Technology
Figma
Figma is not a deck of pictures. It is tokens, screens, and a handoff the build can follow. We design in reusable parts.
What it is
Figma is the browser-based design tool where most product interfaces are now drawn: frames, components, variables, prototypes, and a file more than one person can be in at once. Airbnb, Microsoft, Uber, GitHub, and Stripe all run design systems in Figma. Adobe bought it. The product is still Figma.
It is not the website. It is the source of tokens, components, and the ugly states if the team is disciplined. Handoff that is a screenshot in chat is not Figma's fault. It is a process failure.
What it does
Designers use Figma for UI, brand, prototypes, and design systems. Engineers use Dev Mode and variables that should match the code. Writers comment in the file. The file is part of the handover, not a private board.
We set tokens before screens. Names in the file match names in the repo. We do not deliver a deck of pictures with no system.
Why we use it
The file we design the system in.
Tokens compile into CSS and Tailwind. States are in the file so engineering does not guess hover from memory. The file is part of the handover, not a private board. A new template is already a component. We only write the copy.
If the code and the file disagree on a name, the system forked. We treat that as a defect.
Built on it
Airbnb
A design-system company whose public work helped make Figma the default.
Microsoft
Uses Figma across product teams next to its own tools.
Uber
Design systems and rider flows live in Figma.
GitHub
Primer and product UI are Figma files as well as code.
Stripe
A widely studied Figma system sitting next to a widely studied site.
Tell us what needs to ship.
You use a working prototype before the production build goes ahead.