Explaining Figma Components Like You’re Five (Simplest Way Possible)

Summary

This video tutorial simplifies understanding Figma components, essential for efficient design work. It explains how components act as reusable templates, with instances reflecting any changes made to the original. The tutorial covers creating component sets, using variants like 'apple' and 'orange' within a 'fruit' component, and managing properties. It also delves into nested components and component properties, illustrating how these features streamline design updates across multiple instances, emphasizing the power of components for prototyping in Figma.

Takeaways

• 🔧 Components in Figma are foundational for efficient design work, allowing for the creation of reusable design elements.
• 🍎 Components function as templates, enabling designers to maintain consistency across a design by making edits in one place that reflect everywhere the component is used.
• 📚 Understanding components is crucial for leveraging the full potential of Figma and similar prototyping tools.
• 🔄 Creating a component set involves selecting multiple objects and defining them as a single component, which can then be instanced across a design.
• 🍊 Variants within a component allow for different versions of the same component, such as different types of fruits, while maintaining a common structure.
• 🛠 Naming components and their properties descriptively is essential for clarity and ease of use within a design system.
• 🌿 Nested components are powerful for creating complex structures, where a component can contain instances of other components, like a leaf within a fruit.
• 🔄 Component properties and nested instances enable granular control over design elements, allowing for toggling features like the presence of a leaf on a fruit.
• 🔧 Exposing properties from nested instances is a feature that enhances the management of complex component structures, providing direct control over nested elements.
• 🔄 The ability to make widespread changes to design elements through a single component instance is a significant time-saver, especially in large-scale projects.

Q & A

What are components in Figma?

Components in Figma are essentially templates that allow you to reuse objects across your design. They are crucial for maintaining consistency and can be used in prototyping apps that employ similar mechanisms.

How do you create a component in Figma?

To create a component in Figma, select the objects you want to include, go to the top menu, and choose 'Create Component Set'. This will generate a main component that you can reuse as instances in your design.

What is an instance in the context of Figma components?

An instance in Figma refers to a copy or usage of the main component. Any changes made to the main component will be reflected across all its instances, ensuring consistency throughout the design.

Can you explain the concept of variants within a component?

Variants in Figma components allow you to have different versions of the same component. For example, a 'fruit' component can have variants like 'apple' and 'orange'. Each variant can be used independently, and changes to one variant do not affect the others.

How do you change the name of a component in Figma?

To change the name of a component in Figma, select the component, go to the 'Properties' panel, and edit the name under the 'Name' field. This helps in making the components more descriptive and easier to manage.

What is a nested component and how is it used?

A nested component is a component that contains another component. For instance, a 'leaf' component can be nested within a 'fruit' component. This allows for complex structures and the ability to manage properties at different levels of the design hierarchy.

How can you control the visibility of a nested component?

You can control the visibility of a nested component by creating a Boolean property. For example, you can add a 'Show Leaf' property to a 'fruit' component, allowing you to toggle the visibility of the 'leaf' component on each instance.

What are component properties and how do they differ from component property values?

Component properties are attributes that define the characteristics of a component, like 'type of fruit'. Component property values are the specific settings for these properties, such as 'apple' or 'orange'. Variants are created based on these property values.

How do you expose properties from nested instances in Figma?

To expose properties from nested instances in Figma, select the parent component, go to 'Properties', and check 'Expose Properties from Nested Instances'. This allows you to control properties of nested components directly from the parent component instance.

Why are components and instances powerful tools in Figma?

Components and instances are powerful in Figma because they allow for efficient design management, especially when dealing with large projects. They enable you to make global changes from a single point, saving time and ensuring consistency across the design.

How can you ensure that your Figma components are easy to navigate and set up?

To ensure that Figma components are easy to navigate and set up, use descriptive naming for components and properties, organize them logically within the 'Assets' panel, and make use of nested components and exposed properties to maintain a clean and manageable design structure.

Outlines

00:00

📘 Introduction to Figma Components

This paragraph introduces the concept of components in Figma, emphasizing their importance for designers who want to maximize the use of Figma and similar prototyping apps. Components are described as reusable templates for objects that need to remain consistent across a design. The video uses the analogy of fruits to explain how to create a component set, with the ability to create instances of these components that reflect changes made to the main component. The paragraph also covers the idea of variants within a component, allowing for multiple versions of the same component, and the importance of naming components and variants descriptively for clarity and ease of use.

05:02

🌿 Exploring Nested Components and Component Properties

The second paragraph delves into the advanced features of Figma components, such as nested components and component properties. It demonstrates how to incorporate a component within another component, using leaves as an example to show how changes to the nested component can be reflected across all instances. The paragraph also explains how to create Boolean component properties to control the presence of elements within instances, and how to expose properties from nested instances for easier editing. The video concludes by highlighting the efficiency of using components and instances for large-scale design projects, such as updating numerous buttons on a website, and encourages viewers to ask questions and provide feedback.

