figmaAug 24, 2021

What’s new in Figma: August 2021 | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s August 2021 updates focus on faster workflows, more flexible customization, and easier design-system management. The company expanded its plugin ecosystem into FigJam, improved the Figma plugin API, and introduced tools for moving, swapping, and finding components. Smaller usability improvements also addressed common frustrations in both products. ## Plugins and Widgets for FigJam - FigJam gained support for: - **Plugins**, which automate tasks such as organizing sticky notes, customizing styles, and importing data. - **Widgets**, interactive canvas objects for polls, voting, games, notepads, and other collaborative activities. - Plugins are accessible to users on every plan. - Developers can create plugins with basic HTML and JavaScript, while widgets can be built with React. - Widgets were initially offered through a private beta. ## Expanded Figma Plugin API - Plugins can now write to prototypes, enabling developers to: - Automate prototype creation. - Modify interactions in bulk. - Improve prototyping workflows without manual repetition. - **Plugin parameters** let users provide input through quick actions, avoiding the need for custom plugin interfaces. - Plugin parameters were released in open beta, with examples available through Figma’s plugin samples. ## Easier Design-System Maintenance Three component-management improvements make it simpler to scale and reorganize design systems: - **Move components:** Published components and component sets can be moved between files without breaking instance links. - **Swap libraries:** Entire style and component libraries can be replaced at once instead of updated individually. - **Search components:** Pressing **Shift + I** opens a shortcut for quickly locating components. ## Usability Improvements - Transparent objects now automatically knock out shadows behind them, reducing the need for manual adjustments. - Holding **Shift** while using the pencil tool constrains lines to straight paths in both Figma and FigJam. - Additional bug fixes and improvements were documented in Figma’s release notes. Together, these updates make Figma and FigJam more extensible, collaborative, and efficient—particularly for teams managing large design systems or automating repetitive design and prototyping tasks.

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figmaJul 27, 2021

30 updates: recent features and fixes in Figma | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s July 2021 update roundup highlights 30 small improvements designed to make everyday design work faster and less disruptive. The changes span vector editing, typography, images, collaboration, navigation, accessibility, browser behavior, and keyboard shortcuts. Together, they reduce friction across common workflows rather than introducing one major feature. ## Vector, Stroke, and Drawing Improvements - Redesigned the stroke panel with easier controls for end caps and connector properties, including connectors copied from FigJam. - Added math operations for changing properties with mixed values. - The Pencil and Pen tools now remember selected stroke settings for future use. - Added hover states for frame presets and improved grid property drag handles. - New rulers are automatically selected after creation, allowing immediate keyboard adjustment or deletion. ## Image and Export Workflow - Added browser support for **Copy as PNG**, using `⌘+Shift+C` or `Ctrl+Shift+C`. - Holding `⌘`/`Ctrl` while resizing an image immediately crops it. - Image adjustment sliders can now be used without an extra click. - Export settings now include an “include bounding box” option, with the corresponding Plugin API setting `use_absolute_bounds`. - Renamed “Contents only” export to “Ignore overlapping layers.” - Pasting an image during text editing now exits text mode and pastes the image normally. ## Typography and Fonts - A second fill added to an object is now a solid color instead of a gradient. - Text export behavior was improved with more precise bounds controls. - Copying text with a missing font now activates the global missing-font indicator. - The missing-font dialog lets users click directly to identify affected layers. - Removed the “+” option for text nodes with mixed styles, making it easier to override them with a new style or color. - Renaming a file no longer produces an unnecessarily tall selected-text background. ## Collaboration and FigJam Integration - Preferences now sync automatically across open tabs without requiring a reload. - Stickies copied from FigJam as text are ordered according to their layout. - Zooming with “Z” no longer shows a selection rectangle to other collaborators. - Layer-panel icons update faster to reflect their corresponding objects. - The layers panel now scrolls to the selected layer when selection keyboard shortcuts are used. ## Navigation, Menus, and Interaction - The “Move to project” dialog can be dismissed by clicking outside it or pressing Esc. - Increased the clickable area for the top-menu chevron. - Middle-clicking selected links opens them. - Alignment and repositioning buttons remain active while editing text. - Users can pan across links without triggering disruptive link pop-ups. - The redesigned cursor hand is less intrusive. - Toolbar dropdowns now work correctly in View Only mode. ## Browser and Safari Fixes - Safari users can scrub fields by holding `⌥` and moving the mouse. - Right-click menus remain open more reliably in Safari. - Various interaction and menu behaviors were refined to make browser-based Figma more consistent. Figma presents these updates as an ongoing effort to remove small sources of friction from design workflows. Users can review the changes in the associated Figma Community file and follow the “What’s New” page for weekly fixes and improvements.

