Figma 3.0 (Dev Mode, AI, Slides and more)

Figma's Config conference unveiled exciting new features, including Figma AI, UI3, and Figma Slides, alongside updates to Dev mode. Figma AI aims to streamline the design process with visual search and efficiency updates, allowing for faster idea-to-product workflows. UI3 offers a redesigned interface for an immersive experience, while Figma Slides enters the presentation software market. Dev mode updates focus on an iterative design process, enhancing collaboration between designers and developers with new views and status updates.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Figma has announced a major update called Figma 3.0 with new features like Figma AI, UI3, and Figma Slides, along with updates to Dev mode and other improvements.
• 🧠 Figma AI aims to streamline the design process by enabling the creation of interfaces from simple prompts, emphasizing the importance of design in differentiating products in an AI-driven future.
• 🔍 The introduction of Visual Search is set to enhance the search functionality within Figma, helping users find design assets more efficiently using images or sketches.
• 🛠️ Efficiency updates include a suite of AI features designed to automate tedious tasks, such as generating images, rephrasing text, and renaming layers, to keep designers in the flow of their work.
• ⚙️ UI3 is a significant redesign of the Figma interface, aiming to provide a more immersive and component-centered experience with a new icon set and improved user workflow.
• 📊 Figma Slides is a new addition, targeting the presentation market by offering a design-led approach to creating slides, which could be particularly useful for teams already using Figma for design.
• 🔄 Updates to Dev mode focus on improving the iterative design process, with features like 'Ready for Dev' view and 'Focus View' to help developers stay in sync with design changes.
• 🔗 Code Connect aims to bridge the gap between design and code by allowing developers to access design system components directly within Figma, potentially simplifying the handoff process.
• 📈 The release includes quality of life improvements like Auto Layout enhancements, UI Kits for popular design systems, and a responsive prototype viewer for better cross-device design testing.
• 💼 Figma is also focusing on improving user experience for agencies and freelancers by streamlining project handoff and simplifying billing processes.
• 🆓 Figma AI features will be free during the beta period, with pricing details to be provided once the features become generally available.

Q & A

What major updates did Figma announce at their conference?

Figma announced the launch of Figma AI, UI3, and Figma Slides, along with major updates to Dev mode and improvements to existing features.

How does Figma's AI aim to assist in the design process?

Figma's AI is designed to help users think bigger and build faster, providing features that automate tasks, generate realistic images, copy and rewrite text, wire up prototypes, and rename layers with a click.

What is the purpose of Figma's Visual Search feature?

Visual Search is introduced to help users find design elements like icons or entire design files more easily using a screenshot, selected frame, or a simple sketch.

What improvements are being made to Figma's UI with the introduction of UI3?

UI3 is a redesign of Figma's interface that aims to streamline and simplify the user experience with a more immersive canvas, component-centered UI, and a new icon set.

What is the significance of Figma Slides in the context of presentation tools?

Figma Slides is a new product aimed at improving the process of creating presentations, making it faster and more integrated with design tools, which is particularly useful for teams that rely on design for their presentations.

How does the new 'Ready for Dev' view in Dev mode benefit developers?

The 'Ready for Dev' view helps developers by filtering and displaying only the most recent design updates, showing who updated what and when, providing a clear context for what needs to be developed.

What is the Focus View in Dev mode and how does it help developers?

Focus View in Dev mode allows developers to concentrate on the components that are ready to build by filtering out distractions, providing a streamlined view of the design that is ready for development.

What updates were made to Figma's Code Connect feature?

Code Connect now includes improvements like surfacing connected code snippets in the component playground, and support for React, React Native, iOS, Android, and more.

How does the new Auto Layout feature in Figma enhance the design process?

The improved Auto Layout feature in Figma can now suggest and create frames for full design elements, making it more intuitive and easier to manage responsive designs.

What are UI Kits and how do they assist in the design process according to the script?

UI Kits are design kits for popular platforms like iOS and Material Design 3. They include component sets and example mockups, allowing designers to start from full layouts and customize them with editable components.

What is the significance of the responsive prototype viewer introduced in the updates?

The responsive prototype viewer allows designers to experience their designs on any screen size, respecting constraints and auto layout properties as the viewer window is resized, providing a more accurate representation of responsive design behavior.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Figma's Conference and New Features Overview

The speaker discusses Figma's conference, Config, where they announced several new features. They express a mix of excitement and skepticism about the announcements, highlighting the importance of design in the age of AI and Figma's role in facilitating the design process. The speaker also mentions the launch of Figma AI, UI3, and Figma Slides, along with updates to Dev mode and other features. They critique the marketing language used by Figma and express curiosity about the practical applications of the announced AI capabilities.

05:00

🔍 Figma's AI and Design Efficiency Enhancements

This paragraph delves into the specifics of Figma's AI features aimed at improving design efficiency. The speaker talks about the introduction of visual search to help users find design elements more easily and the use of AI for tasks like image generation, text rewriting, and layer renaming. They also mention the potential usefulness of these features for developers, especially those looking to enhance their productivity on the design side, and compare Figma's offerings to other design tools and libraries like Tailwind UI and Material-UI.

10:02

🛠️ UI3: Figma's Redesigned Interface

The speaker is excited about the unveiling of UI3, the third redesign of Figma's interface. They discuss the challenges of updating an interface without disrupting user muscle memory and workflows. The new UI aims to be more immersive and component-centered, with a focus on providing a better user experience based on community feedback. The speaker also notes the gradual rollout of the new UI and the option for users to provide feedback to improve it further.

