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Figma: A web based collaborative interface design tool hits preview(figma.com)
over 7 years ago from Callil Capuozzo, design @ microsoft
Robin Raszka, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )
What kind of data sources Figma will support in 1.0? Given the fact it's a web tool that works only online I'd expect something to take advantage of it otherwise it would be kinda dumb online vector editor for making nice Facebook cover images.
My other questions would be how are you going to convince me that designing in browser is better than a native desktop app?
Dylan Field, over 7 years ago
Hi, Robin!
Not exactly sure what you mean by "data sources."
If you mean file formats, you can import / export JPG, PNG and SVG files. We also support import of Sketch files.
If you mean connecting with APIs and designing with data, that's something we're thinking a lot about right now. (But this isn't in the product yet.)
The only way I can convince you is by giving you access to Figma :) Just followed you on Twitter; DM me your email and I'll send you an invite to check it out!
Calvin Wilson, over 7 years ago
Hi Dylan, Thanks for taking the time :) I noticed a glimpse of adaptive design layouts within the product. After reading Josh Puckett's articles on modern design tools, it's refreshing to see some of this modern applications in a real product. Looking forward to trying it out.
My only question is, aside from the collaborative aspects, how does Figma intend to contribute to the progress of modern design? What does it bring to the table that we don't already have?
Cheers!
Calvin, great question. We have so many ideas, some of which we've already implemented, others of which are in concept phase.
The two things I'll talk about here shouldn't be too surprising; basically, it's what you've read about in Josh's articles. We're big fans of Josh Puckett.
One feature we're really excited about (and have built) is constraints. Constraints allows you to define relationships between objects and their containing frame. (Frames are similar to artboards, except they can nest and rotate.) In addition to constraining objects to the edges of a frame, you can also constrain objects to the columns of a flexible grid that changes size responsively.
Another feature we're thinking about — but haven't built yet — is a way to link data to your design. A lot of big companies (Facebook, YouTube, etc) already have plugins which let designers test out different strings, images, etc in their designs. We see this as something we can make way easier for all designers.
While I wouldn't consider this "modern," we've also made foundational improvements to vector editing. The Path model hasn't changed in over 25 years, and we think we've figured out a better way to draw vector shapes.
What would you like to see?
Excellent! I can def see the value there. With regard to using data, you're probably more than familar with Framer. Using data in a code based environment seems pretty natural. I'm curious to see how you all approach utilizing data in a heavy GUI environment.
And, yes I'd love to check it out! I requested an invite already if that helps
EDIT:
As an aside, I'd also note that collaboration is a huge deal, whether it's collaborative design or just getting feedback, I find anything that helps this process greatly beneficial. The only concerns I'd have is adoption. I can only use so many tools.
Nye Yarrington, over 7 years ago
As a developer on the backed of a Sketch > Zeplin.io flow, what will FIgma do to help me? Biggest issue with Zeplin is that it's conceived as one-way flow of info, with no way to question the design comp itself. Are you providing more than Hex colors, Font specs & block dimensions? If so, how can we use Figma to converge faster on the correct implementation? Thanks.
Hi, Nye! In addition to inspecting hex colors / fonts / spacing, you can also leave comments in Figma and have conversations about the design in real time. Is this useful for your workflow? Or are you getting at something else with your question?
Biggest time waste has been getting responsive design elements implemented correctly from Sketch/Zeplin, so the "auto-layout" features you mention in a subsequent comment below need to be visible and actionable to developers. Second biggest time waste has been around dynamic aspects of the design; perhaps this is out of scope of Figma (you're working from 2D Sketch files...) but something like the InVision screen transition mark-up would be nice to include in any spec to developers.
For what it's worth, the other biggest time wasters have been implementing custom dialog behavior, and dynamic table layout. I'd be keen to learn more about how you help with those specific design elements. Thanks!
Harish Kumar, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )
nye, you can also leave comments in zeplin..
Ivan Uvarov, over 7 years ago
Hey! This looks really exciting! Would you mind sharing an invite so I could try it out?
Thanks, Ivan! Looks like you've already been accepted :)
Marcus Zanona, over 7 years ago
Hey Dylan, what an awesome idea you guys had. I have been using Sketch for quite a while now and it's always an issue when I want to work on the responsive side because it somehow makes me feel I am losing more time than I should have to re-create another Artboard and duplicating the elements. Symbols on sketch are not perfect yet, so it won't allow too many customisations there. Not to mention the friction between Avocode or Zeplin.
Are you guys also thinking about implementing prototyping features such as Adobe Atomic project?
Anyway, congrats again for the great job; I have signed up for the preview release and am really looking forward to get to try Figma as soon as possible :)
Thank you, Marcus! Just added you to the Preview Release.
Right now we're focusing on the very large surface area we've already committed to covering and we're hoping to integrate tightly with applications like Flinto and Framer.
Thanks Dylan, I will give it a try right away. For prototyping I meant that instead of integrating with apps such as Flinto or Frame, that would be nice to have those features built-in into the app so you can also prototype straight from Figma, just like Adobe Comet is planning to do. Thanks again.
Jamie Lovelace, over 7 years ago
We're currently redesigning our whole UI, would love to give this a go!
You're in! Excited to hear what you think!
Awesome, thanks a lot!
Hey all — I'm Dylan Field, the CEO and co-founder of Figma. It's really great to see this discussion happening; the reason we launched today is because we want to engage the design community and make sure we're solving the right problems. If you have any questions, just ask — we're excited to answer!