6 Designs That Reimagine How We Interact With Software | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
This Figma Make-a-thon showcase argues that software interaction can become more expressive, playful, and socially connective when designers rethink familiar conventions. The winning projects use technology to recreate communal crafts, enable hands-free control, and expand physical experiences beyond traditional limits. Together, they suggest that creativity and emotional connection—not just speed and efficiency—should shape digital experiences. ## Collaborative Embroidery: Common Thread - Charlota Blunárová’s winning project adapts the tradition of handmade samplers into a shared online canvas. - Visitors choose thread colors and stitch types, then contribute to a communal embroidery piece alongside strangers. - The project deliberately imposes constraints: one shared canvas becomes more meaningful as people add to it over time. - More than 100,000 stitches have been added, turning the site into an evolving, collectively authored artifact. - Blunárová built the real-time collaboration and canvas interactions in Figma Make despite having no engineering background. - Her process began with the desired feeling and used visual references, including logos and color palettes created in Figma. ## Hands-Free Interaction: Pucker - Aleyna Çatak’s “Pucker” replaces tapping and voice commands with head movements and a lip gesture. - Users tilt their heads to move through an interface, hold still to select an item, and pucker their lips to confirm. - The concept is designed for situations where users’ hands are occupied, such as cooking, knitting, or designing. - It also points toward more accessible interfaces that can be operated without touch or speech. - Pucker uses a device’s front camera for real-time tracking and states that no data is stored or transmitted. - Çatak describes it as a flexible interaction layer rather than a finished product, potentially adaptable across apps and platforms. - Her advice is to understand basic coding concepts so prototypes can be refined and troubleshot more effectively. ## A Remote Photo Booth: Duet Booth - Paige Latimer reimagines the traditional photo booth as a remote, asynchronous experience. - Duet Booth allows two people in different places—or participating at different times—to take photos that are combined into one photo strip. - The project preserves the photo booth’s sense of immediacy and shared participation while removing its physical and geographic constraints. - Latimer recommends concentrating on the core interaction before polishing visual details, giving the rest of the design a strong foundation. The projects presented in the article demonstrate how Figma Make lowers the barrier to prototyping ambitious ideas. Designers can use it to turn emotional concepts, alternative input methods, and collaborative rituals into working experiences—provided they begin with a clear sense of the feeling or interaction they want to create.