Simply, Figma is a digital design and prototyping tool. It is a UI and UX design application that you can use to create websites, apps, or smaller user interface components that can be integrated into other projects.
Figma works on any operating system that runs a web browser. Macs, Windows PCs, Linux machines, and even Chromebooks can be used with Figma. It is the only design tool of its type that does this, and in shops that use hardware running different operating systems, everyone can still share, open, and edit Figma files.
In many organizations, designers use Macs and developers use Windows PCs. Figma helps bring these groups together. Figma's universal nature also prevents the annoyance of PNG-pong (where updated images are bounced back and forth between design team disciplines). In Figma, there is no need for a mediating mechanism to make design work available to everyone.
Real- file collaboration helps mitigate "design drifting"—defined as either misinterpreting or straying from an agreed-upon design. Design drifting usually happens when an idea is conceived and quickly implemented while a project is in progress. Unfortunately, this often leads to deviating from the established design, causing friction and re-work.
Using Figma, a design lead can check in to see what the team is designing in real by simply opening a shared file. If a designer somehow misinterprets the brief or user story, this feature allows the design lead to intervene, correct course, and save countless hours that would have otherwise been wasted. (By comparison, teams using Sketch have no immediate way of telling if designers are going astray.)
Side note: Some designers don't like to be "spied on" when they're working, so it's up to the design lead to explain the benefits. In general, most designers quickly see the value in such a feature and easily adapt to working in a shared environment.
Figma Uses Slack for Team Communication
Figma uses Slack as its communication channel. When a Figma channel is created in Slack, any comments or design edits made in Figma are "slacked" to the team. This functionality is crucial when designing live because changes to a Figma file will update every other instance where the file is embedded (a potential headache for developers). Changes to a mockup, warranted or not, are immediately vetted, and the feedback channel is live.
Who this course is for
Designers