Figma Config 2024 - Designers, the Future is Here!

Figma just took the design world by storm with Config 2024! Get ready for a major upgrade to your design toolkit, because this year's conference unveiled a bunch of incredible features that will make your life a whole lot easier and fun! 

Introducing Figma AI

Get ready to say hello to your new design partner – Figma AI! This suite of artificial intelligence features is like having a superpower sidekick by your side. Here is what it can do. 

• Need inspiration? Stuck on an icon or feeling a text block? Figma AI can generate cool images or rewrite your text based on just a few keywords.
• Can't find that perfect asset? Figma AI's visual search will find it in a flash – like a built-in "Find My Asset" superpower!
• Ideas galore! Describe your design concept, and Figma AI will create a starting point to bring your vision to life. Think of it as a brainstorming buddy who can actually draw!
• Boost your productivity - Rename layers, organize your designs, edit images, and more – all with the help of Figma AI.

Redesigned Figma Editor (UI3)

• More approachable interface - Icons are clearer, labels in the properties panel are optional, and rounded corners make everything look less cluttered and more modern. The new features should make Figma easier to use for new designers, while still retaining its power for experienced designers.
• Improved ergonomics - Panels can now be resized to fit your needs. Minimize them to give yourself more canvas space while you design, or expand them when you need more room to adjust properties. Plus, when you spotlight a design, the panels automatically hide so you and your collaborators can focus on your work.
• Easy access to AI features - There’s a new “Actions” button that gives you quick access to new and existing features.

Figma Just Got Even More User-Friendly

The Figma team heard our call for a more intuitive interface, and it was delivered! The update boasts a redesigned UI that promises a smoother and more enjoyable design experience. Plus, automatic layer renaming is here to banish those cryptic layer names forever – hello, organizational bliss!

Prototyping Just Got Faster

For all the prototyping pros out there, Figma has a treat for you - Quick-Click Prototyping. This new feature streamlines the process of creating interactive prototypes, letting you focus on the flow and functionality of your design without getting stuck in technicalities.

Hello, Figma Slides!

We've all been there – staring at a blank PowerPoint slide, willing ourselves to be inspired. Figma is here to rescue us from presentation purgatory with Figma Slides! This new tool looks like it's poised to become the go-to platform for creating engaging and visually stunning presentations.

• Create beautiful presentations - Use your brand templates, assets, fonts, and colors to design professional-looking presentations. You can even bring in playable prototypes from Figma Design.
• Work with teammates - Collaborate with teammates on presentations using chat, audio, and comments. Keep everything organized with speaker notes and co-presenting controls. Use Figma’s Grid View to structure your deck and AI writing assistance to improve your copy.
• Turn presentations into conversations - Make your presentations more engaging by using live polls, voting, and alignment scales. Figma Slides will automatically save all responses to your deck.

The Dev Mode

Figma Config 2024 also offered a deeper look into the exciting possibilities of Dev Mode, hinting at features that will empower even more complex and interactive design experiences.

• Ready for Dev View - See designs that are marked as ready for development, track updates, and start building—all in one place.
• Focus View - Focus on a specific design to inspect and annotate it.
• Notifications - Get notified when designs are marked as “ready for dev.”
• Code Connect - Surface the right code from your design system or UI kit where developers need it.

There's Even More!

These are just some of the major highlights, but there's even more to explore! 

• Auto Layout - Figma’s auto layout feature is now more powerful and easier to use. Figma can now suggest how to apply the auto layout to entire design elements, and actions like reordering and setting positions now work more intuitively.
• Responsive Design Viewer - The new prototype viewer lets you see how your designs will look on different screen sizes.
• UI Kits - Get started on designs faster by using curated UI kits from partners like Apple and Google, or from Figma itself.
• Pages in FigJam - Organize your FigJam files more easily than before.

The Future of Design

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Head over to Figma's official release notes and explore to get a full rundown of all the amazing updates. Figma Config 2024 has left us incredibly excited about the future of design. We can't wait to see what we can create with these powerful new features!

P.S. Abdul Dayyan - our very own product designer at Arbisoft, participated in the Lahore Watch Party Config 2024! In the session he discussed the importance of effective communication in design and shared practical tools and techniques, like Figma prototypes and feedback loops, to boost collaboration and tackle communication challenges.