Announcing Schema, Figma’s design systems conference | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Figma announced Schema, a virtual conference dedicated to building, scaling, and contributing to design systems. The event reflects the shift from static, siloed style guides toward collaborative tools, shared visibility, and cross-functional participation. Schema aims to help practitioners exchange practical lessons while recognizing that organizations of every size are still refining their systems. ## The Evolution of Design Systems - Early design-system workflows relied on PDF style guides and developers translating design decisions into code. - These processes were often separated across teams and tools, making collaboration and alignment difficult. - Modern systems emphasize collaboration, visibility, flexible tooling, and shared understanding. - Design systems now involve contributors beyond traditional design roles, including developers and other design-adjacent collaborators. ## Why Figma Created Schema - Design systems include more than libraries, components, and styles. - Successful systems also depend on: - Clear communication - Measurement and demonstrating impact - Community participation - Processes that encourage contribution - Figma wanted to create a space where practitioners could share how they build and manage systems at different organizational scales. ## Event Details and Audience - Schema was scheduled for October 7, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. PT. - The conference was entirely virtual. - It targeted: - Design systems and design operations leaders - Teams formalizing their first design system - Organizations managing systems at scale - Teams extending Figma workflows through APIs, plugins, and custom tooling - Live attendance was limited, with applications accepted through October 4. Talks were also planned for free release in the Figma Community. ## Conference Themes - **Build:** Practical approaches to creating design systems of different sizes. - **Scale:** Strategies for adoption, measuring return on investment, and expanding system capabilities through tools and plugins. - **Contribute:** Methods for developing internal communities and empowering teams to improve the system. Schema was positioned as an opportunity for practitioners to learn from companies both large and small. Its central recommendation is that design systems should be treated as collaborative, evolving products supported by communication, measurement, tooling, and broad participation.