Keywords

💡Components

Components in Figma refer to reusable templates that can be used across a design. They are fundamental to efficient design work, allowing for consistency and ease of updates. In the video, components are used to create a set of objects, like fruits, which can be reused in different parts of the design. The concept is illustrated by creating a 'fruit' component with variants like 'apple' and 'orange'.

💡Instances

Instances are the individual usages of a component in a design. They are linked to the main component, meaning any changes to the component are automatically reflected in all instances. This is crucial for maintaining consistency and saving time when making bulk edits. The video demonstrates this by showing how adding a circle to the 'apple' in the 'fruit' component automatically adds the circle to all instances of 'apple'.

💡Variants

Variants are different versions of a component that can be used within the same component structure. They allow for diversity while maintaining the component's reusability. In the video, 'apple' and 'orange' are variants of the 'fruit' component, each behaving as a unique object within the component set but sharing the same properties and structure.

💡Properties

Properties in Figma are attributes that can be assigned to components and instances, controlling their behavior or appearance. They are used to manage and customize the behavior of components and their instances. For example, the video describes a 'type of fruit' property with values 'orange' and 'apple', which can be used to dynamically change the instance's appearance based on the property value.

💡Nested Components

Nested components are components that contain other components within them. This creates a hierarchical structure that allows for complex design systems to be managed more effectively. In the video, a 'leaf' component is nested within the 'fruit' component, allowing for the leaf's properties, like 'freshness', to be controlled at the instance level of the 'fruit'.

💡Component Properties

Component properties are settings that define the behavior of a component. They can be exposed at the instance level, allowing for granular control over how instances of a component behave. The video explains how to create a Boolean property called 'show leaf' for the 'leaf' component, which can be toggled on and off for each fruit instance, demonstrating the power of component properties.

💡Exposing Properties

Exposing properties from nested instances is a feature that allows properties from nested components to be accessible at the top level of a component. This provides a way to control nested elements directly from the parent component. The video shows how to expose the 'leaf' component's 'freshness' property from within the 'fruit' component, making it easier to manage the state of the leaf across all fruit instances.

💡Prototyping Apps

Prototyping apps are software tools used to create interactive models of user interfaces or experiences. They often utilize component-based design to facilitate the creation of interactive and responsive designs. The video mentions that understanding components in Figma is essential not only for using Figma but also for other prototyping apps that may use similar mechanisms.

💡Design Efficiency

Design efficiency refers to the ability to create designs quickly and with minimal effort, often through the use of reusable elements and templates. The video emphasizes the importance of components for enhancing design efficiency, especially when working on large projects with many pages and elements that need to be consistent.

💡Updates and Consistency

Updates and consistency are key aspects of maintaining a design. Components allow for easy updates across all instances, ensuring that changes are applied consistently. The video illustrates this by showing how a single change to a component, such as modifying the appearance of a leaf, automatically updates all instances of that component in the design.

Highlights

Components in Figma are essential for efficient design and prototyping.

Components act as templates for objects that can be reused across designs.

Creating a component set involves selecting objects and using a dropdown menu.

Instances of components allow for changes to be reflected across all uses.

Components can have variants, such as different types of fruits.

Renaming components to descriptive names improves navigation and usability.

Component properties and values enable customization of instances.

Nested components allow for complex structures within a single component.

Component properties can be exposed for easier control over nested instances.

Boolean properties can be used to toggle the presence of elements within a component.

Nested components update automatically when the parent component is modified.

Proper naming and organization of components and instances streamline design workflows.

Components are powerful for managing large-scale designs with repeated elements.

Updating a main component automatically updates all instances, saving time and effort.

The video provides a practical example of using components with fruits to illustrate the concept.

Nested components and properties can be used to control the appearance of elements like leaves.

Enabling beta features in Figma settings is necessary for accessing certain component options.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content and ask questions.

