things that I find efficient, but maybe in your team, you’ll want the frontend devs to describe the endpoints beforehand. Or you have a technical product manager who can do it themselves. Or maybe your development cycle allows you to do it in a very different way. And that’s where the good old talk comes in useful. You can start with this list and then align the processes to make them comfortable for everyone. Don’t wait for the managers to do that, because you know better. But whatever works best for your team, I insist that the backend devs should treat frontend devs as users. Basically, it’s like being a product manager for the API: you can do a mediocre thing that works or create something your target audience truly enjoys using. Choose wisely. Feature image:  I asked AI to make a cover for the "What Women Want" movie featuring a backend and a frontend dev Feature image:  I asked AI to make a cover for the "What Women Want" movie featuring a backend and a frontend dev

What Frontend Devs Want (From Backend Devs)

In this day and age, we are used to digital experiences that enhance our daily lives. From user-friendly apps to interactive websites, we've come to expect products that not only serve a purpose but also provide an enjoyable and familiar journey. However, it's no secret that not all digital encounters meet these expectations. Some leave us frustrated with their inconsistent or unfamiliar visual styles, while others lack any visual style at all, making them feel bland and; Quite frankly? Boring. Ok, let’s pause for a moment, think about the last time you used an app or visited a website that made you wonder if you had accidentally stumbled into an entirely different platform. Buttons seemed to change colors, fonts appeared randomly altered, and spacing between elements seemed to have a mind of its own. Chances are, you were experiencing the consequences of a poorly managed design system. Imagine your favorite recipe for a mouthwatering dish. Each ingredient plays a crucial role in enhancing the flavors and creating a delightful culinary journey. Similarly, a design system works in a comparable manner, seamlessly blending design and engineering to craft a harmonious user experience. Yet, achieving this harmony isn't always easy, especially when designers and developers speak different languages. Designers care deeply about visual aesthetics, while developers are focused on the technical implementation. This is where the term comes in. while creating consistent and enjoyable digital products. Design tokens serve as a common language that both designers and developers can understand and use to maintain a shared design system. They act as the building blocks of visual design decisions, such as colors, typography, spacing, and more. Design Token The secret ingredient to bridging the gap between design and engineering So, how can design tokens transform a product from a chaotic mess into a user-friendly masterpiece? Let's take a closer look. Deep Dive Consistency and Familiarity Design tokens bring consistency to the table, ensuring that apps or websites maintain unified visual styles across all its elements. From the vibrant colors that match a brand to the perfect typography that strikes the right tone, design tokens lay down the rules for the appearance of digital products. This consistency helps users feel at home, navigating effortlessly and trusting the platform. Faster design iterations Picture this: your team decides to update the primary color of your brand. With design tokens, you can make this change in a single place, and voila! The entire product seamlessly adopts the new color. No more hunting down every occurrence of the old color across the codebase or design files. Design tokens empower product teams to maintain the design system with ease. Reducing Technical Debt A chaotic product with inconsistent design elements is challenging to maintain and update. By utilizing design tokens, the product becomes more maintainable, as changes to design elements are centralized and easily controlled. This, in turn, reduces technical debt and streamlines future development efforts. Simplifying collaboration With Design Tokens, designers and developers no longer speak different languages and can finally be on the same page. Through collaborative efforts, they define and refine the design system, each bringing their expertise to the table. Designers can define the design tokens, while developers implement them in the codebase, resulting in a harmonious relationship between design and engineering teams. This newfound synergy leads to stronger, more enjoyable products. : Enabling Reusability Design tokens promote the creation of reusable design components. Once a design component is defined and styled using design tokens, it can be reused throughout the product and even across different projects. This reusability not only saves time and effort but also ensures design consistency across the entire ecosystem. : Enhancing User Trust A consistent and cohesive user interface builds trust with users. Design tokens help create a sense of reliability and professionalism, making users feel comfortable navigating the product. The result is improved user satisfaction and increased user loyalty. Real example Ok enough words, here’s a visual example: In the above example, Designers create a set of defined color tokens. The base color shown in the base hex value . The token alias which references the base color, The token alias which references the brand color, and the token alias which references the hex value with a 20% opacity. #00FF84 Colors/Brand Button/Primary/Color Badge/Active/Border From design POV Any components from the design side can consume those variables by using Figma. From engineering POV Engineering teams can leverage tools like with to automatically  sync variables and styles created from Figma into their codebase while being able to track versions when the change happened. Tokens Studio Styledictionary /* CSS */
:root {
  --base: 151, 100%, 50%; /* HSL equivalent of #00FF84 */
  --colors-brand: hsl(var(--base));
  --colors-button-primary: var(--colors-brand);
  --badge-active-border: hsla(var(--base), .2);
} Wrapping Up Design tokens can bridge the gap between design and engineering by providing a single source of truth for visual style. This means that designers and engineers can work together more effectively, as they are both working with the same data. The ultimate goal is to enhance the time to live process of a product while ensuring that the visual style of a product is consistent across all platforms and devices. Resources Guide to variables Figma Comprehensive guide to design systems Design Systems Handbook Figma intro to variables Creating variables (Tokens Studio) I’m always open to meet new people so feel free to contact me on X Thanks for reading! Also published . here

Stories, News & Mentions about FIGMA

Figma’s Stories on HackerNoon

Figma's News & Mentions