Issue No.14: Software Is Culture | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)
Software increasingly shapes how people communicate, play, create, eat, and connect. Figma’s January 2026 newsletter argues that as AI evolves from tool to teammate, software will become more responsive to human needs—and its cultural influence will grow. The issue explores this idea through design, language, gaming, food, and physical fabrication. ## Design Is Culture - Familiar interactions such as pinch-to-zoom, infinite scroll, and tap-to-like were once novel inventions. - These interface patterns have had a major influence on how an entire generation thinks and feels. - The newsletter highlights 10 iconic interactions to examine their broader cultural impact. ## Language Is Culture - Social media and recommendation algorithms help new slang spread rapidly, including expressions such as “6-7,” “aura,” and “rizz.” - Linguist Adam Aleksic explains that algorithms influence not only how people speak, but also how they think and relate to one another. - “Algospeak” has become a measure of virality and a distinctive feature of online communication. ## Gaming Is Culture - Video games have grown from simple experiences like Pong into a $184 billion industry built around expansive worlds, characters, game modes, and side quests. - Despite this complexity, players often navigate games through a small set of controller inputs. - Epic Games UX designer Aashrey Sharma examines how these simple controls enable rich interactions and what they suggest about the future of interfaces. ## Food Is Culture - British Columbia’s small farms are under pressure from factory farming and rising costs, with farmers reportedly leaving the industry at an alarming rate. - Entrepreneur Aaron Veale used Figma Make to build a marketplace connecting local growers with restaurants. - By prompting the AI tool, he produced a working minimum viable product in less than three weeks, demonstrating how AI can help individuals address urgent community problems. ## Fabrication Is Culture - Designer Kelsey Fairhurst combines digital design with hands-on manufacturing to create “softline brutalist” stainless-steel flatware. - Her Forks Plus project grew through years of research and work between a Brooklyn studio and a Cleveland fabrication shop. - The story presents software and design tools as companions to physical making rather than replacements for it. The newsletter’s central recommendation is implicit: treat software as a cultural force, not merely a productivity tool. Designers and builders should consider how the interfaces and AI systems they create will shape behavior, language, creativity, and everyday life.
