Figma is announcing a number of new features at its Configuration conference today, including a major UI redesign, new generative AI tools to help people create projects more easily, and a built-in slideshow feature.
Let’s start with the redesign, which is intended to “lay the foundation for the next decade”. according to the blog post. You’ll see things like a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. As part of the design update, the company wants to “focus the canvas less on our user interface and more on your work” and make it something that’s useful for Figma pros while also being accessible to new users.
Figma says this is the company’s third “significant redesign” since Figma’s closed beta release. The new look is available as part of a limited beta version, and users can join a waiting list if they want to try it out.
Aside from the redesign, a headline feature addition is new generative AI tools, which looks like a useful way to jump-start design. They’re basically a Figma-oriented version of the “email draft” type AI tools we’ve seen time and time again.
At the briefing, Yuhki Yamashita, Figman’s chief product officer, showed me an example of how Figman could create an app design for a new restaurant. Seconds after typing the tip into the text box, Figma mocked up the app with menu lists, a tab bar, and even buttons for delivery partners like Uber Eats and DoorDash. It looked like a generic mobile app mockup, but Yamashita was able to fix it right away.
In another example, Yamashita asked Figma AI to spin a recipe page design for chocolate chip cookies, and sure enough, it included an AI-generated image of the cookie. Over zoom it looked like a pretty accurate image, but I can’t imagine that it would be difficult to AI generate a basic image of a chocolate chip.
Figma also introduces AI features that can help speed up small tasks in big ways, such as “AI-enhanced” asset search and auto-generated text in designs instead of generic Lorem ipsum placeholder text.
Ideally, all the new Figma AI tools will allow people who are new to Figma to test ideas more easily, while also allowing those more familiar with the application to iterate more quickly, according to Yamashita. “We use artificial intelligence to lower the floor and raise the ceiling,” says Yamashita in an interview The Verge – CEO Dylan Field said something The Verge also.
Figma AI is launching in a limited beta starting Wednesday, and interested users can join a waiting list. Figma said the beta period will last until the end of the year. While in beta, Figma’s AI tools will be free, but the company says it may have to impose “usage limits.” Figma also promises “clear guidance on pricing” when the AI features officially launch.
In a blog post, Figma also explained its approach to training AI models. “All of the generative features we’re launching today are powered by third-party, off-the-shelf AI models and have not been trained on private Figma files or customer data.” Chris Rasmussen, CTO of Figman writes. “We’ve improved visual and asset search with descriptions of user interfaces from public, free Community files.”
Rasmussen adds that Figma trains its models so that they learn from examples and “Figma-specific concepts and tools,” but not from users’ content. Figma will also allow Figma admins to control whether Figma trains on “client content,” which includes “file content created or uploaded to Figma by a user, such as layer names and properties, text and images, comments and annotations, According to Rasmussen.
Figma will not begin training for this content until August 15th; however, you should know that the Starter and Professional plans are selected to share this information by default, while the Organization and Enterprise plans are declined.
The company is likely specific about how it trains its AI models due to Adobe’s recent terms of service, where the company had to specify that it won’t train AI on your job.
In addition to the redesign and new AI features, Figma adds a potentially very practical new tool: Figma Slides, a Google Slides-like feature built right into Figma. Yamashita says users have already hacked Figma to find a way to create slides, so now there’s an official way to build and share presentations right inside the app.
There are several Figma-specific features that designers will appreciate. Using the Figma tools, you’ll be able to edit the designs you’ve entered into the deck in real-time. (Note that these changes will only be visible on deck — tweaks won’t currently sync with the original design files, though Yamashita says Figman wants to make that possible eventually.)
You can also provide a software prototype directly from the deck, meaning you don’t need to take a sketchy screen capture to demonstrate how one piece connects to another. You can also add interactive features for audience members, such as polls or alignment scales, where people can plot a range when they agree or disagree with something.
Figma Slides will be available in open beta starting Wednesday. It will be free while in beta, but will become a paid feature when it officially launches. The company is also adding its own features Developer mode in Figmaincluding a “developer-ready” task list.
This year’s Config is the first since Adobe abandoned its planned $20 billion acquisition of Figma following regulatory scrutiny. With the merger canceled, Adobe had to pay Figma a breakup fee of $1 billion.