Recently, I conducted a masterclass exploring Figma's new AI features. It's both exciting and a bit unnerving to see how AI is evolving and impacting the way we design. I'm personally thrilled about this innovation because I believe it will help us eliminate monotonous tasks and focus on high-impact work or projects that bring us joy. I've also noticed many new roles emerging in the industry focused on AI and design, creating opportunities for designers to work in this space and even build their own side projects.
Returning to Figma AI, Figma announced their new AI features during Config 2024. These features weren't immediately available to everyone after the launch—we all had to join a waitlist. Now, as the feature is gradually rolling out, if you haven't received access yet, you'll just need to wait a bit longer. I was fortunate enough to get early access, which inspired me to conduct the masterclass and share my insights.
Watch the masterclass to see everything Figma's AI can do. Here's a summary:
Figma’s AI can
Generate UI with promptsSimilar to Midjourney and DALL-E, Figma can generate UI based on prompts. Surprisingly, it's quite good compared to other LLMs. You can generate high-fidelity web and mobile UI, as well as mockups. While it doesn't connect to design systems yet, I believe that's where Figma is heading. How can designers use this? Personally, I see it as an inspiration tool. If you're experiencing a mental block, you can quickly generate ideas and brainstorm with AI.
Renaming layersFigma's AI now allows you to rename all layers automatically, and it does so like a pro. This is one of the most beloved features of Figma's AI, performing impressively well. It's a significant improvement over having random names like ".frame245." The AI does a decent job, and it's genuinely enjoyable to watch as it renames the layers.
Generate Images
I must say this is a helpful feature when you're designing and need quick assets to ideate. You don't have to go anywhere or use any plugins—you can now just prompt and generate images. I was able to add some cake images to an app design I was exploring. They act as placeholders and let you ideate quickly.
Rewrite Feature
This is like your writing assistant, letting you generate content and edit your current text. Honestly, I've been using this feature a lot lately. While designing a chat interface, I leveraged AI to generate some quick dummy data—it's much better than using lorem ipsum with no context.
Language translations
With a single click, you can now translate your app into any language. Honestly, it's mind-blowing to me. This is a great way to test out the layout for different languages and design accordingly.
There are other features worth exploring, such as search components and "Make prototype." The prototyping feature was decent, offering basic connections that, while not very accurate, were good enough to get started.
Summary
This Figma update is exciting, and I can see how it will evolve to help us become more efficient in our work. While it's indeed scary to many and raises questions about AI taking over design jobs, we must remember that in tech, everything changes rapidly. We need to adapt, learn, and stay updated. Figma AI's approach of helping you get to your first draft quickly is promising, and I see how these features can help us be more productive and deliver better results. I hope you enjoyed reading this newsletter. Subscribe for more!
Thank you for reading
John
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