Nine reasons why I chose Figma

As a designer, the tools you use are some of the most important parts of the design process. I will never leave my pen and sketching book, but I also love using software that works. Let me present one of them.

Back in 2015, when Figma was brand new and mysterious, I was a student. This new free tool was highly exclusive, and you could only get access by signing up on a waiting list. At this point I did my design work in Adobe Illustrator, paying the high price of a license of my student loan. The opportunity to get a free vector-based tool did sound fantastic. It did sound almost too good, and yes, it was. When I, after some waiting, got access to Figma, I did not like it at all. Coming from Adobe Illustrator this new tool could not match my expectations at all, and I left. For years. Four years later I came back, and I instantly converted from Sketch. Why? Let me list ten reasons why I choose Figma.

1. It is free

Using Figma is free. You just sign up with your email, and you are good to go. With a free account, you can be up to two editors in a file, and have up to three projects. The amount of files in each project is unlimited, so for most users, a free account works fine. If you work in a bigger project or with several teammates a paid license can be helpful. Then you can share libraries, create your own plugins and create unlimited projects. But Figma works perfectly fine without a license as well, perfect for those needing a professional tool without spending any money.

2. Live sharing

Used to Google Docs? This is the design version of the beloved text editor. As a designer, you seldom work alone, and sharing your files is a nice way of cooperating. Add your colleagues as an editor, and you can both work in the same document at the same time. No need for sending the files back and forth, with the risk of missing fonts and other hickups. Maybe you want to share your sketches with a customer, or developer, but don’t want them to change anything? No worries, sharing in view-only mode is available.

3. Any operating system

If I should guess, I do believe that most designers prefer working on a MacBook. Some say that the Adobe software work best on an Apple product and Sketch has not been available for Windows users. Recently an app was released (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VnHeLmh4ic) with the opportunity to open Sketch files on a Windows computer, but sadly the Icon8 Lunacy did not get good reviews. Luckily, Figma has few limitations. The software can either be run in a desktop app or your web browser. This makes it possible to run Figma on any computer, regardless of the operating system.

4. Plugins

This is not unique for Figma, but should still be mentioned. All the available plugins! (https://www.figma.com/c) Creating plugins are open to everyone, and you can also continue developing other users plugins if you want. It is easy to add new plugins directly in the desktop app, and the list of plugins available is long. Contrast checkers, text generators, mapmaker and color palettes to mention some.

5. You only need one license

Sketch, InVision, Adobe CC, Balsamiq, Zeplin. Tired of all the licenses? Figma has it all in one. Vector editing, drawing, prototyping, animation. In most cases, Figma will be enough to solve your tasks.

6. Share directly to the developers

Earlier I have used InVison to share my work with the developers. Drawing in Sketch, using the plugin and share it with InVision. This was a struggle. Most times I ended up publishing the prototype to the wrong space, having both a private and a company space connected to the same e-mail. Not to mention that I had to publish a new prototype for every change I did. In Figma, everything is smooth. I can create a prototype, share it with the developers and edit it live while they look at it. No need for pushing changes you discover right after you hand over the sketches. By sharing with the team early they can give feedback and suggestions to the sketches during the process, which can be very helpful. And yes, the developers still have the possibility to see the CSS for your design. Magic.

7. Change the background

In the last months, I have converted to the dark side. Earlier I have believed that light theme is the best way to work. That a light screen makes you awake and happy. When Slack released a dark theme in their desktop app, I was challenged to try for a day. And then it happened, I never changed it back. Outlook, my notes, Chrome, Teams, my OS. Then, I opened the Figma desktop app, and sadly there was no setting for a dark theme (please Figma, it is all I want for Christmas). But, it is possible to change the background color in your workspace. Random? Maybe, but after I learned this I have used it a lot. Not only for a dark background, you can also set any color you want!

8. Animation

A new thing to me is animation. For the first time, I got a task requiring animation a few weeks ago. I started browsing the possibilities, and both Principle and Flinto came to me. But then I discovered, Figma can do this for me as well. No need for exporting files to another software. No need for learning new software. Earlier you had to use a plugin, but this summer Figma took it to a new level. Just open Smart Animate in Figma, and play! It is not perfect, but it works and is still being developed. I believe in this.

9. Shared libraries

With a Figma license, you can create as many teams as you want and you can add all your colleagues. If you are working with a design system, the team feature makes it possible to share the design system with all members of a team. Then everyone will have the same updated library available, making it possible to effectively design together.

It is maybe not rocket science, but giving Figma a try is worth it. Challenge yourself and try it for a week. Hopefully, you will also be as happy as I am. I have my files available wherever I am, at any time. I can cooperate and share without any struggles. Of course, I have some pain points in Figma, but I had some in Sketch as well. Give Figma a try, and tell all your colleagues about it. It made my working days so much better.

PS! This article is not sponsored by Figma, I just fell in love with it.

Written by Signe Elise Livgard