Figma year in review: 2018 | Figma Blog
Figma’s 2018 review describes a shift from building a collaborative design tool to building an open platform and global community around it. After launching publicly in 2016 and raising $25 million in Series B funding, Figma expanded its API, attracted businesses and developers, and grew adoption among large organizations. The company concludes that partnerships, integrations, and community initiatives will remain central to its growth. ## From Product to Community - Figma marked roughly two years since its public launch in September 2016. - In 2018, its focus expanded beyond the core product to include: - The Figma Platform - API-powered integrations - Community events and resources - Adoption across departments in major organizations - Microsoft used Figma’s API to automate parts of its developer handoff process. ## The Figma Platform - Figma launched what it called the first web API for a design tool. - Its web-based architecture enabled integrations that would have been difficult with isolated desktop software. - Companies such as Uber and GitHub used the API to customize their design workflows even before the public launch. - Seven months later, businesses were being built on the platform, including paid services. ### Community-built tools - PDF exporting - Style-guide generation - Find-and-replace tools for text and layer names - JavaScript libraries for working with the Figma API ### Commercial integrations - Avocode and Zeplin connected Figma designs to developer handoff workflows. - Principle added advanced animation capabilities. - Relay for Figma pushed designs directly into codebases. - Pagedraw converted Figma designs into React. - Overflow synchronized designs for user-flow diagrams. - Haiku converted designs into production-ready components. Figma expected partnerships and additional integrations to become an even larger focus in 2019. ## Building a Global Community - Figma hosted design-system meetups in cities around the world, initially covering eight cities and later reaching 17 countries. - Events connected designers and encouraged detailed discussions about systematic design. - Figma launched DesignSystems.com to share practices and stories from teams at companies including Airbnb, GitHub, Braintree, and Segment. - The company viewed community connections and shared knowledge as an extension of its open-platform strategy. Figma’s 2018 direction was clear: continue investing in an accessible web-based tool while enabling an ecosystem of integrations, businesses, and designers around it.
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