Transcripts

hello everyone in today's video I'm

going to explain components in figma in

the simplest and quickest way possible

components in a figma are essential to

understand if you want to take full

advantage of figma and of other

prototyping apps that use a similar

mechanism and at the same time it may be

a struggle to understand for beginners

and on your own so let's get straight

into it components are basically

templates they are objects that you can

reuse across your design they are great

for something that needs to stay the

same across your design for creating and

using components let's use something

familiar from The Real World here we

have two photos we have an apple and we

have an orange both of these are fruits

so let's select both of them and go to

this drop down menu on the top and

create a component set we have created a

component called component one we can

now use an instance of this component by

going to assets and using component one

on our page like this so this is an

instance whenever we make a change to

our component to our main component

right here this change is going to be

reflected across our instances and we

can have one or multiple instances if I

now add for example a circle on top of

this apple within this component you can

see how this circle is now visible on

all of these instances so this is a

component this is an instance fairly

simple right but the name component one

is not really descriptive let's change

that to fruit we have a component called

fruit and as you can see there are two

objects within this fruit component

these objects are called variants it

makes logical sense that you have a

component called fruit and then variance

apple and orange so now I have three

instances of the fruit component where I

can also use the second variant which is

the orange right using this drop down

menu so let's recap a component is

basically the main object and these

instances are copies of this main object

that's why this is basically a template

right you should Now understand the

logic behind a component and variance as

you can see we can get multiple

instances and each of these can be a

different variant of course if we modify

this variant it's going to be updated

everywhere where we use this specific

variant of this component so remember

words component variance and instances

right here let me remove the circle from

the Orange Let's quickly take a look at

what we have here we have property one

image four and that's an instance of the

fruit component but property one nor

imh4 isn't really a sufficient and

descriptive wording of what is happening

so let me select the component go to

properties edit this property and change

this property to type of fruit at the

same time let me select image 4 and

change that to Orange and image 5 and

change that to Apple so if I click on

the instance of this component you can

see that we have an instance of the

fruit component with a property called

type of fruit set to Orange I can change

the type of fruit property to Apple and

back to Orange so at this point you

should understand what component

properties and component property values

are orange and apple are property values

and type of fruit is a property so if I

select the component you can see that

under properties I get type of root with

orange and apple being the values right

so that's a variant property so as I

said you can now reuse these elements

across your design and whenever you make

a change to the main component this

change is going to be reflected across

all of your instances which are here on

the right side now let's take this one

step further and talk about nested

components here we have two leaves one

is fresh and one is quite old I'm going

to select both of these and go to the

top bar and select create components set

I have now a component one which I'm

going to rename to leaf

right then under properties I'm gonna

edit property one to be called freshness

and we're going to have two values we're

gonna have a fresh leaf and we're gonna

have an old Leaf okay now when I use an

instance of the leaf component I can

select from a freshness property of

fresh and old and it's going to be

updated accordingly however I can also

take this Leaf press command X and paste

that directly into the fruit component

and as you can see I have now updated

all the instances of the fruit component

specifically the Apple variant I can now

select the sleeve and position it right

here so that it mimics how you

oftentimes see an apple with Leaf in the

real world I'm now gonna copy this and

paste that into the orange variant as

well so the fruit component now has this

old Leaf everywhere but I can change the

sleeve to new right I'm going to just

select these two and change the

freshness to Fresh it's now fresh

everywhere now imagine you'd want to

have an easy way to control what Leaf is

going to appear on your instance of this

component and you also want to select

whether it's going to be fresh or old so

to do that we're gonna have to create

something called component properties

and to do that I am going to select both

of these leaves and then under layer I'm

going to go over here and create a

Boolean property that will be called Joe

leaf with values of true now when I go

to the instance of this fruit component

I can now turn the leaf off and on on

each of these individual instances right

simple enough I can also do one more

thing I can also go to properties on the

fruit component and go to expose

properties from nested instances and by

the way if you don't see this option

make sure to enable beta features in

figma settings so I now click on exposed

properties from nested instances and I'm

going to check the leaf component and at

this moment when I select the fruit

instance I can also select the leaf

freshness it can be fresh or old right

on each of these individual instances so

not only can I now choose if I want to

have the leaf visible I can also control

whether the sleeve is going to be fresh

or old and because the leaf is a

component within a component right so in

this component we have an instance of

another component whenever I make a

change in the leaf component for example

I add a circle you can see that whenever

I use the fresh Leaf we get also a

circle that we have defined right here

similarly to the old Leaf as you can see

everything thing has now circles I can

now go ahead and use all these fruits

everywhere across my page and because I

have created this logic with nested

components with component properties

with variants and I named everything

correctly it is very easy to navigate

and set up specifically as I need I can

also make changes very easily if I make

up my mind so hopefully you now

understand what components instances

variants component properties and nested

components are and you also understand

how powerful this tool is for creating

things in figma and other prototyping

software because imagine that for

example this is going to be a button

instead of an apple you're gonna have a

button and instead of an orange you're

gonna have a darker button right if

you're going to design a website that's

going to have 60 pages and you're gonna

have 20 buttons on each of these pages

and then you want to update the button

the design of this button there is just

one way to do this and not lose your

mind and that's components and instances

right you're gonna use the button as

instances of a main button component let

me just show you if I duplicate these

fruits like dozens of times I have I

don't know how many pieces of fruit all

over the page if I now want to change

how the leaf looks normally I'd have to

change every single leaf on every single

one of these fruits but thanks to

components and instances I'm able to do

that easily in an instance from one

place let me know in the comments if you

have any questions and also make sure to

leave a like this video helped you

understand components in figma and let

me know if you'd like to see another

video on components where I go more in

depth with specific examples thanks for

tuning in and I will see you in the next

one