15:03

📈 Figma Slides and Updates to Dev Mode

The introduction of Figma Slides is covered in this paragraph, which the speaker sees as a logical extension of Figma's design tools into the presentation space. They also discuss updates to Dev mode, emphasizing the iterative nature of design and development processes. The updates aim to streamline workflows and improve communication between designers and developers, with features like the ready for Dev view and focus view, which help developers identify what needs to be worked on and stay in sync with design changes.

20:05

🔗 Code Connect and Design System Integration

The speaker discusses the challenges of keeping design systems in sync with code bases and the introduction of Code Connect, a feature designed to bridge the gap between design and code. They explore the potential benefits and the complexities involved in implementing such a system, especially for large teams and companies. The paragraph also touches on the importance of having a design engineering team to manage the design system and the potential for Figma to improve the developer experience through better integration with code.

🎨 Quality of Life Improvements and Responsive Design

In the final paragraph, the speaker highlights several quality of life improvements in Figma, including better auto layout functionality, UI kits for popular design systems, and a responsive prototype viewer. They express particular enthusiasm for the responsive prototype viewer, which allows designers to test how their designs look on different screen sizes. The speaker also notes the importance of these updates for agencies and freelancers, with improvements to billing architecture and project handoff processes.

Keywords

Figma

Figma is a cloud-based design tool primarily used for user interface and user experience design. It allows multiple users to collaborate in real-time, making it a popular choice for teams working on digital products. In the video, Figma is the central subject as the speaker discusses the updates and new features announced at the Figma Config conference.

AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. In the context of the video, Figma is integrating AI to enhance design processes, such as visual search and generating UI layouts, which can help designers think bigger and build faster.

UI3

UI3 represents the third redesign of the Figma interface. It aims to streamline and simplify the user experience by introducing a more immersive canvas, component-centered UI, and a refreshed icon set. The script mentions UI3 as part of the significant updates that Figma is rolling out to improve workflow and user interaction.

Dev Mode

Dev Mode is a workspace within Figma designed to bridge the gap between designers and developers. It facilitates an iterative design process and speeds up developer workflows by providing tools to keep designs and code in sync. The updates to Dev Mode discussed in the video are intended to make the handoff process more efficient and intuitive.

Visual Search

Visual Search is a new feature in Figma that allows users to search for design elements using visual inputs like screenshots, selected frames, or sketches. This feature is highlighted in the script as a way to improve the search functionality within Figma, making it easier for users to find and locate specific design assets.

Auto Layout

Auto Layout is a feature in Figma that enables designers to create flexible and responsive designs by defining constraints and rules for how elements should adjust in relation to the screen size or container. The script discusses improvements to Auto Layout, making it more predictable and easier to use for designers.

Code Connect

Code Connect is a feature that links Figma's design system to the codebase, ensuring consistency between design and development. It allows developers to access and use the design system components directly within Figma, which can streamline the development process. The script mentions the general availability of Code Connect and its potential to improve the collaboration between designers and developers.

Prototype Viewer

The Prototype Viewer in Figma allows users to preview and interact with their designs in a simulated environment. The script discusses a new responsive prototype viewer that resizes according to different device frames, providing a more accurate representation of how designs will look on various screens.

UI Kits

UI Kits are pre-designed sets of user interface components that can be used as a starting point for creating designs. They often include elements like buttons, forms, and navigation bars that are consistent with specific design languages, such as iOS or Material Design. The video script mentions UI Kits as part of the new features in Figma, which can help designers to get started quickly with full layouts.

Figma Slides

Figma Slides is a new product introduced by Figma for creating presentations. It is designed to integrate the design capabilities of Figma into the process of making slides, potentially offering a more visually consistent and design-oriented approach to presentation creation. The script positions Figma Slides as a tool that fits well within the Figma ecosystem and could be particularly useful for designers.

Highlights

Figma announces new features at their conference, Config, including Figma 3.0, Figma AI, UI3, and Figma Slides.

Figma AI aims to help designers think bigger and build faster, with a focus on the end-to-end design process.

A unique perspective on AI in design is highlighted, emphasizing Figma's design team building for other designers.

Visual Search is introduced to improve finding elements within Figma, addressing the issue of poor labeling and organization.

Efficiency updates are launched to automate tedious tasks, allowing for more efficient workflow and design generation.

Figma introduces 'Make Designs' to quickly generate UI layouts from text prompts, aiding in the initial design phase.

Figma AI's beta period will be free for all users, with potential usage limits and pricing to be introduced later.

UI3 is the third redesign of Figma's interface, focusing on a more immersive and component-centered UI.

UI3 introduces a new icon set and aims to respect user muscle memory while paving the way for future features.

Figma Slides is a new product aimed at improving the presentation process, integrating design tools with presentations.

Updates to Dev Mode include new views and statuses to better support iterative design processes and developer workflows.

Code Connect is made generally available, aiming to bridge the gap between design systems and code across frameworks and languages.

Quality of life improvements include Auto Layout enhancements and a responsive prototype viewer for better design testing.

Figma is working on improvements for agencies and freelancers, focusing on billing architecture and project handoff.

The new prototype viewer allows for responsive design testing, resizing to respect constraints and auto layout properties.

Figma's updates aim to make the tool more accessible and efficient for both designers and developers.