Bringing new life to Figma’s brand | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Figma’s 2019 brand refresh expanded an existing visual language rather than replacing it. The process centered on collaboration, using research and Figma itself to create a brand that could feel both professional and playful. The result emphasized curiosity, vibrancy, honesty, boldness, and the imperfect process of making. ## Evolving an Existing Brand Language - Figma found that its original brand foundations were strong but had been created when the company was much smaller. - The refresh expanded the limited brand guide with additional rules for areas such as blog imagery and illustration. - Existing elements, including geometric shapes, were given new applications while remaining recognizable. - The goal was continuity: the new identity should feel like an extension of Figma’s original character. ## Defining Figma’s Personality - The team treated Figma as a person to clarify how the brand should behave and communicate. - Four personality traits became the main guideposts: - **Curious:** clever, playful, imaginative, and eager to explore. - **Vibrant:** dynamic, confident, energetic, and enthusiastic. - **Honest:** inclusive, empathetic, approachable, and willing to learn. - **Bold:** powerful, unexpected, nonconforming, and authentic. - These traits were intended to let the brand shift between consumer and enterprise audiences, and between reserved and playful expressions. ## Shapes That Represent Collaboration - Figma’s new illustrations use shapes as characters that interact, cooperate, disagree, or simply coexist. - Their positioning creates different compositions and communicates collaboration. - Illustrations vary in complexity: - Simple visuals support learning and clarity. - More abstract arrangements are used when the context allows greater expression. - Basic shapes can combine into complex images, making the construction process visible. - The illustrations deliberately show work in progress, including edited or manipulated elements, rather than presenting only polished final results. - This imperfect quality reflects the messy, evolving nature of design and encourages people to share how they make things. ## A Typeface with Hidden Character - Figma selected **Whyte** by Swiss type foundry Dinamo as its new brand typeface. - The team preferred Whyte’s **inktrap** version, which contains notches historically used in metal type to control pooled ink. - These details are subtle at small sizes but become visible when enlarged, giving the typography an illustrative quality. - The typeface supports Figma’s desired balance between conventional clarity and nonconforming personality. ## Refreshing Figma with Figma - The team created the entire refresh in Figma rather than relying on Photoshop or Illustrator. - Working in its own product challenged the designers to develop new workflows and creative techniques. - Collaboration was central, and Figma’s capabilities sometimes pushed ideas further than initially planned. - The tool became both the subject of the rebrand and the medium through which the new identity was developed. The refresh demonstrates how a growing company can strengthen its brand by extending existing principles, defining a clear personality, and making the creative process itself part of the identity.