Figma needs these 3 features
As much as I value Figma for UI design, I also recognize its faults. Between an unoptimized web experience, restrictive page management, and stuttering smart animate, there’s plenty of room to grow.
Here are the top three features I’d like to see added to Figma
1. Interactive Text Fields
Figma doesn’t support interactive text fields. In fact, Figma doesn’t support any text fields. Instead, designers dabble in the art of imitation by drawing rectangles that look like the real thing. While fancy rectangles can look the part, they struggle to stay in character when put on the spot.
For example, a test participant can’t actually enter text while testing a Figma prototype. Most designers get around this issue by autofilling text after a user taps on the box, and asking that they “imagine” having entered it. But this approach breaks the illusion that the app is real and can confuse less tech savvy test participants.
Adding interactive text fields to prototypes would permit more realistic, and therefore more accurate, usability studies.
2. Conditional Logic
Many experience flows incorporate conditional logic. For example, a button may be inactive until every field is filled, or the next step in an onboarding flow may be locked until all prerequisites are met.
Figma, however, doesn’t support conditional logic, forcing designers to work around this constraint with overly complex inter-frame connections.
Imagine, for example, that you were prototyping LinkedIn’s 8 step Profile Strength indicator.
Since users can complete the steps in any order they desire. there are about 40,000 different logical permutations. Without conditional logic, designers must either (1) manually generate each possibility, or (2) build a limited prototype. Most designers choose the latter, at the expense of more robust user tests.
The addition of conditional logic would enable designers to observe non-linear user flows that are far more complex than they can test today.
3. Advanced Component Overrides
Override functionality is critical to any pattern library. Overrides allow designers to modify the properties of a component’s individual instances. Thankfully, Figma supports most overrides. However, there is one limitation that drives me absolutely mad: although you can remove objects from an instance, you can’t add objects to an instance.
Let’s say I create a form component that displays three text fields within an auto layout frame. If I copy an instance of the component, I can delete one or two fields to shorten the form, but I can’t add fields to lengthen it. Any duplicated fields are automatically placed outside the instance. This behavior is particularly challenging when designing pages that must demonstrate dynamic content (such as a search results page).
In the age of Auto Layout, designers should be able to duplicate rows or columns without first detaching instances. Adding this ability to component overrides would encourage stable, consistent, and flexible design systems.
There’s no doubt that Figma is an outstanding, collaborative tool in the world of UI design. With that said, it’s a relatively young platform with room to grow. As Figma prioritizes its roadmap for the next 12–24 months, I hope they incorporate some of these game-changing features.
What do you think? Are there other tools you’d like to see? Let me know!
Jeremy Abrams is a senior full stack designer with a background in human centered design, research, and development. He also has a demonstrated history of managing local and remote cross-functional teams. In a prior life, Jeremy acquired a JD from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois state bar in 2014.