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figmaFeb 5, 2020

New ways to create, collaborate, and share more openly | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s 2020 product direction centers on three priorities: faster creation, more inclusive collaboration, and a broader design community. At Config 2020, the company announced seven features aimed at reducing repetitive work, preserving context across teams, and making design knowledge easier to share. These updates build on Figma’s focus on a reliable, high-performing platform. ## Focus for 2020: Creation, Collaboration, and Community - **Creation:** Automate repetitive design tasks and help users work faster. - **Collaboration:** Include everyone involved in the product process. - **Community:** Give designers more opportunities to publish, learn, and share. - Platform reliability and performance remain foundational investments. ## Faster Design Workflows - **Auto Layout improvements** - Components can stretch to fill their containers. - Buttons resize automatically with their text. - Lists can be rearranged more easily. - These capabilities support responsive designs across device types. - **Redesigned Font Picker** - Prioritizes frequently used fonts, organization fonts, and favorites. - Provides faster font search. - Identifies fonts already used in a file to improve consistency. - **Selection Colors** - Allows fills, strokes, and text colors to be updated together in one action. - Also supports changing these color categories independently. - **Expanded prototype interactions** - Adds triggers for keyboards, gamepads, and accessibility controllers. - Enables prototypes for keyboard shortcuts, game menus, and other device-specific interactions. ## Collaboration Across Product Teams - **Text hyperlinks** - Text can link to external web pages, pages within a Figma file, or frames in the Editor. - Useful for linking requirements documents and building navigable tables of contents. - **Plugin Inspector API** - Lets plugins display important information in Figma’s properties panel. - Can surface action items or identify plugin-generated content, such as maps, for easier updating. - **Prototype-only sharing** - A new permission allows users to share a prototype without exposing the underlying design file. - The feature was planned for Figma Professional and Organization plans. ## Sharing with the Design Community - Figma continued developing its Community platform as a public space for publishing live files. - Community files can be inspected, remixed, and used for learning. - Within its first months, more than 400 creators had published over 1,000 files, including wireframes, icon sets, design systems, device frames, slide templates, and illustrations. Together, these updates position Figma as more than a design editor: it aims to become a faster creation tool, a shared workspace for product teams, and an open learning platform for the broader design community.

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figmaAug 15, 2019

Tackle accessibility in your designs with these useful plugins | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Accessibility should be integrated into the design process so products do not exclude users with visual or motor impairments. Figma highlights four plugins that help designers evaluate color contrast, simulate color blindness, and plan keyboard focus order. Together, these tools make accessibility issues easier to identify and address before implementation. ## Color Contrast and WCAG Compliance - **Able** analyzes two selected objects and checks whether their contrast meets WCAG AA or AAA standards. - It updates dynamically as selections change and provides: - Text/background previews - Color-swapping controls - Simulations of different types of color blindness - Statistics showing how many people are affected by each condition - **Contrast Checker**, created by Stark, displays the contrast ratio between selected objects. - It provides contextual previews based on whether a layer contains text and shows: - AA/AA+ and AAA/AAA+ ratings - Contrast requirements for different font sizes - An indication of whether text larger than 18 points meets the relevant standard ## Simulating Color Blindness - **Color Blind** creates canvas-based simulations rather than only previewing colors in a separate interface. - It duplicates selected design elements and organizes them into named groups representing different types of color vision deficiency. - This lets designers inspect how an entire interface may appear to users with varying visual perceptions. ## Designing Keyboard Focus Order - **Focus Orderer** helps designers document the order in which a browser should move focus between interactive elements. - Designers can: - Add focus points to selected elements - Reorder them by dragging in the plugin interface - Automatically renumber annotations on the canvas - Tab through elements to test the intended navigation flow - The plugin connects accessibility planning directly with the design-to-development process. Designers should use these plugins alongside the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to catch accessibility problems early. Teams can also explore Figma’s Plugin API to build custom accessibility tools.

