Whether you are a freelance graphic designer or an in-house UI/UX designer, mastering Figma could help you climb the ladder of a successful career.
With that in mind, here are the best Figma features we think all designers should be using...
What Is Figma?
Figma is an advanced web-based graphic design tool that offers next-generation collaborative work on UI/UX prototyping. It is a robust application that enables you to create unique UX designs that are user-friendly yet professional.
So, whether you're established in your field or just starting a career as a UI/UX designer or graphic designer, here are the best Figma features to get to grips with.
1. Variants for Component Management
Variants is an intelligent component management module, and known as the Figma components library. You can easily unclutter duplicate variations of the same component and combine them to organize the team asset library.
You can also define a single container for all similar components. During collaborative work, Variants makes it easier for the team members to locate what they are searching for. Exclude the guesswork out of your design system by customizing the values and properties of your component variants.
2. Bulleted Lists
You can also include bulleted and numbered lists in your UI/UX design projects. Lists enable you to easily organize data and emphasize related information in vector designs. You can include up to five levels of indentation. You can also perform visual color modifications through text color, strokes, and effects.
3. Connect Multiple Figma Accounts
Access all Figma accounts, workspaces, and community profiles on one screen. You can stay logged in to up to 10 Figma accounts. You can swiftly switch to any workspace from the top-left corner of the Figma screen. For the accounts, click on the top-right corner to open the account switcher.
4. The Revamped Inspect Tab
The previous Code Panel of Figma is now the Inspect Tab. This feature allows collaborators, especially developers, to get the values and codes of the designs of those you are working on. Your team members can extract data like Colors, Variants, Properties, Shadows, Content, Borders, and Typography from this tab.
5. The Instance Swap Menu
Figma revamped the Instance Swap Menu in 2020 to include a push-style menu. It allows the designers to surf between the components effortlessly.
You can also use the drop-down selector to switch between team libraries. There is a sleek thumbnail for component preview.
6. Figma Community Files and Plugins Library
Figma has a resource-enriched community platform where you can publish your projects so that fellow members can examine or rework them. There are thousands of creators, and you can get the following resources:
- Open figures illustration library
- Remote design sprinting
- Material design kit
- Figma templates
Figma plugins are highly performing and, at the same time, stable and secure. At the time of writing there are more than 40 exclusive plugins available, and the list is increasing in number. In enterprise subscriptions, you can distribute private plugins within the company. Some useful plugins that you can use are:
- Repetitive task automation within Figma frames
- Design error detection plugins
- Data population plugins
7. Zeplin Integration
Figma supports the native Zeplin plugin that enables simple right-click-based exporting of Figma designs to Zeplin workspaces for further brainstorming and development. Unlike other design tools, there are no hiccups with resolution or performance when you need to export larger Figma frames or designs.
Figma and Zeplin are also working together to introduce a new live updating feature of Figma components to Zeplin.
8. Real-Time Updating of the Project
In a UI/UX design process that does not involve Figma, the entire team needs to use more than one third-party tool to relay project updates and design mockups. Multiple file transfer is necessary to enable each team member to be on top of the current status.
However, through the real-time updating, the Figma app itself takes care of the exchange of prototype and its updates within the team members.
The project handoff from the designer to the developer is not really necessary in Figma. This is because when you use Confluence to share mockups of Figma, any changes within the design automatically show up as live activity on the project file.
9. Intuitive and Straightforward Prototyping
With Figma, prototyping is super easy and free of clutter, as it includes frame-to-frame transition. Figma is an all-in-one tool, and you do not need a third-party review tool like Marvel or InVision.
You can effortlessly share Figma prototypes with team members just like sharing Figma design files. All you need to do is to share a link with relevant edit permissions. Any comment or feedback stays within the tool, and you can also find records within Slack.
Developers can easily access the project design workflow, leave comments for the designer, and get CSS attributes and measurements.
10. Share Design Review Feedback
Review on UI/UX design project is simply a team conference when using Figma. During brainstorming and review sessions, the entire team can work on a large screen to record comments and fix issues within the same Figma design frame.
As Figma supports the most advanced in-app commenting technology, sharing feedback is seamless. You can comment on both prototyping and design modes. Any email client or Slack can store comments and suggestions.
Figma Makes Designing and Prototyping Easy
UI/UX designing and prototyping demand a higher skill set and focus on multiple tools. But with Figma, it’s seamless to learn and implement design skills in action and deliver UX that really improves the customer experience.
You can perform prototyping, brainstorming, reviewing, and UI design handoff, all using the same tool. Figma is now an industry standard, and it's definitely worth checking out.