An Update on our Make Designs Feature | Figma Blog
Figma temporarily disabled its Make Designs AI feature after discovering that some generated mockups closely resembled real applications, including Apple’s weather app. The issue came not from model training, but from insufficiently reviewed components and example screens in Figma’s custom design systems. Figma removed the problematic assets and planned stronger quality assurance before relaunching the feature, later bringing it back under the name First Draft with updates. ## How Make Designs Works - Combines an AI model, contextual design-system data, and a user prompt. - Uses generally available models such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Amazon Titan, without additional fine-tuning. - Relies on separate mobile and desktop design systems containing hundreds of components and example compositions. - The language model selects, arranges, parameterizes, and themes components based on the prompt. - Amazon Titan generates the images used in the resulting designs. ## What Went Wrong - Figma reviewed the design systems during development and private beta testing. - Shortly before Config 2024, new components and example screens were added without sufficient vetting. - Some assets resembled patterns from real-world applications. - A prompt for a weather app produced results that appeared notably similar to Apple’s first-party design. - The incident was identified after designer Andy Allen raised the concern, prompting an immediate investigation. ## Figma’s Response - The team traced the similarities to assets in the underlying design systems. - Problematic components and examples were removed. - Make Designs was rolled back and disabled. - Figma postponed relaunching the feature while developing a more robust QA process. ## Future Direction - Make Designs was originally called “First Draft” to emphasize that AI output is only a starting point. - Figma wants users eventually to connect the feature to their own company design systems. - This could reduce the time spent locating, assembling, and configuring components. - Figma maintains that designers remain essential for refining drafts into meaningful user experiences. - The feature was later re-enabled with updates and renamed First Draft. Figma’s experience highlights the need to carefully audit not only AI models but also the data, components, and examples supplied to them. AI-generated designs should be treated as starting points that require professional review and creative refinement.
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