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Behind the build: a Q&A with developer Tekeste Kidanu | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

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Tekeste Kidanu, known online as tk made it, builds Figma and FigJam plugins that address practical needs from the design community. His best-known project, SPELLL, provides grammar and spell checking inside design files, while his newer FigJam tools support note-taking, color customization, and voting. He credits community feedback, Figma’s approachable plugin API, and his interest in design for shaping his work.

Background and Motivation

  • Tekeste is an introverted frontend developer who moved to the U.S. in 2016 to study computer science.
  • He became interested in improving his design skills, particularly in color theory and typography.
  • He contributes to the Figma Community by creating tools that help designers work more productively.

SPELLL: Spell Checking for Figma and FigJam

  • SPELLL scans Figma and FigJam documents for spelling and grammar errors.
  • Users can correct mistakes directly, similar to using Grammarly.
  • The plugin aims to save designers time and prevent embarrassing typos during presentations.
  • Tekeste developed the idea after seeing requests on the Figma Forum, Designer News, Twitter, and other design communities.

Learning the Figma Plugin API

  • Tekeste researched how the plugin should work before beginning development.
  • He taught himself the Figma plugin API through its documentation and questions in the Figma Plugins Slack workspace.
  • He was surprised by how easy it was to begin, finding that his existing JavaScript and web-development knowledge provided a strong foundation.

Building for FigJam

  • When FigJam introduced plugin support, Tekeste began adapting his existing Figma tools.
  • The similar APIs and development processes for Figma and FigJam made migration straightforward.
  • His FigJam projects include:
    • Notes, a widget for storing detailed plain-text or Markdown notes without cluttering a board.
    • Color Picker, which adds custom-colored stickies and shapes.
    • Voting, which supports anonymous and non-anonymous voting sessions.

Community-Driven Inspiration

  • Tekeste frequently finds ideas in feature requests and discussions on Twitter, the Figma Forum, and Friends of Figma Slack.
  • He notes that many requested features can be implemented through the plugin API before Figma adds them natively.
  • He hopes another developer will build a FigJam widget showing what music participants are listening to.

Looking Ahead

  • Tekeste plans to improve his voting widget and make it the best possible tool for FigJam sessions.
  • He is excited about the public release of FigJam plugins and widgets and the creativity it may encourage.
  • He is also inspired by the growing popularity of playful, animated, and interactive interfaces, citing Apple Maps and the Honk app as examples.

Figma’s open plugin and widget platform gives developers like Tekeste a practical way to turn community requests into useful design tools. His work demonstrates how existing web skills, combined with active listening to users, can produce focused improvements to collaborative workflows.