Visual diary #3 | Figma
Figma is a browser-based design tool used by product and UX teams.
What makes Figma a successful human-centered product are the features that separate it from other design tools. The creators of Figma realized that the existing design tools created more friction in the entire process. Tools such as Sketch and Adobe XD were excellent design solutions in their own right, but also made it difficult for teams of designers to work together. These systems stored files locally, requiring team members to email or share documents they were collaborating on. This solution made sense from a traditional mindset but didn’t support how actual teams were currently working.
In contrast, the Figma team started with the designer and product team in mind. They studied how they worked, how they collaborated, how they created, and ultimately how a product was built. They looked for what was going right and what could be improved.
The Figma team looked to existing products like Google Sheets and Docs, that made it easier for team members to collaborate on a shared file rather than work individually and email the file around. Why not take a similar approach to help empower designers to work better together?
Figma was created to support user actions, prioritizing how they work within a team rather than forcing the user to conform to the bounds of the tool. By focusing on and understanding how design teams worked, Figma was able to create an enjoyable experience that makes the design more collaborative, exciting, and productive.
Design is an immensely broad field, encompassing dozens of domains that each require a number of specialty tools. I hope more companies choose to take an approach similar to Figma, supporting their users and prioritizing their needs wherever possible.
