Figma is a web-based platform that allows its users to create UI, UX design prototypes and Graphics. It’s very extensive in its usability and over time, has gained the confidence of designers and developers for its easy to use layout and a host of design capabilities.
But how can you get the most out of this platform? In this article, we shall lay down a few bite-sized best practices that we’ve come to use, and which you can apply while working on your next design project to uplift the final result:
Importing Images
A shortcut to import your images to your Figma library is to use the ctrl+K combo to bring up the file containing your images. What’s neat is that Figma allows you to add them one by one which lets you control the placement and the size of the images that you want.
Main Component Access to View-Only Users
Even if a user doesn’t have edit access, they can still trace where the main component comes from. All they need to do is select a particular component instance and click on “go to the main component”. The same can also be accessed from the code-view in the properties panel. It helps the developers get more context and deduce if the component is part of the overall design system or is custom made for the specific project.
Design System Analytics
One nifty trick to leverage the analytics dashboard on Figma is to build separate libraries for separate platforms. This will help you understand how your designers approach a multi-platform deliverable. If you’re someone who is a big believer in having a concrete design philosophy like us, this little trick helps to make sure that there are no compromises in the focus when designs are being curated for different platforms.
Optimise The Developer Handoff Process
An easy way to ensure that your developer hand-off process becomes a lot leaner is to share just a single URL containing all the requisite information for the project. This helps in streamlining the exchange of information and acts as a single source for elements such as design specs, source files, fonts, images etc. This little feature helps massively in eliminating a lot of noise involved in the process of sharing data.
These best practices, though conspicuous, can help you save a lot of time and energy while working on a project and help to maintain synergy between teams while working on crucial elements of a task.