Designers use Figma to bring Uber to the unbanked | Figma Blog
Uber’s expansion into emerging markets required designing for differences in language, literacy, devices, culture, location, and user roles. For its cash-payment initiatives, product designer Femke van Schoonhoven adopted Figma after fragmented tools made collaboration and research iteration difficult. Figma became a shared, web-based source of truth that reduced communication overhead, improved engineer handoff, and enabled distributed teams to work together more effectively. ## Designing for Diverse Markets - Uber serves millions of riders across dozens of countries, requiring experiences that work across very different local contexts. - Designers conduct extensive research, including riding with drivers and testing designs in real-world environments. - Emerging-market design must account for: - Language and literacy - Device limitations - Culture and location - Whether the user is a rider, driver, or another participant - Cash payments were particularly important for reaching users without access to traditional banking. ## Problems with the Previous Workflow - The Cash team used separate tools for design, prototyping, sharing, feedback, and engineering handoff. - Designers had to repeatedly import and export files and communicate project status outside the design tool. - During field research, only one person could edit a design at a time, preventing real-time iteration with teammates. - This made it difficult to respond immediately to feedback from Uber drivers. ## Figma Enables Real-Time Collaboration - Van Schoonhoven moved existing files into Figma through a simple drag-and-drop process. - She could create prototypes using local languages and realistic, in-context materials. - Multiple team members could edit the same design simultaneously, whether working nearby or across countries. - Figma’s file organization made designs easier to locate and maintain. ## A Single Source of Truth - Stakeholders could access the latest designs directly instead of requesting updates by email. - Figma reduced communication overhead by an estimated 75 percent. - Engineers could be invited into design files, view current changes, and comment in context. - Early engineering involvement made handoff faster and less error-prone. - The shared workspace helped replace siloed work with a central design repository. ## Supporting Distributed Projects - Figma provided the collaborative foundation for projects involving designers in Amsterdam, San Francisco, and other locations. - Teams could access shared Uber platform components and work from the same current files. - Because the tool was web-based, stakeholders could share designs and obtain approvals more quickly. Figma helped Uber’s designers adapt payment experiences for unbanked users by combining rapid iteration, shared context, and cross-location collaboration. For distributed product teams working across complex markets, a centralized collaborative design environment can substantially reduce friction from research through engineering handoff.
Read original(opens in new tab)