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figmaAug 8, 2019

5 utility Figma plugins to speed up your workflow | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma highlights five utility plugins designed to eliminate repetitive design tasks and make workflows more efficient. They support responsive frame testing, component duplication, text manipulation, bulk replacement, and selection of similar layers. A keyboard shortcut tip further speeds up plugin access. ## Viewports - Resizes frames to common device dimensions. - Requires constraints to be configured on elements beforehand. - Displays estimated global market share for each device viewport. - Future versions were expected to include desktop sizes. ## Component Cloner - Duplicates master components, selected instances, or both. - Useful for testing variations such as icon colors and building icon sprites. - Removes the manual work of recreating components and their instances. ## Nisa Text Splitter - Converts lines in a text box into separate text objects. - Supports reordering, including alphabetical or reverse order. - Can also merge multiple text boxes into one. ## Find and Replace - Finds and replaces text throughout a Figma document. - Can also search and rename layers by name. - Supports case sensitivity and matching anywhere, at the beginning, at the end, or across the entire string. - Particularly useful for large copy or content revisions. ## Similayer - Selects layers based on chosen matching properties. - Can match attributes such as fill, stroke, border radius, and drop shadow. - Extends Figma’s native “Select all with same…” functionality while reducing repetitive clicks. ## Faster Plugin Access - Press `⌘ + /` on Mac or `Ctrl + /` on Windows to search the menu and launch a plugin by name. - Press `⌘ + ⌥ + P` on Mac or `Ctrl + Alt + P` on Windows to run the previous plugin. These plugins are practical additions for reducing repetitive work in Figma. Designers can adopt them immediately, while developers interested in creating similar tools can consult Figma’s Plugin API documentation.

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figmaJul 21, 2019

Behind the Plugins: Sam Mason de Caires, UX Engineer at Cloudflare | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s early plugin beta highlighted how community-built tools could expand the possibilities of design software. Sam Mason de Caires, a UX Engineer at Cloudflare, sees plugins as a way to automate repetitive work and give designers more time for meaningful creative decisions. He also anticipates a future where generative design tools create many variations from data, with designers refining the best results. ## Sam’s Background and Motivation - Sam became a developer because he enjoys building things from scratch and seeing people use them. - His interest in design overlaps with his development experience, allowing him to contribute to design projects at Cloudflare. - He believes developers can support the design community by creating tools that improve speed and confidence. ## Plugins Sam Is Building - Sam had already created four Figma community plugins. - His projects include: - Translation tools - Data replacement - Theme UI generation - Graph creation - Color references designed to support color-blind users - He is particularly interested in using Figma’s API to automate tasks normally completed manually. ## The Role of Automation in Design - Figma’s plugin API gives creators access to the underlying tool and enables custom workflows. - Automating tedious tasks allows designers to focus on higher-value parts of the process. - Sam views plugins as a bridge between development and design, helping users work more efficiently without leaving their design environment. ## The Future of Design Tools - Sam expects major advances in generative design over the next five years. - Instead of designing every possible state individually, designers may provide data describing the desired output. - Design tools could then generate multiple variations, leaving designers to select and refine the strongest elements. - He recommends Adam Morse’s writing on “Chaos Design” for deeper thinking about the evolution of design tools. ## Contribution to the Design Community - Sam plans to continue creating tools and processes that help designers work faster and with greater confidence. - He is inspired by Stripe, praising both its visual quality and its success in making payment processing feel like a desirable product. - He also admires Stripe’s efforts to support broader communities through initiatives such as Stripe Press. Sam’s plugins were scheduled to become publicly available in Figma on August 1, 2019, reflecting Figma’s broader effort to build its plugin ecosystem around community innovation.

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figmaJun 25, 2019

What's new in Figma recap | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Figma’s spring 2019 updates focused on making everyday design work faster and more scalable. The biggest improvements expanded component workflows and introduced the public beta of the plugin API, enabling the community to build custom tools. The company also highlighted bug fixes and broader product refinements released over the previous three months. ## Component Improvements for Design Systems - Users can select multiple objects and convert them into Components in a single action. - Right-clicking a component instance now reveals related Components in the context menu, making swaps easier. - The **Return to Instance** button lets designers jump to a master component for reference or editing, then return to the instance they were working on. - For local components, instance overrides can be pushed back to the master component, supporting faster iteration and maintenance. ## Public Beta of the Plugin API - Figma launched the public beta of its plugin API after extensive development. - Early community experiments demonstrated how plugins could extend Figma beyond its built-in features. - Examples included: - Generative design tools that repeat text elements radially. - Image-analysis plugins that extract color palettes from selected images. - The strong early response suggested that plugins could support highly specialized creative workflows. ## Quality and Workflow Improvements - Figma dedicated a “quality week” to addressing and fixing a large number of bugs. - The spring release cycle also included rapid improvements to features such as Smart Selection and other frequently used tools. Figma’s spring updates strengthened its core component system while opening the platform to community-built extensions. Designers working with reusable systems could benefit from the component workflow improvements immediately, while the plugin beta offered a foundation for more customized and experimental processes.

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